Friday, September 30, 2016

Friday ramble - going on a story hunt in my imagination

Ok it’s Friday and I’m going to ramble, because, well I can...

I’ve had a good week, getting out there into the real world with my books, talking to people and getting feedback on my books. And the feedback is good, so why is promoting so hard? It seems that a gimmick is needed to grab people’s attention, so I have my sheep, which started as a gimmick and now are in danger of taking over... which reminds me, my flock of sheep is getting low again... knitting needles at the ready.

Which brings me back to my conundrum – it’s hard enough to grab ideas as they rush around in the wilds of my imagination, without all the other distractions pulling me away from going on a story hunt in my imagination. Because that’s what it takes to write a story, deciding which ideas and daydreams have enough substance to  become a book, and then to go after that one idea that will become the next book, and allow the others to run free a bit longer...

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

All you need is a box and a little imagination, because when you have a box you can play anything...

Had a lovely morning at Clifton Library yesterday, got good feedback on my books, and sold some books too.

Looking forward to visiting Acomb Library tomorrow and joining in with storytime, with my new book:

But What I Really Want is a Box... because when you have a box you can play anything, all you need is a little imagination. Share the story, and get a glimpse into my imagination, and spark your own to see what you can come up with...
 
#LostinaBook
#Storytime 

Friday, September 23, 2016

York author on mini Library tour...

September at Lost in a Book


So this is exciting - next week Lost in a Book will be on a mini library tour in York:

Clifton Library on Tues 27th Sept 10am onwards, at their baby morning, where they'll be all sorts of baby related stuff going on.

and

Acomb Library on Thurs 29th Sept 10.30 - 11am at their storytime, where I'll be reading my new book But What I Really Want is a Box 


#LostinaBook 

Monday, September 19, 2016

...the story is reality - for that magical time that you're truly Lost in a Book

Imagination is a gift, it can take us anywhere.

But where does it come from? I like to think that it’s the mind playing; and everyone needs to play – time to explore possibilities, or the impossible...!

It’s true that stories are often inspired by, or even based on real life, but once the imagination kicks in, that’s when the magic really happens, when anything is possible.  And if that story strikes a chord, then you, the reader are drawn in, and feel that you are part of the story, with everything else disappearing from consciousness, the story is reality – for that magical time that you’re truly lost in a book.   

Reading a story is really sharing in someone else’s imagination, the writer has captured a moment, or many moments of their imagination, and caught the magic in print for all to share. It is said that everyone has a book inside them, and that may be true, but the trick is to capture that book in the written word, to save it and share it. And that’s not as easy as it might sound. A story can flash through the imagination, and be gone just as suddenly, the trick is to sneak up on ideas, allow the imagination to wonder about, without the threat of a pen or keyboard ready to capture it... sometimes an idea has to hang around for a while before it’s ready to be written down.
#LostinaBook


Thursday, September 15, 2016

Self published author displays a whole cabinet of books...

So this is pretty cool - my books are currently on display at Clifton Library in York. It's a very proud moment knowing that I've written and self published a whole cabinet full of books. 

 

I'll be in Clifton Library on Tues 27th Sept doing a book signing at their baby event from 10am onwards:  

 
#LostinaBook
Lost in a Book 

Monday, September 12, 2016

But what is the best, a full box or an empty box...?

Boxes - the theme of my newest book, but it's not the book I sat down to write, more months ago than I'm prepared to admit... and what do I mean by that? Well simply that this book took longer to write than my average book, especially given that it's a 32 page picture book. But some things just take as long as they take, and why does everything have to be instant anyway...?

So, I'm rambling, because that's what I've chosen to do right now, because I believe that the imagination has to be allowed to meander about a bit if we want true magic to happen.

But where was I? Ah yes, my new book - the book I didn't sit down to write... well technically I sat down to illustrate a book from a story that I'd already written, but the pictures just weren't coming, they didn't look the way they looked in my head, so I started to doodle (the theme of another set of books...) and so I randomly started to draw giraffes, based on nothing more solid that the fact that I'd seen some giraffes at a safari park and thought they were really cool, especially when they tried to bend down to graze, and the their legs were too long, or their neck too short, or some such design fault... anyway, giraffes were in my head that day.

The story was born out of anarchy, in that I stated it in a sketchbook, and just drew loads of pictures of giraffes, and a little boy who was to become Ollie. The story ideas seemed to change daily, leading to some pictures that never made it out of the sketchbook, such as a giraffe playing hide and seek behind a curtain, although the idea of him being hidden behind fabric came out as he held up a sheet  - you'll have to read the book to find out why...

So where did boxes come into it? Well apart from boxes being so much fun, with so many possibilities, I suppose if inspiration comes from all around, then I don't have to look far to see boxes, they're everywhere, in fact they usually form the mobile island that I always said I didn't want in my kitchen - why, because I like space instead of things in the way, but now there is an ever present mobile island, a raft you might call it, of boxes that can't be thrown away because they're the cats' dens, doubling up as beds when cat baskets are just not what they want right now...

But what is the best, a full box or an empty box...?

Well the rather depends on the contents - a full box is full of possibilities, especially if it's a plain box and we're guessing at its contents.  Some boxes can be a disappointment once they're open, we see what's inside, and maybe it's not as exciting as what we'd imagined. So maybe our own imaginations are the best toys of all, an empty box is so much more fun than a box full of something dull, because an empty box really can be anything. 
  
 

So now all I have to do is launch my new book - I'll be doing the usual round of book signings, but really I want to do most of the launch online, selling from


And for that I need some suitable packaging, and what better than bright orange envelopes - because I want my books to arrive in style and make a statement.  

 
#LostinaBook

Saturday, September 03, 2016

Book launch - new book available now from Lost in a Book

New Book available now!!  

It's new book launch month, and where better to start than in my own online shop.

Order direct from the author and know that the money goes directly into paying for printing my books - I don't pay to advertise, and I do everything except the printing and binding myself because I believe my money is best spent on getting a quality product that I can be proud to sell.

I've got some book signings lined up, the first one being on Tuesday morning 6th September at Clifton Library, York, where I'll also be leaving books in the library display cabinet.

 
#LostinaBook
#Newbook
#booklaunch