Friday, 12 February 2021

WriteOnCon kidlit writing conference – 19th-21st February 2021

Once again, WriteOnCon are holding their online kidlit writing conference. There are a mix of blog posts, Q&A sessions, workshops, discussions and feedback sessions all geared towards kidlit writers (anyone can attend, though, as a lot of advice will be universal). There’s still time to register, and there are different tiers of attendance, depending on your requirements. 

The forums are up and running from today, and you can polish your Twitter pitches, queries and the first 500 words of your manuscript with the aid of fellow writers. There’s even a ‘Supers’ district where agents, editors and professional writers might drop by to give feedback.

Hope to 'see' you there!


Sunday, 10 January 2021

How many books did I read in 2020?

Yes, once again it's time for my annual round-up! It's pretty much on par with the previous year, although I've got through more e-books this time around. I visited just one library last year (in February), but I borrowed a lot of Libraries West's e-books once lockdown started.

Here are my stats:

Borrowed from library: 1 physical book and 25 e-books.

My books: 16 physical books and 42 e-books.

Beta reads: 1 book.

Total: 17 physical books, 67 e-books and 1 beta read = 85 books. Not bad, eh?

How about you? How many books did you read in 2020?


Thursday, 3 December 2020

Merry Christmas 2020!

Well, this has been a tough year for everyone, that's for sure.

I'd like to wish all my readers a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Let's hope 2021 is a much better year for all!


 

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Poppies, Pumpkins and Autumn leaves

Whilst out and about on my daily walks recently, I've been heartened to see poppies on display in windows, pumpkins on garden walls, and the rich colours of Autumn leaves.















Sunday, 25 October 2020

A Fox in Autumn

Whilst out on my morning walk the other day, I spotted a fox loitering around. The photo doesn't show it, but this is in quite a residential area, and I was surprised how brazen it was!

The trees and hedgerow look lovely in the background, just turning colour now that autumn's arrived.

Sunday, 27 September 2020

The Pitch Wars submission window is now open!

What is Pitch Wars?

Here's the blurb from their website: 

Pitch Wars is a volunteer-run mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to mentor. Mentors read the entire manuscript and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for the agent showcase. The mentor also helps edit their mentee’s pitch for the contest and their query letter for submitting to agents. Mentors can participate solo or pair up and co-mentor.

During the agent showcase, each mentee is featured on a post that includes their pitch and the first page of their manuscript. Last year, we had nearly sixty agents participate in the showcase. Participating agents view the posts and make requests. With the help of Pitch Wars 2016, more than 50 authors were offered representation with many snagging book deals shortly after the contest!

Over the past seven years, Pitch Wars has changed many lives. Countless authors have been matched with agents and even gone on to book deals and successful careers. We’re over 300 successes as of 2017!! But most importantly, Pitch Wars has grown the writing community to connect author with author, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie as we go through all stages of revision and publishing.

The Pitch Wars submission window is now open until October 1 at 10pm EDT, so get your entry polished and submitted before the window closes.

Are you entering?  Good luck if you are!

Thursday, 6 August 2020

Quest to go Wild Foraging (Part Two)

Wild foraging is back!

This month I've discovered apples in an ancient orchard in one of the nature reserves I often frequent, as well as blackberries.

Score!