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!).

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'.

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

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

Book Launch Invitation!

It was about 5 years ago that I sat down and wrote a short story to amuse my daughter. At the time I was playing about with a manuscript that had been worked and reworked and then torn apart and written again several hundred times - a thriller with a twist. This short story was a major departure from the dastardly dealings of government agents, terrorist cells and other such shady shenanigans but I discovered that I rather enjoyed writing about Fallen Angels, Vampires and the like so I kept going.

Fast forward to today and Demon's Blood, the final part of the Emily Trilogy, is ready to launch.

Not only that but it is launching in an actual branch of Waterstones.

Not only that but the launch of my new book baby will be the first launch of its kind by any Waterstones in Ireland - the paperback and ebook will launch together on the same night.

To say that I'm honoured and slightly flabbergasted would be an understatement.

There will be wine (and juice), food, a reading, signing, paperbacks for sale, ebook to download in the shop on the night - it's going to be AMAZING!

And you are invited!

Should you find yourself in Northern Ireland on the evening on 4th April 2013, between 7 and 9 pm then why not make your way to Waterstones in Coleraine and say howdy - I would LOVE to see you.

From the mouths of teens...

Last week I was spoiled rotten - I got to visit schools every day for a full week and chat about books and writing with over 600 children between the ages of 4 and 17. It was great fun!

We read together, played games, took part in quizzes, chatted, laughed, wrote our way through creative writing workshops and enjoyed q&a exchanges. I visited school libraries, class rooms, assembly halls, cafeterias and staff rooms - meeting a wonderful mix of lovely friendly folk along the way.

On Tuesday I even had the privilege of visiting the school that was my inspiration for Emily's school in 'Demon's Daughter' and it was just as I hoped it would be - there was even a quad exactly as my imagination had conjured up. Excellent!

During one of the visits, after a particularly energetic and enthusiastic workshop, one of the pupils came up to chat to me afterwards. We talked a little about Louis Sachar, growing imaginations and how books get published and then he lifted a book from the table beside us and opened it to the dedication page. Biting his lip, he asked carefully, 'Who decides what name goes here?' I should point out that this young man had been the king of comedy during the workshop - always laughing and smiling, full of life, energy and questions - so his change of demeanour took me by surprise a little. 'The author,' I answered, fairly certain where the conversation was heading. 

I've never been more wrong about someone in my life. 

He nodded and sighed, glancing away for a moment, his face turning a little red, and then he looked me in the eye and said quietly, 'My friend is dying of cancer, please would you put his name on that page in your next book so that he knows I'm thinking of him.' 

Stunned, I asked him to write his friend's name down for me and told him that I'd think about it. He nodded, thanked me for a great workshop, wrote the name down and then left for his next class.

Consider me suitably humbled for judging that particular book by its cover.

Bailey - I haven't forgotten.

Cover Reveal - Demon's Blood by Ashley McCook

It's been almost a month since I posted here and this is why....

TA DA! Isn't it gorgeous?!

Demon's Blood, the last book in the Emily Trilogy will be out at the end of the month. YIPPEE!

Scattered Brain Seeks Clarity.

This week so far has been all about dealing with the day job, confirming bookings for World Book Week, finishing edits for book 3, getting feedback from book four's beta readers, uploading the edited file for book 3 to the designer and preparing for my son's birthday. Every time I have had the chance to write, something has managed to scupper the opportunity; the pen ran out of ink after three words, the pencils needed sharpening and I couldn't find a sharpener, the phone rang five minutes after I started writing, the washing/ironing/cleaning/insert own choice of diversion was calling to me from the room next door.

I'm not stupid: I know that these distractions are of my own making - I could find another pen, ransack the 'everything you don't use on a daily basis but shouldn't throw away is in here' drawer in the kitchen for sharpeners (there are probably about 100 hiding in there), unplug/switch off/silence the phone for an hour, remember that the housework will all still be there AFTER the words churning around in my head have been released onto a page.

So what's my issue? 

Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

#TBSU corner

http://davidccassidy.com/

http://peter-johnstone.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.timgreaton.blogspot.co.uk/

http://deborahjhughes.com/

http://www.britblaise.com/

http://elleamberley.co.uk/

http://brian-bigelow.blogspot.co.uk/