Seems to come around quicker each year. Our neighbours already have Christmas trees up and decorated. I have indulged in my first mince pies of the season. (For non-UK readers: mince pies aren’t made with meat. They are very sweet small pies with fruit filling which has often been soaked in brandy – or something similar) Now looking forward to the first taste of mulled wine – another festive treat.
No new books from me this year. But, once again, I would point you in the direction of my Christmas stories. Christmas at Winterbourne is now eight years old but I think it stands the test of time. Lots of fun and games at a lesbian retreat in Sussex.
Halloween is almost upon us. However, Hebden Bridge isn’t hosting a Pumpkin Trail this year. These photos are from a few years ago when pumpkin carving took place in St George’s Square and delightful pumpkin scenes were scattered through the town.
Meanwhile, the garden centre in Walsden has certainly gone all out with Mr Riggs’ Pumpkin Patch. My knowledge of the large orange fruit is fairly limited, so I didn’t know there were white pumpkins (and some other different-coloured squash varieties as well). Also thought it was a vegetable until I Googled it. (That reminds me of a debate in one of Jasper Fforde’s books – was the Gingerbread Man a cake or a biscuit (cookie in US-speak)?)
Speaking of tasty snacks, it’s now come to light that a Penguin is no longer classed as a ‘chocolate’ biscuit. The manufacturers say that consumers won’t notice a difference in taste. Now that the coating is out of the wrapper so to speak, we will be testing this claim for authenticity.
These words by Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan were a catch-phrase when I was growing up in the sixties. Along with “Global village” – a concept also attributed to McLuhan. People around the world were now connected through the technologies of the time. One of the main concerns was the impact of television on behaviour…the good and the bad effects. His ideas from the last century are even more relevant today. Although the messages in the media are now more accessible on a personal level.
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools and thereafter the tools shape us.”
This is another McLuhan quote which I think epitomises where we are with AI at this moment in time. At first it was a tool with limited use…search engines, auto-correct on our texts and emails…to the overarching use now. We’re realising the negative effects too late to pull back. So the only option is to embrace it but be aware of its limitations. For example, if students use it to write essays, they need to do fact-checking, where possible, and also check any references provided – as they are may not actually exist. Spelling is still a useful skill. Otherwise how do you know if the auto-correct is correct.
Ever since the invention of photo-enhancing software, it’s been possible to create fake images. But that needed a degree of mastering the full range of an application’s features which not everyone undertook. My use of Photoshop, for example, was limited to cropping and lightening or darkening photographs. Now more advanced features can be done easily with AI tools. A swipe of your finger and the overflowing rubbish bin spoiling a scenic view is gone.
We’re seeing the damaging effects on all creative arts, not just photography: writing, acting, painting. Where does it end? Everything you view or experience can be or has been faked.
Soon, as anyone who reads/watches science-fiction knows, human beings will be surplus to requirements. And, who is to say that’s a bad thing considering the mess we’ve managed to make of living on this planet.
On a different note, I hope you’ve all enjoyed a lovely summer. It’s been a dry and sunny one for most parts of the UK. Here in Yorkshire, we have a hosepipe ban in place as the reservoirs, rivers and canals are at extremely low levels. Now that we’re in September, I’m sure the rains will come and we can start moaning about the cold and wet.
If you haven’t read any of my books, then here’s a link to my publisher’s website. I can assure you that none of them have been written with the help of AI. My own un-artificial, limited level of intelligence came up with the stories.
I conducted a survey of how may cats have featured in my novels. So far, it’s a total of 13 in ten books.
Fleur and Soames: The Starling Hill Trilogy (Starting Over/Arc Over Time/Carved in Stone)
Stevie: The Circle Dance
Hermione: Running From Love
Slinky and Babs: Deuce
Jasper: Country Living
Marge, Bart, and Korky: Darcy Comes Home
JonSnow/Dusty and Micah: Changing Times
Loki: A Wild Moon Rises
I’m very much a cat person, while my wife prefers dogs. But we have neither as pets because of allergies. Therefore, I’m stuck for photos of resident cats to accompany this blog post. However, there is this limited selection of visitors and neighbouring felines.
Piddles: rescued from freezing outside our door. Taken in by the family next door and so named by the children as she wasn’t house-trained.
Sammy: seen through neighbouring window in his favourite bird-watching spot.
Ginger: real name not known but a fairly regular visitor as he roams around the area. Always up for a scratch and a cuddle.
So if you’re looking for summer reading featuring lesbians with cats, there’s a fine selection available with the links below.
I was a regular customer of several coffee shops in Hebden Bridge until March 2020. After that, lockdowns came and went, but my frequent consumption of cappuccinos never returned. I saved a lot of money plus additional calories – because where there was coffee, there was very likely cake.
One of my usual haunts was Mooch on Market Street. It became a favourite when I discovered the shelf containing books for sale had a selection of lesbian fiction titles, some dating back to the last century. I know I picked up a Stoner Mctavish book there as well as one of Joan Nestle’s anthologies.
On publication of my first book, Starting Over, I asked the owner if it was okay for me to add one of my books to the shelf. She was happy with that and over the years I’ve placed at least one of each of my novels there. A Wild Moon Rises is the latest one to be added.
The selection has dwindled somewhat since my coffee days, but I was pleased to see five of my titles have disappeared. I hope they’ve gone to good homes.
This is a hot topic at the moment with many readers wanting to boycott a certain outlet. It has been pointed out by many other authors (and some readers) that this will only hurt the little people…ie. independent authors and small publishers. (And even the larger publishers in our community will suffer as they don’t have the same financial resources as mainstream ones).
Looking for an alternative? My publisher, Affinity Rainbow Publications, has a website. You can purchase ebooks directly from them. Well worth a look and you may come across some authors you hadn’t heard of before.
All my novels and audio books with links to a range of outlets are listed here. After Affinity, Amazon is next one named on the list because that’s where most of my sales come from. There’s no getting away from the fact that it has the widest reach on a global scale that no other company can match. But, the alternatives are there to use – for ebooks anyway.
Print books are another matter altogether. Amazon’s Print On Demand service is also a boon to small businesses. Mainstream publishers can deal with large print runs in terms of not just the print costs but also distribution and storage.
So, here is where to find my books. Please have a browse and maybe take a chance on a lesser-known author and publisher.
Writing a book is hard work. For me, anyway. So when it’s finally polished off and released into the world, there’s an anxious wait for acknowledgment that I might have achieved something worthwhile. A book that will garner glowing reviews and lots of five star ratings. Friends and relatives are the first readers I usually hear from. Whether on not they really liked the story, they make polite noises about enjoying it.
Actual reviews from my target audience (likely anyone who is reading this blog) are few and getting fewer each year. So, it was a great relief to receive this wonderfully worded review from Carol at LesBiReviewed. She also managed to comment on the story lines without giving away any spoilers. (Links to video review and Goodreads review) Very nice certificate too!
This quote from Carol’s review has stayed with me:
…I loved every second of this story, from the picturesque scenery and imagery of Briarbay to Mal and Selene’s slight awkwardness but cute attraction to one another. And it had a little scandal thrown in too, but not what I expected. In fact the whole story was just one big unexpected surprise.…
Reviews are important to authors. It’s often said reviews are for readers to help them decide on whether or not a particular book is for them. But it’s also meaningful to the writer to know whether or not they’ve done a good job. It only needs to be a few words, or just a star rating.
A Wild Moon Rises is also available on audio – narrated by Nicola Victoria Vincent.
With the cold weather, both before Christmas and now, my outdoor activity is somewhat limited. But it’s a great time to indulge in binge-reading. I tend to do that, rather than binge-watching TV shows. Although I have to confess to watching The Expanse series three times. I’m now watching Silo and I’m sure it will be a re-watch in the not too distant future.
The Expanse books are one of my binges and I finished re-reading them just before Christmas. And the weeks before I started them, I re-read the Chronicles of Alsea.
What to read next? Some comfort reading is required so it’s a toss up between books by Erik Schubach and Jane Fletcher. Sorry, Erik, but Jane won the toss. I’ve started with my favourite in her Celaeno series, The Temple at Landfall. It’s the only one I have in paperback. As you can see from the photos here, I enjoy reading printed books.
All this reading is great, but not a lot of writing is happening. However, I am pleased with the reception my last book received, including the audio version.
So, wishing everyone a happy new year, with longer days and better weather to come. (And maybe some creative inspiration will drop out of the sky too.)
Always fun to see all the Christmas stories promoted at this time of year…ranging from short stocking fillers to full on season-long romance. My Christmas offerings are a few years old now, but I think they stand the test of time. I certainly enjoyed looking in on the family at Winterbourne House to write a short story for Affinity’s 2020 Christmas Anthology. Lots of festive traditions mixed in with some lesbian shenanigans (including the obligatory Christmas cracker jokes). Worth taking a look at Affinity’s Christmas Medley collection of stories from 2017 too.
Audio book update
A Wild Moon Rises, narrated by Nicola Victoria Vincent, is now available on more sites including Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, and Spotify.
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