Writer and publisher of books for children

Tuesday 18 December 2007

GOATS!

It's no good! I can't cope with driving around for 45 minutes looking for a parking space or fighting my way through the crowds. I have decided that rather than cancel Christmas, everyone will be getting a goat. Actually I think that is a really good idea. Not only is it a solution to my shopping problems but I think my folks will actually like such a gift.

Not long ago I heard a lady on the TV saying what a naff gift these charity presents were. "Who the hell wants a bag of seeds for Christmas?" she cried. Well I would just love it. Not for myself of course but if it was sent on my behalf to someone who could really use it, I would be really, really pleased. To think that something so small can mean something so big.......

I always give money to people collecting for charity but that's not good enough. If I can find the time to watch a TV programme, I can find the time to write a cheque and send it off to the RNLI or Imperial Cancer Research. I think I will do that right now.


Mary

WHY ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE STILL IN THE SHOPS?

Just came back from shopping in Bromley! The place is heaving! I do not understand why people have left it so late to do their shopping. At this stage they should have bought all their presents, wrapped them up and stashed them safely under the Christmas tree leaving the way clear for me to do my late shopping in peace and quiet!

I feel almost as tired as after my stint as a 'body' during my daughter's fitness trainer exam. She passed but I still bear the scars from the event. It was the cross-trainer that nearly made the wheels come off. I hate the thing. I knew I was in trouble when my offspring blithely announced that we would be doing TEN MINUTES on the machine. At three minutes I began drafting in my head how I would announce that I was dying and had to come off. At five minutes dearest daughter says "Keep it up! We've only got five minutes to go." We, WE! I was the only one on the cross-trainer with arms and legs flailing in all directions, lungs bursting, eyes popping out of my head and envisaging the examiner's reaction when I collapsed off the back of the machine. Luckily for me she cut the exercise short and asked us to move on to the next piece of equipment. I managed to stay conscious and smiling but it was a huge effort.

Just spoke to the printers. The books are still not ready but I am hopeful I will get something by the end of the week. Problem seems to be that I drew the illustrations in Powerpoint using a mouse. Yes, I know it is unorthodox but when I started in January I intended to give my drawings to an illustrator to make a proper job of it. As it turned out, the illustrator felt my efforts were good enough. However, I have no patience and got tired of having to redraw the characters every time I wanted to change a leg or a whisker or a tail. I had (and still have) no idea of how to use a package like Illustrator so I trained myself to draw in Powerpoint using a mouse - that way it was easy to amend or recolour the drawings. The printer is not impressed though. Apparently the colours are difficult to maintain during the printing process as they are in RGB. I guess I will have to have a rethink for the next set of books.

I am off to Croydon now to buy some curtains. Christmas just isn't Christmas without new curtains. Hope the shopping centre will be reasonably quiet otherwise I might have to do my crazed shopper impression a few days early!

Mary

Monday 17 December 2007

I THINK I WILL DO CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL

I suddenly realised on Sunday that there is very little time to Christmas. I have been so busy with books, printers, guests, decorators and seminars that I have hardly given the holidays a thought. This is not unusual for me, you understand. Ever wondered who the crazed looking lady is who every year can be seen struggling with a security guard in Debenhams at 4.00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, pleading to be allowed just 5 more minutes? HELLO!!

Right! I have got to get on with my marketing plan. When I get the books from the printers I need to start hawking them around the streets of London. Not exactly in a suitcase but you know what I mean. This is besides a very sophisticated internet marketing plan I am hatching which involves squeeze pages (I love that term), search engine optimisation and viral marketing. I feel very proud that I know what these all mean! Now all I have to do is implement them and I will be sorted..... I must just go and lie down!

Mary

Tuesday 11 December 2007

SIGNING IN AND NOTHING'S BURNING SO FAR!

Well, here I am. Blogging! Another notch in my belt for 2007. This year has been a mammoth one for me. Writing and illustrating books, finding out that there is a parallel universe on the internet that I was unaware of , learning about internet marketing, putting together a website (not quite yet) and now blogging! This is mega for me. I was around when duplicating was done on a large, noisy machine which needed a lot of energetic winding of the handle to produce the copies!

Yesterday I sent the final, final proofs of my children's workbooks to the printers only (horrors!) to find one of the characters, a bee called Boo, had somehow lost his wings. What is it with these insects and animals! Someone is always missing a whisker or a tail! Anyway, very kind printer let me change the drawing. I will soon take delivery of a vast number of books.

I attended a conference last Saturday and showed the pre-launch copies. There was a little interest and I have had a few queries so hopefully Boo the bee, Loki the ladybird, Kubby the kitten, Muti the mouse and Seb the spider will find their way into some little hands soon.

Tomorrow I will be the guinea pig in my daughter's fitness coach exam. I am always happy to help except that beautiful, sweet-natured daughter morphs into Atilla the Hun at the mere sight of a cross-trainer or a rowing machine . Fingers crossed for me please!





Mary