While Richard spent the morning trying to sleep off one of his infamous migraines, I wrote more of Seth’s Basement , my effort for this month’s Riverside Writer’s project which was set on the theme of The Artificial Head. It’s been fun to write, and as far-fetched as my story may seem it’s actually based on a guy who had a similar set-up in his own basement. Truth can be stranger than fiction, for sure; I named one of my fictional mannequins Anton after the real-life character. Riverside Writers’ next meeting is tomorrow night, and we’re going to be joined by editor Maurice James who’ll be giving a talk about the kind of things editors look for in submitted MS.   Maurice runs the annual Coast to Coast writing competition. It’s been raining constantly here today, and both dogs are restless. It’s walkies time and they know they’re going nowhere. If it was just a light shower I’d dress Emily and Ygraine in their little raincoats and off we’d go. At least the fickle English...

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 complainin...

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_/

Anyone with an interest in the Adshead, Ashbrook, Bray and McGowan family tree is welcome to visit http://hubpages.com/hub/Four-Branches  where I’ve created a webpage with photos about this. Today we have monsoon rain, which is a pleasant change from living in an oven turned on full. This heat wave has not been fun, and fortunately Ygraine was already booked to be groomed this week. Her coat is so thick and dense that she really suffers during hot spells. She’s much happier today. Actually she’s wrapped round my feet as I type this. She’s pretending to be asleep but she’s waiting for walkies. One move from this chair, and she’ll be spinning in excited circles. When I helped the groomer, Lisa, to he car with her equipment, the door slammed shut. I’d forgotten to put the catch on and so I was locked out. The front room widows were open, and a neighbour--a slender teenager who’s twice my height (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration…) climbed through easily and opened the door ...

I have been waging war on the kitchen ceiling, polyfiller and spatula at the ready. The job would be so much easier if I could levitate. This would save having to climb up a stepladder and twist half-upside down so I can smooth away miniature potholes which bring something of a lunar texture to our temple of culinary experimentation. The house acts like a magnet for moths. There was a large, fat orange-brown one flitting round earlier, and snoozing on the ceiling is a particularly beautiful moth which looks like a Spanish lace fan. No wonder so many have been hanging out in our house--the bats are out in full force tonight. I've been photographing a few things in the garden, and have also begun weeding around the grove--which is badly overgrown with mare's tail. I've yet to find anything which can kill off mare's tail without destroying the soil for years to come. Anyway, the good news is that my Lady's Mantle has re-established itself under the contorted hazel-...