Press clipping from The Wirral News , 6th July, 2011, announcing Riverside Writers' event tomorrow.   Click on the image to see it in a larger size. The clipping's title makes it sound as if attendees will be expected to write all afternoon.  Not so!  People will be treated to a diverse range of original fiction and poetry from some of Riverside Writers longest-standing members, most of whom are published (and I do not mean self-published!). Telling Tales is the first of two literary events which I'll be organising this year, the other being Parallel Dimensions, the third annual Wirral Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror festival whose audience gets bigger each time. 

Press Release Event:   Telling Tales - An Afternoon with Riverside Writers Date:     9th July 2011 Time:    2pm Venue: West Kirby Library, Wirral. Fee:       Free Riverside Writers will stage Telling Tales, a celebration of this imaginative group's original fiction and poetry.  Many of the group's members are published authors, and the group's literary tastes are entirely diverse.  This will also be a chance for people to snap up the last few remaining copies of Riverside Writers 2010 anthology. Telling Tales will take place at 2pm on the 9th July.  West Kirby Library has kindly agreed to play host, as they have on many other occasions for this lively creative writing group's popular public events.  The library is within The Concourse, which is next to West Kirby train station.  There is ample car parking to the rear, and a frequent bus service directly outside.  Previous similar events from this Wirral-based creative writing group have included Old Tal

 Adele Cosgrove-Bray  Adrienne Odasso  Carol Falaki  Tim Hulme  Peter Caton  Colin P Davies  Chris the Shaman  Parallel Dimensions took place on Saturday, October 16th at West Kirby Library.  Participating authors were:  Carol Falaki, Tim Hulme, Peter Caton, Adrienne Odasso, Colin P Davies and myself (Adele Cosgrove-Bray.)  Music was provided by Chris the Shaman. The event was filmed by Creative Initiatives. The audience heard a wide variety of themes and literary styles.  Adrienne brought along a hefty selection of publications which featured her poetry.   Colin read from his new collection of short stories, Tall Tales On the Iron Horse .  I read Project from Barren Worlds  and also Liar, as both short pieces share a linked theme. Unfortunately the planned Q&A session had to be cancelled as the library was due to close, as we'd ran well over the allotted time. However, the good news is that I've already been asked to organise

Final line-up for Parallel Dimensions (16th Oct, 2pm, West Kirby Library): Carol Falaki; Adrienne Odasso; Colin P Davies; Tim Hulme; Peter Hurd; Peter Caton; Adele Cosgrove-Bray.

  Parallel Dimensions returns for its second year to bring together some of the UK's strongest emerging writers of the Fantasy, Horror and Science-Fiction genres. Colin P Davies , Adele Cosgrove-Bray , Carol Falaki and Adrienne Odasso will share new fiction with their audience. Last year's lively Q&A session, which followed the readings, proved very popular. Colin has seen over forty of his short stories published in anthologies and magazines. He is the author of The Bookmole , a novel whose sequel is due out soon. His illustrations have also appeared in international genre magazines. Adele Cosgrove-Bray's short stories appear in various anthologies published by Hadley Rille Books and Dark Moon Press. Her non-fiction writings have been featured in Prediction Magazine and Your Future . She is currently writing her forth in a series of Dark Fantasy novels set in Wirral and Liverpool. Carol Falaki's first novel, Birth in Suburbia draws on her profession

"...We're living in era where a writer can't just write. They have to be out there. Some would argue that readings are part of a writer's job... Do readers expect their writers to be performers too?" - Ben Myers. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/aug/11/public-role-private-writer Over the years I have attended many book events, and obviously some were delivered more smoothly than others.  But they've rarely failed to be interesting.  Audiences welcome the chance to meet a favourite writer, or to hear a first chapter or short story by a name who is new to them.  If they weren't interested, they wouldn't have made the journey to the event. I've also taken part in readings.  I've even organised a few.  Walking towards the mic can be a nerve-wracking experience  as every writer wants their work to be liked, but when total strangers keep on listening to the next bit, and the next bit and the next, and then smile and give a heart

Hubby swears he never snores, and so I filmed him. He challenged me to upload it to YouTube, and here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3RJ9RA2fk8 Soon after uploading the video, I was contacted by a Brazilian death metal band, Máquina Voadora , who asked if they could use a few clips as part of their forthcoming video to accompany their new acoustic song about sleeping. Richard loved the idea! View Máquina Voadora's video here:- http://vimeo.com/8676341 I have been busy creating more new Hubpages . I've rather taken to that site... Recent additions include interviews with a Druid, a green witch, and artist Pixie Wildflower , plus articles on writing, kombucha, cryonics, reincarnation, the minor arcana and Welsh rarebit - among other topics. Browse my Hubpages: http://hubpages.com/profile/AdeleCosgroveBray   Parallel Dimensions , the Fantasy and Science-Fiction event which I organised last June for Hadley Rille Books ' authors, has been invited to retur

October 31st saw an evening or short monologues by various writers from Wirral performed by members of the Carlton Players . The event was organised by Jenny Humphreys . Three other members of Riverside Writers took part, apart from myself: Tim Hulme , Carol Falaki and Peter Hurd . My contribution was one of my short pieces involving the Caldy fae, The Faerie Tree , which is partly autobiographical. This was performed by Angela Keeler , who has been acting for seventeen years. My photos are poor, my only excuse being the tricky lighting conditions which my digi isn't clever enough to cope with - sharp spotlights from the ceiling and bar area, and deep shadows. I had to push the highlight option in PhotoImpression 4 to extremes in order to be able to see much of the stage area. With my old and trusty Pentax SLR it would have been a doddle.

Tim Hulme Peter Hurd Peter Caton Carol Falaki Andy Siddle Adele Cosgrove-Bray

Am I ready for tonight? I organised it, so I should hope so… Yesterday, I was chatting to Julie Mann , one of the librarians at West Kirby Library, and we remarked how the initial planning for New Tales for Old Byways had begun at a meeting a year ago. That was when the Wirral Bookfest had been scheduled for April, before the threatened library closures set everything back months. Julie will be taking photos tonight, just as she did for last year’s Words from Wordsmiths event. Wirral TV will be filming tonight’s event. This was confirmed only yesterday. It should be an interesting experience to have a film crew moving around. I’ll be reading Seth’s Basement , which introduces one man’s strange hobby; and also Food, which is one of my series about the Caldy Hill fae. But the program is very diverse, being a group effort. Hope to see you there!

Riverside Writers’ meeting last night was unusually well attended, largely due to the coverage given in the local press about an event I'd organised. We were joined by Gary Smailes from Bubblecow http://www.bubblecow.com/  who delivered an information-packed talk about today’s publishing business and the value of social networking. First Gary talked about the pros and cons of self-publishing, and the various options available. These roughly fall into two categories - the kind you pay for, or the web-based sort where you upload your MS to a print-on-demand site. Self-publishing is really only a valid option if you plan to sell a limited number of copies to a pre-established audience, such as friends and family or a circle of acquaintances who share a specific interest relevant to your book. Increasingly, mainstream publishers instantly reject any self-published works unless they have sold an absolute minimum of 3,000 copies, and very few achieve this. Gary then moved on t

Events listings leaflet for Wirral Bookfest 2009; reproduced with permission. To view larger, simply click on either image, then click on 'All Sizes' in the menu bar. The countdown to this year's Bookfest begins! We will be presenting New Tales from Old Byways at 7pm on Wednesday, October 14th at West Kirby Library. All our stories and poems will have a local Wirral theme, which means they will be set locally or have some link with the area. This is the second time Riverside Writers has taken part in this week-long festival, which will see twenty-one events taking place in libraries across the peninsula. The head librarian at West Kirby Library, told me there has been a lot of interest in New Tales for Old Byways already.

Photos from Parallel Dimensions, the Fantasy and Science-Fiction event organised by me, which took place at West Kirby Library, Wirral, on 11th July, 2009. Adrienne Odasso David Tallerman Hazel Dixon David Clements Adele Cosgrove-Bray

After the recent horrific heat, now we have charcoal skies, strong breezes and monsoon rain. All hail the English summer…! So who’s been watching Torchwood ? The longer story format works well, I think; better than the one story per episode format, as the plot is much more rounded. I prefer Torchwood to Dr Who --not that with our resident Dr Who fan I don’t end up watching both. Usually, anyway. I’ve been reading Laurell K Hamilton’s  Skin Trade (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter)  and there’s only one thing wrong with it--I’ve got stacks of work to do and I keep thinking about what’s happening in that instead. No, seriously, it’s an excellent detective story. The prose is tight and the plot fast-paced, and so far (¾ through the novel) Anita’s kept her knickers on. No doubt they’ll fly off at some point. However, the emphasis of this novel is firmly on hunting down the bad guys. A great read. I was chatting with someone recently--no names to be mentioned--and she was complaining about t

Publicity seeping through: http://www.wirral.gov.uk/Events/events_0000586.html http://www.scifi.co.uk/news/2009/06/stephen-hunts-sci-fi-news-roundup-22nd-june-2009/ http://www.sfcrowsnest.com/news/arc/2009/nz14021.php http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/yoursay/blogs/reader_blogs/adelecosgrovebray/4433404.Parallel_Dimensions_/

Visit this site to watch a short video of Wirral's first Junior Poet Laureate, Holly Green, when she performed some of her own work as part of Wirral Bookfest 2008. The video includes shots of West Kirby, the beach and marina, and the venue for Holly's reading is West Kirby Library. If you're quick, you can spot me in the audience. http://www.wirraltv.net/wirral-bookfest-the-best-word

Tim Hulme 's short story, The Trunk in Granny's Attic , was published in this month's edition of Writers' Forum after winning first place in this magazine's competition. As winner, he was also awarded £300. Tim has been a member of Riverside Writers for something like seven years. He holds the post of Secretary and Co-Treasurer for the group. He is also a member of Port Sunlight Writers. Carol Falaki' s first novel, Birth in Suburbia , follows the experiences of three heavily pregnant women. Filled with factual information about pregnancy and labour gleaned from the author's career as a midwife. Midwifery student Gemma aids each birth and learns new things along the way. Carol has been a member of Riverside Writers for approx. two years. Read Carol's novel here: http://bookrix.com/_mybook-carolfalaki_1228743771.3955790997 The date of the forthcoming Riverside Writers evening event, New Tales for Old Byways, has been confirmed for 7pm, Wednes

Tune your radio to 92.1 FM on April 3rd at 11am (GMT)- or go to http://www.7wavesradio.co.uk/  - and you'll be able to hear me and other members or Riverside Writers live on Cath Bore 's show.

Yesterday I was at Radio City in Liverpool to meet producer Ali McBride . While enjoying the amazing view across the city centre from the top of Radio City Tower, she told me about Roy Basne t t ’s Friday show, Zone Unknown. His guests have included the Most Haunted team, parapsychologists, Bigfoot hunters and a white witch, and he hosts debates on conspiracy theories. Then we stepped into a tiny recording studio and I narrated Spanish Jones (part one), a tale of selkies, smugglers and ghosts. Ali said she will to add a few sound effects, such as the cries of seagulls and the sounds of the ocean. While it’s only part one of a three-part story, it is complete in itself. Parts two and three are set in contemporary times, whereas part one is historical. It will be broadcast on City Talk 105.9 FM tomorrow (Friday 6th) sometime between 10pm and 1am (GMT).