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Thursday, 25 April 2013

The Day I Killed a Camera.




I did warn them.

"Don't point that thing in my direction," I squealed, covering the lens with my palm, "It looks valuable and mine is a face suitable only for radio."

They laughed, told me not to be such a wuss, to sit still, smile sweetly and 'enjoy' having my picture taken. 

So I did. The flashes from the cameras, camera phones, ipads etc. lit up the spines of the books watching silently from the shelves all around us. I relaxed into it; ignoring the camera as I chatted and signed copies of my books, pretended no-one was filming when I stood up and made a speech about the power of words and the magic of imagination, had almost forgotten that the click and whirr noises were coming from a camera as I read an extract from the book I was launching, Demon's Blood.

We nibbled on Summer Rolls, dipped Chicken Satay into lime and chilli sauce, sipped (or guzzled!) wine or apple juice. The book launch was over. I relaxed and had fun.

And then I got a call a few days later. 

"Those photos I said you could have for your blog? Erm...there's a problem."

I got into the car and drove to his house where he was staring sadly at the screen of his computer.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting down beside him. "What's going on?"

"I'm so sorry," he said. "It seems that there's a problem with the memory card...the photos are lost."

I looked up to where the huge camera sat glaring at me from the shelf; I remembered the violence of the flash as it had gone about its business - catching pieces of my soul behind its lens, trapping my image on the memory card and locking it away forever.

I turned to the photographer. "I did warn you..."



Pics that survived my Medusa-like abilities, from the local paper - with thanks to the Coleraine Times (to my knowledge their photographer...and his camera...survived the encounter!).










Photo: God bless the Coleraine Times! Pics from the book launch. Don't your girls look fab Siobhan Fleming and Sharmayne Weir? Oh, and you look fab too, Neill Walker!!



















Huge thanks to everyone who came along and helped to launch my new book. It was great to see so many of you!
To the wonderful folks of Waterstones, Coleraine for allowing me such a wonderful opportunity - I truly appreciate all your support. And to 'Whoosh' who catered for the event (your food was absolutely incredible. I've had dreams about that lime and chilli sauce!) and my mum and dad who provided wine and juice to wet our whistles (love you xx). That was another night to add to my list of 'things-I-never-imagined-I'd-be-allowed-to-do-and-I will-remember-forever'.



Monday, 8 April 2013

Sticks and Stones...




I am a firm believer in the power of words.

I've never understood that saying..."Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". What a load of rubbish! Broken bones heal and take the memory of the pain suffered with them but the wounds you receive from someone's words can last a lifetime.

Not that all words are nasty and painful. 

There are 4 words which, once uttered, cast a magical spell enveloping the listener in a bubble of contentment and expectation - these four words release you from reality and give you permission to live another life; to travel in the shoes of a princess, a knight, a space adventurer, a vampire hunter - whatever you want to be, wherever you want to go.

And what are these four magical words?

Once Upon A Time...

Best wishes



Wednesday, 3 April 2013

A Versatile Blogger Award? For Meeeee?!



I am so tickled (and slightly over-awed) that my little blog has been nominated for A Versatile Blogger Award by the rather fabulous Sir Seumus Gallacher (he of the wonderful Jack Calder books). 

So, what IS this glorious accolade, I hear you cry. Well, The Versatile Blogger Award is given by bloggers to other bloggers who are producing posts that they enjoy reading and find interesting or informative. The fact that a) it's a nomination from another blogger is pretty darn special but b) it also gives you a little boost to know that not only is someone else actually READING what you write but they are also ENJOYING it.

Naturally you'll want to find out more about this nutter who has gifted me with this nomination; you can find him HERE doing his thing, which is entertaining and informing all around him with a big smile, a couple of custard creams and (more often than not) his own rendition of 'Amazing Grace'. If you enjoy well-written, fast paced thrillers with  excellent lead characters and attention to detail then you may also want to check out his novels, The Violin Man's Legacy and Vengeance Wears Black.

Now, there are REQUIREMENTS for accepting this reward...

Requirement 1:

Nominate other bloggers that you regularly follow and enjoy (you also have to let them know that they're being nominated). So here are my 10.

Debbie McCune
Peter Johnstone
Bernie McGill
David C Cassidy
Uproar Comics team (you mean you haven't heard of the DEC App yet?!!!)
E M Tippettts
Christine M Butler
Raebeth McGee-Buda
Joanne Clancy
Tom Tolkien

Requirement 2:

I have to tell you 7 things that you don't (or shouldn't) know about me. Oookaaaay. Buckle up...

1) I'm not a fan of spiders...actually I'm not a fan of anything with lots of legs and the potential to crawl up my arm *runs away screaming*!
2) I haven't been gifted with that gene that other women have - the one that makes them go gaga over bags and shoes. I just...no...
3) I HATE housework.
4) Being lifted off the ground, even just a couple of inches, makes me laugh (possibly 'cause it doesn't happen often and I know that the person doing the lifting is going to be walking like Quasimodo for about a fortnight afterwards!)
5) Going somewhere that I haven't been before makes me nervous - it's the whole 'getting lost' issue - I have to plan the route for DAYS before travelling.
6) I love art. I'm not an expert or anything close to it but I enjoy beautiful paintings and photography.
7) I get sick on pretty much ALL modes of travel. Bleugh!

So....now you know! Thank you so much Sir Seumas for the nomination. 

Best wishes