Here's my latest video, which shares my small urban garden - and a structural disaster. Enjoy!

  Every so often, I receive emails by someone pretending to be a high-flying agent so bowled over by my apparent genius that they're falling over themselves to promote my books. In the initial email, no fee is ever mentioned; this would come later, once they'd hooked an unsuspecting mark with their polished patter. Well, have a chuckle over this latest one, which referenced Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror and the Occult in the email's subject line:- "Dear Adele, "I hope you’re having a productive week. My name is XXX, and I represent XXX XXX. We specialize in spotlighting exceptional literary works and the visionaries behind them, providing a platform where meaningful storytelling meets an engaged, global audience. "I recently came across your book, and I was particularly impressed by the depth of your narrative and the clear intentionality behind your message. It is rare to find work that resonates so effectively beyond the page, a quality that ...

 

A pleasant holiday, a chance for a rest... Not exactly. Our kitchen walls are now a delicate shade of vanilla, which complements the tiling, (biscuit and light terracotta). This took all day. Climbing up and down ladders and moving kitchen stuff out of the way then putting it back again consumed more time than the actual painting. One wall, which I had misguidedly painted a gruesome shade of nicotine, (see the video above), will need a second coat or three to hide the orange hint that has come through. But that's enough decorating for one day. I strongly suspect my right shoulder will be grumpy tomorrow. I have now finished transferring all my old Hubpages articles to this blog. Once upon a time, Hubpages served as a useful sideline for me, as articles published there earned decent revenue through the intelligently selected adverts placed on each webpage. However, Hubpages was sold, and the new owners had different ideas about the site, and moved away from the old magazine format ...