In precisely two weeks time, I shall be in Venice. The last time I was there was 2005 – distressing, given how much I love this unique city, la serenissima. And especially shocking, since my sister lives there. Ten years. How is that possible? Well, a lot has happened in…
Music: Midwife of Creativity
This time, I’m going to open by giving a mention to one of my favourite people, the fabulous Roz Morris, writer and editor of fiction and non-fiction, ghostwriter, blogger, teacher, broadcaster and horsewoman. (Don’t ask her whose novels she ghosted, she may have to shoot you…) She’s one of the…
The Sword and the Pen
I’ve had something of an epiphany, thanks to yet another of Joanna Penn’s podcasts. This is getting to be a habit. In the latest episode, she interviews Guy Windsor, who has been an enthusiastic martial artist for most of his (still young) life. He is clearly exceptionally dedicated to rediscovering…
“The End” Is Just The Beginning
Joanna Penn, ‘The Creative Penn’ has just launched a new series of free videos – you can sign up for free access to the series here. I don’t want to spoil the content for you, but if you’re keen to become an independent ‘authorpreneur’ (a fancy way of saying self-published author,…
Overload Alert: Please Help!
I’m spreading myself too thin, with a host of different blogs, running on separate sites and under different domain names. As well as this, I of course design and edit a monthly magazine (Miniature Wargames), provide graphics work for a number of clients and now have contracts for three new books…
A Walk in the Park
Technically, not so much a walk as a bit of a lie down, to be honest, but it was from my ground-hugging vantage point that I saw the purpose of this post. Sunday 28th June, Queens Park, Brighton. It’s the annual Picnic in the Park and the ground is strewn…
Dear Diary…
It’s been a while – six months, almost to the day – so what on earth has been going on? The word “challenging’ comes to mind when I try to sum up the period since I last added to this blog. There have been health challenges, including a bout of…
#EUVAT #VATMOSS Interview Set for Radio Five Live
I received an email and call today from Radio 5 Live. They wanted to ask if I was willing to be interviewed for BBC Radio Five Live’s Hit List (Sunday 7.30-10pm) in which they broadcast the top 40 news stories which have been tweeted, shared and viewed across social media.…
Writers & Artists Self-Publishing in the Digital Age
Bloomsbury Publishing organised the Writers & Artists conference “Self-Publishing in the Digital Age”, which took place at The Wellcome Trust on Euston Road, London on Saturday 29th November. I didn’t count the numbers present, but it felt like well over 100 people in the sixth floor venue had come to…
New VAT Rules Affect All Digital Businesses
Not a very positive update, I’m afraid, but important news nonetheless. On January 1st 2015, the EU is introducing a change in VAT rules that will affect the sale of all digital goods and services, including PDFs, ebooks, music downloads, photo libraries, online courses and so on. The changes will also include draconian data collection and…