Friday 18th saw me cruising along the shroppie - the Shropshire Union Canal, if you like - departing from The Cheshire Cat, in Christleton, and sailing to the Crow's Nest winding point at Tattenhall. We sailed by lovely countryside, past masses of moored narrowboats and cruisers, and the kind of houses that you'd need to be made of stone not to feel envious of.  Everyone enjoyed the day, and even though rain was constant this did not dampen our spirits as we watched cows peering at us through hedges, saw various waterfowl swimming around, and peeped into mysterious-looking copses of mossy old trees.  The next day, I felt tired out. How can looking out of windows be so tiring? Answers below, please. Other news: While waiting for a few weeks to tick by before starting on the editing/rewriting process for The Sorcerer, (my 5th Artisan-Sorcerer novel), I've been compiling a collection of short stories that relate in some way to this series. Many of these stories have been publ...

As mentioned in recent posts, I've been experimenting with creating videos in an attempt to improve my skills in this area. This one was easier than anticipated, as Rowan's depiction here was very clear in my head. He's taking a stroll along the beach between West Kirby and Hoylake, and in the background is a close approximation of Hilbre Island. The video makes Hilbre look closer to the mainland shore than it really is, but this was the only way to get much detail into the image, otherwise the buildings would have looked like tiny pale blobs.  Rowan's wearing a second-hand dinner jacket bought from a local charity shop, and his jeans are the pair that his Aunt Lydia keeps trying to coax him to let her mend - to no avail, as Rowan likes them as they are. He's carrying the camera that Aiden bought for him. If you've never heard of Hilbre Island, then you can read about it and see photos here . And if you haven't a clue who Rowan is, then read the novel!

 Here is a very short video to introduce the Artisan-Sorcerer novels and short stories. The image was generated following a detailed description from me, and under my direct guidance.  The scene is of the lounge in the Artisan-Sorcerer's home. On the walls you can see one of Fabian's masks, and paintings by Bethany Rose and Jim. The bookshelves are crammed with books, CDs and DVDs, as described in the novels, and some of Bethany Rose's patchwork cushions are on the chairs. The chess board references the frequent games mentioned in passing in the stories. And you can also see Morgan with his two dogs.

The first draft of the 5th Artisan-Sorcerer novel is now finished.  Phew! What a protracted task that turned out to be. 50,000 words into the first manuscript, I decided that I disliked it - a lot. So I set it aside for a while - a long while. Having picked up the project again, I then threw away around 25,000 words, and then re-wrote much of what was left. And then, of course, I needed to write the rest of the story. I can't say much about the whys and wherefores of my decisions without giving away spoilers. Let's just say I'm happy with this version. When I've given it a month or so break without even peeping at it, I'll most likely find plenty to find fault with, but this is typical of any editing stage. There's a lot of work yet, editing, re-writing, editing again, polishing, etc. But it's on its way!  

  Click on the image to view it larger Here it is, the new banner for my Artisan-Sorcerer novels, designed partly with AI, (please read my recent post about this issue before spouting off!), but with a huge amount of guidance on concept design and imagery from me.The text is 100% my work, and this description has already been in use for a few years. From left to right are: Bethany Rose, Rowan, Tamsin, and Fabian. Bethany has one of her sketchbooks, Rowan has his camera, Tamsin's wearing her beloved ankh cross, and Fabian's... well, being Fabian. One of his masks is amongst the symbols tucked away in the border. In the background are the Palm House in Sefton Park, the Liver Buildings (Three Graces), and the Liverpool waterfront -- not without a bit of poetic/artistic license, as anyone with even a smattering of knowledge of the city will know that Sefton Park is definitely not on the waterfront. The park is just over the road from the Artisan-Sorcerer's shared home, though...

  It's getting there, honest! There are 1.5 scenes to write, and the end will be reached. (And then there'll be endless edits and rewrites...) But progress on the fifth Artisan-Sorcerer novel is moving forward. I have the front cover waiting. Watch this space for the reveal. There are new covers for the others in the series, too. A publication date? I'm not going to rush this. The end of October, perhaps? Is that too optimistic? Time will tell.

  In recent weeks, I've been busy creating new book covers as I have almost finished writing the first draft of the 5th Artisan-Sorcerer novel. It's been tricky ensuring the details on the covers are right, that the figures look exactly like the characters in the story in my head, and that the covers, when viewed together, present a clear visual theme to prospective readers. I'm not ready to reveal the covers just yet. I need to sit with the designs for a while, waiting to make sure they're right. The image above is an older "explainer" graphic made on Canva, which I will need to update to match the new, improved covers. I've now pinned-up print-outs of the covers so I can patiently study them over the next week or so. There is so much to consider, such as text size, visual language, creating a visual hook, and so on. Back in my art school days I took two additional courses to my main Fine Art Painting subject: Design, and Critical Studies. The courses did...

 

 

 

 This article was originally published on Hubpages in July 2009. Standing on Hilbre Island, looking across the mouth of the River Dee and into the Irish Sea Hilbre Island in the Dee Estuary The islands of Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre are located at the mouth of the Dee Estuary on the border between England and Wales. Hilbre is a designated nature reserve and Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area, a Ramsar site, (a wetland of international importance), and a candidate for designation as a European Union Special Area of Conservation. The islands and the estuary provide a vital feeding and resting place for thousands of migrating birds, such as Greenland Wheatear, Redshank, Dunlin, Cormorant, Skylark, Bluethroat, Dark-bellied Brent, Shag and Common Scoter. A large mixed colony of Harbour or Common seals and Atlantic Grey seals live in the estuary and often swim up to the islands. They usually sunbathe on West Hoyle Sandbank. The journey from littl...

 This article was originally published on Hubpages, in March 2010. Caldy Hill (260ft high) sits on the west coast of Britain, on the Wirral peninsula, between the villages of West Kirby and Caldy. The following photographs were all taken on 17th March, 2010, during a walk around Stapledon Woods on Caldy Hill, often mistakenly named Caldy Woods. Spring was only just beginning to re-awaken in the woods, which are home to a wide variety of wildlife, deciduous and evergreen trees, gorse and heather. This woodland was given to the people of West Kirby by science-fiction writer, William Olaf Stapledon, who lived in Caldy and who re-named the woods after himself. Prior to this, they were named Thor's Wood. The whole area covers 250 acres, 13 of these being owned by the National Trust, and includes Newton Common and Stapledon Woods. Woodland paths snake over leaves and rock. Winding Paths of Stapledon Woods Walking around Caldy Hill can be tricky, and stout footwear is advisable. If you wa...

 

Progress on The Sorcerer is being made - and yes, the 5th novel in the series now has a title. The title is breathtakingly simple, true, but when you finally get to read it you'll probably understand its choice. It's a story about facing changes, the need to adapt to change, and about taking control. This is as big a hint as I'll be giving. The book already has a cover, in the style of the recently revealed new covers for the previous four books, but I won't share that until nearer the publication date. Anyway, it feels good to have reached the 69,000 word-count length, even though there is a lot of work to be done yet. This book has been slow-going; in fact it's easily been the most challenging of the series to write. I stopped writing it for quite some time, then re-read it and threw away around 25,000 words as I just wasn't happy with the direction it was going in. Was that 25,000 reduction hard to make? Well, yes and no. While it seemed like a huge chunk o...

  New covers for the four published Artisan-Sorcerer novels can now be shared.  A new cover for Intimations is planned, too, which is a collection of short stories from the series. I'm thinking of expanding this ebook and releasing it as in paperback form, too. There's also a cover for the fifth novel in the series, already designed to ensure that all five covers will look cohesive as a set. I'm going to wait to share this one, though, until nearer its publication time, which is planned to be in 2026. Let me know what you think of the four new covers.

   I hope you enjoy listening to my reading of the opening section of Bethany Rose, from my Artisan-Sorcerer series of short stories and novels. I recorded it using a Fifine microphone, which simply plugs into a port in my desktop computer. This gives a noticeably better sound than the in-built mic, and has proved its worth already. The camera used is the PC's own. I have an Asus all-in-one desktop, and the camera has been placed underneath the screen. It would have been much better if it had been placed at the top of the screen, as this low angle gives an unfortunate view of my chin, even after I've raised the whole thing up considerably by stacking books underneath it. Oh well, that's just one more design flaw to look out for next time I'm buying a PC, whenever that might be.

 You're invited to read this interview with me:- https://www.robbwallace.co.uk/fantasy-author-interviews/adele-cosgrove-bray-interview/