It's Here!!

Finally, the first issue of The Yellow Room Magazine has arrived. I'm so excited. It's like the birth of a new baby. I'm just going off to have lunch and browse through it, then this afternoon I'll be off to the post office to send them out to subscribers. I can't wait to hear what they think once they've read it.

New additions

Not the best photo in the world! These are just a few of the best books I've written this year. If you scroll down a few posts and keep looking on the left hand side, you'll see I've added a list of my favourite books this year as well as a list of blogs I regularly read. I'll add more lists in the near future.

I haven't achieved much in the way of writing this week. I've done a fair bit of blogging, I guess, and written a little more of the story I'm writing for Writelink's Christmas Spine Chiller Competition. I keep getting my priorities all wrong. Hopefully I'll do better next week. Once I've finished labelling and stuffing envelopes for the first issue of The Yellow Room, that is!

Cover Proof

Yesterday I received the cover proof of the first issue of The Yellow Room (see photo). Doesn’t it look good? I’m getting excited now about talking delivery of the first issue on Monday. It’s been a long wait, but I do hope it’s worth it. There hasn’t been a great uptake of subscriptions yet, but I’m hoping once the magazine is available and people have read the first issue, then they’ll want to commit to more.

I’m still reading The Yellow Room Competition entries. There were 115 in total. Nothing has hit me between the eyes yet, but I have shortlisted a few.

I’ve started a new blog called The Purple Kitchen (http://thepurplekitchen.blogspot.com/), which is all about healthy eating, trying to lose weight and exercising. There’s a fair bit about the psychology of it all as well! I hope you’ll take a look!

Bitting and Bobbing

I don't feel as if I've achieved very much recently. I've decided I must have one of those 'butterfly minds' Jane Wenham-Jones talks about. Did I mention I met Jane at the Warwick Words Literary Festival a couple of weeks ago? We had a great time catching up. She's busy writing another novel and doing the literary festival circuit (she's interviewing Richard Madeley about his new book at the Guildford Literary Festival this week!). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, flitting from one thing to another. I'm good at that.

I've been reading some of the 115 stories entered in the first Yellow Room Short Story Competition. The magazine is at the printers and there have been a few details to address there. I should be taking delivery of the first issue on Monday. Isn't it exciting? I've also been busy organising Megan's birthday party (ten pin bowling with fifteen 7-year-olds on Saturday!), and sorting out a costume for her history day at school today (I bought the material, her Nan made it and Megan looked lovely!). I've been dabbling with short stories again, as the novel is just too big a project to face at the moment. I've also been trying to get my head together generally. Oh yes, and I've been reading novels! Did I mention ironing, shopping, vacuuming, helping with homework, cooking, finding new recipes, reading blogs, emailing friends, writing letters, going for long hikes with friends, going to the gym, keeping up with Strictly Come Dancing and It Takes Two, taking my mother-in-law to the airport....? Makes me sound busy, doesn't it? However, I've felt like a lazy slob the past month or so.

Anyway, the iron is switched on as I write. I did two shirts, then took a break to write this. See what I mean about bitting and bobbing? I'll probably iron two more; switch it off; go to gym; then switch it back on this afternoon! I've stopped telling myself I must focus. I just can't do it!