You may be interested to hear about a new avenue for self-publishing, this time for comics and graphic novels.  A company called comiXology invite people to submit their work for consideration - probably so the company can maintain good standards of art work and scripts.  Their FAQs state the submission process is free, and accepted works are paid 50% of the net profit on each sale, once a $100 threshold has been reached, (which is similar to Amazon's threshold).  Authors/creators retain their copyrights, so they can sell their work elsewhere also. Considering that, in the past, selling self-published comics and graphic novels tended to be limited to friends, comic expos (if you could afford a table!) or a bit of shelf space in a willing local shop, then comiXology sounds like a great opportunity for those whose art folios are already bursting at the seams with largely unseen work.

On Thursday 7th (tomorrow), I'll be amongst a group of writers who'll be reading some of their work to an audience at Bebington Library, Wirral.  Two other members of Riverside Writers, Tim Hulme and Peter Hurd, will also be taking part but I have no further details about who else might be. If I'm not mistaken, the event has been organised by the 3Ls .  I think the event starts at 7.30pm, and I have no idea if there's an entry fee.  My apologies for the rather vague information, but it's all I have!

Blackbird hunting for worms     This afternoon I tackled the half-moon shaped flowerbed located beside the entrance to the grove.  It was badly overgrown, so the first job was to remove the dry remnants of assorted wildflowers and the rapidly-growing spring weeds.  Before any ardent conservationist throws a wobbly, I'll point out that all the wildfowers came from commercial packets of seeds, and last year's seeds have already either done their own thing or are sitting in a shallow dish on the kitchen window sill.   Meawhile, nearby, Richard was wrestling with the sawn-down stump of a Robinia pseudoacacia, a lovely tree whose oval leaves turn an attractive golden colour in autumn.  Unfortunately it also has thorns the size of rhino horns, and we were fed up of being lacerated each time we mowed the lawn.  We had tried pruning it back hard for several years with mixed success and much spillage of blood. Verdict:  a gorgeous tree, in the wrong place.    So I resc

Apparently, the New York Public Library has spent $1million USD on ebooks and is planning a major re-design of the old building which will create large, airy spaces, a cafe, and remove old and hardly-used books to stacks in the basement. Closer to home, Liverpool Central Library is already undergoing a major structural overhaul, which promises to look amazing once finished and I'm looking forward to seeing it re-open. Wirral Libraries are also changing.  In their draft strategy  for the future, they write, "The Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport quotes a decline in the number of visits to library premises of around 25% over a 16 year period, and a steady decline in the loans of adults’ books over the decade prior to 2008/9 by more than a third." It goes on to define the library service as: "4 .1 - Wirral library is a friendly, accessible place that provides a safe, trusted and welcoming resource aimed at meeting the needs of the local commu

I filmed this on my Kodak EasyShare C340 camera on a grey and blustery but pleasant day earlier this week.  The place looks different again in summer, and with a different quality of light.  In the summer, when the beach is plastered with sun-worshippers, or when the marina is in use for various watersports, there's another atmosphere altogether.  But I like the place when it's nearly deserted...  Anyway, the video shows one of the locations from Rowan: An Artisan-Sorcerer Story, and it pans round to show Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre Island which feature in several of my stories.  I don't suppose it really matters if a reader can view real-life footage of a place used in fiction but it can be fun all the same.  And besides, I enjoy tinkering with my camera. Meet Alice!  She's the newest addition to my small collection of dolls.  She was made by Pedigree sometime in the 1950's, which means she's classed as vintage rather than as an antique.  Her litt

Stapledon Woods, West Kirby, Wirral  Gilroy Nature Park, West Kirby, Wirral.      It's snowing.  It's winter, so that's not so unusual.  From the media fuss, however, a person might imagine that the wintry weather had come unexpectedly despite this being January, and despite January often being the coldest month of any year here in England.  It's not that cold really - the pond in Gilroy Nature Park isn't even frozen at the edges.   I've made a start on a new cross-stitch, using 24-count black Aida.  It's ages since I've done any cross-stitch!  I got thoroughly fed up with counted cross-stitch as it's tedious constantly having to count the coded squares on the chart then count the holes on the Aida to know where to stitch.  Fiddle to that!  Never again.  This time I wanted to create a cross-stitch peacock, so I bought some Aida off eBay, took a few photos of peacocks from Google Images, then used a loose running stitch in a con

I opened the pantry door and selected two dog-chew hats, one each for Emily and Poppi.  Emily pounced on hers immediately, but Poppi hadn't seen one before - so far as I know - and so she was more cautious.  She soon got the idea, though, as can be seen in this very short video.  For some reason, all the shadows have an unfortunate yellow-ochre cast which makes both Poppi and duvet look grubby.  Maybe this was caused by me filming under an electric light?  Both the dog and duvet are very clean, in actuality.  Anyway, apart from that technical glitch, I hope the video makes you smile. The year has got off to a promising start for Spooky Cute Designs , as my online store has just been awarded Pro-Seller status.  Yay for me!  So, thank you to all those people who've treated themselves to a little something from Spooky Cute Designs!  And I've recently added a new product range, so if you're fond of jigsaw puzzles then feel free to discover what is available so far. R