Baboon by the Keyboard

Well, THAT was better! And one of the reasons this week gets a gold star and last week gets a black hole is that THIS week I had a poem come out in Issue 18 of Northwords Now. It's called 'Baboon by the Keyboard' and it's on p. 19.

Northwords Now is such a good thing - and not just because they took a poem! A quick look at the website shows you the quality and enthusiasm of this venture, and the newspaper-format version can be found for free all over Scotland in bookshops and libraries, in art galleries and cinemas and cafes and theatres. Great short fiction, reviews, poetry (!) and I love the covers.

Another reason for the goodness of the week would be that I worked hard and got words done.

Oh, and I posted a blog on Girls Heart Books - 'Who Says Science Fiction is Just For Boys? Not Me!'

So that's the news from here. Onwards and, er, onwards.

Cheers, Joan.

That Was the Week That Wasn't

Some weeks nothing you want works out.

Don't worry, I'm not going to make a list of all the things that didn't happen for me.

(But if I WERE to make such a list it would have to include NOT sleeping through the night, NOT ONCE, probably due to some anachronistic Calvanistic monkey gene in my brain that says "Those who cross the Atlantic in one night must be punished" ... to which gene I would reply "I've already BEEN punished! Where were you when I got sat beside the woman who oozed over onto my seat with her bottom, monopolized the "shared" armrest, poked me repeatedly with her specially-sharpened elbows, and wore so much perfume I swear she should have been required to buy it its own ticket? Eh? Eh?")

But, no, no list, because I'm busy trying to rise above it all. This is a picture of me doing just that.



And in the spirit of tinsel, here are a couple of things that DID happen:

I had an interview on YA Book Reads - thanks!

And I blogged on Kindle Authors uK about The Diary from the Rim - in which I talk about Kindling and covers in a cheerful fashion.

So will next week be better? I certainly hope so. Otherwise, my next post may have to be titled "The Fortnight of Despair" and NOBODY wants that.

Cheers, Joan.

Kindled - Diary from the Rim and other stories

Well, we did it!* One son did the technical stuff, another son did the cover art, and I fussed round the edges. (And then left the country. Though there wasn't necessarily a direct causal link between the two ...)

I hope you all like it as much as I do. Or even half as much, since I'm prejudiced on SO many levels here.

And it's great to be back in the land of low temperatures and high rainfall. It really is.

Cheers, Joan.

P.S. And it was also great that the scheduled posting option worked - Yay Blogger!

* And here.

Photo Diary

And remember, this weekend is the AWFULLY BIG BLOG ADVENTURE'S ONLINE LITERARY FESTIVAL! Join the excitement at http://awfullybigblogadventure.com - I'm in there somewhere - look for the flamingoes.

Biggar Poetry Garden

If you are by any chance travelling along the old Roman road that links the Clyde Valley with Musselburgh (otherwise known as the A702) this summer, you might like to pause and visit Biggar's Poetry Garden. Partly because it's such a pleasant idea, putting poetry and a garden together, and partly because I know for certain I'm not going to be passing that way and I'd love to have a photo of my poems, up on the Poetry Boards for the next 3 months. However, if you don't expect Biggar to be part of your holiday itinerary, you can see the poems online here.

Cheers, Joan.