Wirral's annual Bookfest began today, with a chick-lit event at Bromborough Civic Centre with authors Lesley Pearse and Judy Astley.  Tuesday sees Professor Stephen Hawking at Birkenhead Central Library, talking about a replica Viking longship named Draken Harald Fairhair, which will sail to Wirral from Norway next year.  Wednesday brings Sir Andrew Motion, a former Poet Laureate, to Bromborough Civic Centre.  There are two events on Thursday 13th.  Elizabeth Williams, of the Gaskell Society, will give a talk at Bebington Central Library about the role of love in Jane Austen's and Charlotte Bronte's fiction.  The history of Birkenhead will be the subject of a talk by Elizabeth Davey at Upton Library. The event which interests me the most will be held at Wallasey Central Library on Friday, when Gavin Chapell will give a talk about the infamous Wirral privateer called Fortunatas Wright.  Personally, I suspect Wright might just be a pseudonym used by Spanish Jones....  F

Several people have asked me why I've recently self-published two ebooks, Spanish Jones and Dark Tides .  In the past, I've been dead set against self-publishing.  Vanity publishing (where you pay a company to publish your book) is mostly an expensive dead-end, and self-publishing (where you DIY) requires much product promotion, can also be pricey, and in the past wasn't taken seriously.  The given wisdom was that people only self-publish when no-one will buy their book. Is that still true in 2011?  If readers didn't take self-published ebooks seriously, they wouldn't be buying them.  And they are, in ever increasing numbers, to the point that ebook sales are now apparently overtaking paperback sales. Producing an ebook can cost nothing but time if an author can create their own eye-catching front covers and do their own editing.  In my case, I went to art school where I studied art and design; I've worked as a photographer and an editor; and I also get pra

Four schoolboys play truant in ancient woodland on Caldy Hill, Wirral, where they are taught a lesson they didn't bargain for. This modern faerie tale was recorded live on 7 Waves Radio in 2008, and is read by the author, Adele Cosgrove-Bray.   

Read live on Cath Bore's show on 7 Waves Radio, in December 2008; written in 2008. Enjoy!   

Event poster.   Adele Cosgrove-Bray   Tim Hulme   Peter Caton   Dave   Peter   Audience participation from Helen Brickwood   Audience participation from Frank Hogan   Note:  The lovely photography exhibition which served as our backdrop is by pupils from West Kirby Residential School.

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. 

With spring now well underway, perhaps it was inevitable that Riverside Writers latest meeting turned into an informal discussion about the passage of time and how much people hoped to achieve, writing-wise, during the coming year.  Several people mentioned frustration over poor responses to submissions.  That's when they even get a response!  Despite the reply-by times offered as part of submission guidelines, in practice many agents and publishers don't reply at all, not even with a pro forma email.  Meanwhile, the writer is left dangling, waiting to receive a response to the MS they spent several hours tweaking in order to fulfill each set of submission guidelines.  Weeks turn into months, and no reply comes.  For my part, in one instance I received a 'thanks but no thanks' letter from an agent one entire year later, though they claimed to reply to queries within six to eight weeks.   In another case, an anthology which accepted one of my stories in 2007 still h

On Saturday, July 9th, Riverside Writers will present Telling Tales, a free afternoon of new fiction and poetry to be hosted by West Kirby Library, Wirral. Press Release for this Event

We've been enjoying viewing Robin of Sherwood   which has Michael Praed in the heroic woodsman-archer-rebel role.  Many people would have viewed it years ago on TV, but it's new to our eyes.  It's interesting to note an element of pagan references woven into the plot, one obvious example being the appearances of Herne the Hunter.  Even these-days, with the ever-growing avalanche of New Age fluff, it isn't often that a TV series or film contains references to Britain's pre-Xtian religions.  And on those occasions when they do, the tendency is to trot out stereotypical superstitions and historical inaccuracies.  The argument for this claims that viewers want entertainment over factual information.  The result is that many people mistake fiction for fact. Viewers don't want to know that people living rough in a forest would have been crawling with lice, ticks and fleas.  They don't want heroes with decaying teeth, rickets and other visual signs of life-lon

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

Following from the success of Riverside Writers first anthology, which was published in 2010, the group has decided to produce a second collection of original fiction and poetry.  Submission guidelines can be viewed on our group website:  http://www.myspace.com/riversidewriters

Fourteen people attended last night's Riverside Writers meeting, including three new people and return visits from two people who joined us only last month.  And that's with three regulars absent! One of second-time-around visitors was Lisa Hinsley, whose Fantasy book Coombe's Wood is available on Kindle.   The product description reads:  "Izzy Santana and her 13-year-old son Connor move into a flat in the sleepy village of Cedham. Locals darkly warn her to stay away from nearby Coombe’s Wood, hinting first at elves, then at multiple murders… " This month's group project was to create a poem or short story starting with "The door was locked."  Most people had written something; in fact we ran out of time before everyone could read aloud their work.  As Chair, I try to fix things so that anyone who doesn't get chance to read at a meeting has first go next time.  This latest batch of stories were rather sombre in tone.  Clive said that between

The contents are: Peter Hurd: The Literary Chicken; Carbon Footprints; A Matter of Principle. Tim Hulme: The Sugar Loaf; The Mckechnie Plunger; One More Day. Carol Falaki: Equal Footing; I Am; Eran . Peter Caton: The 437; Grandads; Zi and The Boy. Adele Cosgrove-Bray: Food; Party Time; Shell Boy . Andy Siddle: Old Poet; The Old Wirral Line; The Present. Eileen Brown: Waiting; Autumn . Catherine Evans-Hewitt: Celebrity . Clive McLaren: Crippen's Couplet; Water Refelctions; Handsome Is As Handsome Does. The anthology costs £3 and is available  from Riverside Writers' events; Lingham's Bookshop in West Kirby, Wirral; Hoylake Library; West Kirby Library. By the way, Shell Boy features Rowan, albeit in an anonymous capacity.

 If you like children's books, then give  Ingo by Helen Dunmore a try. This story about mermaids off the Cornish coast was imaginative and thoughtful, and introduces the reader to two modern-day children who are grieving for their father. The mermaids may be enchanting but can they be trusted? I can’t wait to read the second in the new series. Also good was   North Child   by Edith Pattou , which has elements of Beauty and the Beast and The Snow Queen. The heroine comes from a farming family who’ve run into hard times. She is pushed into a dangerous and scary life with a talking polar bear - but who is the polite stranger who sleeps beside her each night? Several members of Riverside Writers enjoy reading children’s literature. They admit that having kids or grandkids is a great excuse to indulge in the latest stories. I have no such excuse - but who cares! On Monday, May 24th, local author and playwright Marc Gee will be giving a public talk about his writing career and ne

Ashton Park’s rose garden has a path lined with cherry trees, and they’re all in full blossom right now. A slow stream of ice-pink confetti drifts down on all who stroll beneath. On the park pond it’s serious nest-building time. A pair of coots are trying their best to attach a pile of sticks to the base of the fountain. That a 30’ jet of water streaks past their little heads is no deterrent. Maybe this is the same pair of coots who successfully built a nest there last year. The dogs and I virtually had the beach to ourselves earlier today. Right now, they’re flaked out - one stretched out along the back of one couch, and other curled up on a tuffet facing the sunshine streaming in through the French doors. Tonight is Riverside Writers’ AGM. Is our anthology ready to go to the printers tomorrow? Will the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer be re-elected (again)? And will we break our own record for the fastest AGM, which currently stands at ten minutes flat? Let’s be honest here - ha

Yaay, we have sunshine! This means that my two little dogs are gazing at me with their best pleading expressions, which roughly translate into English as, “Walkies! Walkieeees!! Waaalkieeeeees!!!!!” Ok, ok; I get the message, pooches. Un momento, si? As may be guessed, the dusty language CD has been dusted down and (Attempt to) Learn A New Language proceeds (as poorly as before, actually) despite me being rather busy posting adverts for Richard’s studio across every reachable corner of our cyber-realm. After Easter, his tattoo studio will be open six days a week - Monday to Saturday, 11am - 5pm approx. This week, he tattooed a lady who was in her seventies. She wanted roses flowing over her breast and shoulder, and she intends to have the design extended so it will continue down her arm. Chris brought in his new acoustic bas guitar and sat down playing that - and if you visit the studio today you’ll hear Chris and Lee jamming on their guitars together. Lee’s performed in folk

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

Our hallway is blocked by two huge boxes containing the new chicken house. The blurb insists it will take between ten and fifteen minutes to convert these two flat-packs into the house and run but having experienced the joys of self-assembly before, I remain sceptical. The chicken house which Mum gave me is made from re-used wood and isn’t as watertight as it needs to be. It soaks up water from beneath, which is very bad for the birds’ health. Plus we wanted to give them a bigger run anyway. So I scoured the internet and found something much better. All I have to do now is assemble it then we can have our hall back and Hattie and Joyce can move house (again!) I’m just back from a trip into the village. There’s an icy wind coming off the sea today but it’s pleasant once you get walking. I’d tackle the flat-packs now but the light will be fading soon, and so instead I’ll update this blog. So what’s new? Well, I’ve now completed the first draft of Bethany Rose , and am happy with

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