A Sneak Peek

Would you like to have a sneak peek at my latest dog portrait?
This is one of the early stages of the work.

We're blessed today with a beautiful sunny day - and I'm not working at my reflexology practise today, either!
We'll be enjoying the sun in the garden, the summerhouse doors will be open, the painting &drawing table will be ready for me, when I tire of sitting in the sun, reading!
Hope you have a wonderful day, whatever you're doing :)

One Day Writing Workshop

If you've ever fancied having your short stories printed in a magazine, but you're not too sure what their requirements are, then have I got some info for you.

The magazine company I used to work for are running a One Day Workshop, from 10.30 to 4.30.

There'll be guest speakers from within the magazine world, all relating to fiction, a chance to polish your writing skills and get feedback too!

Its being held in London and the cost is £65 .

If you'd like more information, please click HERE

Garden Days

Yesterday I was in the garden, because we had the most beautiful sunny day.
I did my ankle exercises, gave myself a reflexology treatment and admired the beauty, which the sun had encouraged.
I couldn't help but take some pictures and its my pleasure to share them with you.

Bridal Wreath

Saxifrage

 

my mossy stone bench

Elephant Ears

Forget-me-not

I also did some more writing to my second novel  - but you don't want to see a photo of my netbook, do you?  Of course you don't - but the words are flowing nicely!

The Supervisor

My ankle rehabilitation is going well. I'm doing daily exercises to help strengthen all of the ligaments and tendons involved.
I even managed to do some in the garden, when we had a sunny day.
Guess who was on hand to make sure I did everything properly?

Why, the Supervisor, of course!

Fingers crossed, I'll be back to normal before too much longer :) x

All in the Leaves - Review Three

The last of my three early readers has written a review for 'All in the Leaves.'
I understand its a bit of a tease to read the reviews before the book is published, but I'm so thrilled, I wanted to share it.
The book should be out later this year, once the editing and proofreading is complete. In the meantime, enjoy the review! 

 

All In the Leaves

By Pat Elliott

It was with much anticipation that I began my journey with Anna, Chloe and the various other characters in “All in the Leaves”.

Pat has brought the characters to life so much that you will laugh out loud, scream at certain characters and in the case of one character want to hit them with the nearest heavy object (but that might be just me).

Pat’s description of the various areas, Edinburgh in particular, really made me feel that I was there with Anna and I could picture the scenery perfectly.

The hardest part of reading the book was only being able to read a couple of chapters each time as Pat was writing it.

Once the book was completed, I sat down on Pat’s sofa and had read the last 5 or 6 chapters because I was so engrossed that there was no way I was leaving until I had read the last page.

The book did not disappoint and I look forward to reading books 2 and 3 and continuing the journey with Anna, Chloe and the others.

Reviewed by Debra Mandel

If you'd like to see Review One - click HERE

and Review Two is HERE  

The Gift of Art

A while ago I painted this cowboy - his photo was a reference pic in Painting Friends forum.

The cowboy was the son of one of the forum members, so I sent her the painting as a gift.

I was so surprised when a little while later, she sent me a card, the photo of which is a quilt she made. Inside the card were these little gems.

Producing art is a gift in itself.
When you gift your art to brighten someone's life, it becomes even more special.
In this case, it created a bond which spans an ocean.
A bond which made someone want to do something nice for me, even though it wasn't expected.
Isn't it wonderful that our art has the possibility to make our days feel brighter and happier?
These little paintings in their protective sleeve are now dotted around my computer and printer, where they brighten my day, every day. 

Painted in March 2013

As the sub title of my blog says 'reflexologist, painter, writer, dog lover.'
Today is all about the painter side of me.

Here are the paintings I created in March.
If you wish to purchase any as a print, card or postcard, email me and I will make them available on my Redbubble page HERE
Of course, I'm quite happy if you just like to look at them on this blog and admire them.

First came London Irish

The story behind the painting is HERE

then there's Kev's Demo

the story behind this can be found HERE

next is Ben Kilt

and his story HERE


then there's Fernando's Demo

info on this demo HERE

then there was the beautiful Saskia

find her details HERE

After Saskia, came En Route

and the story of the painting is HERE

and lastly for March, came Midnight Picnic

and the story behind its creation is HERE

I hope you've enjoyed this wander through my artistic endeavours.
Feel free to follow my blog or to share this post with your friends.
I look forward to reading your comments and to seeing you again soon.

Best laid plans

The best laid plans often go astray.
That's what's happened here since my last post. I've sustained an injury to my left foot, which needed a trip to the hospital, x-rays, crutches and some pain medication.
Luckily, the foot is not broken, but I have tears to ligaments and tendons. Its going to take a while to be right again.

Mentally, I'm not in a place to do much writing or painting!
Foot and ankle exercises, then sleeping seem to be all I want to do. I'm sure as time goes on that will change, but for the time being, forgive me if I'm quiet.

There is some good news to report, and that's with the darling Missy.
Our vets offered a free arthritis check so hubs took her along.
The vet was delighted with her, she's at an ideal weight, has the right number of short walks for optimum well being, has plenty of soft places to sleep for ease on her bones and is on a minimum level of arthritis medication. Missy showed him a few of her tricks in exchange for a piece of duck and everyone parted on good terms. We just have to keep on doing what we do and Missy will have a reasonably happy old age. That news cheered me no end. She deserves to have a happy life.

Fingers crossed I'll be back to blogging shortly. Until then, I'll enjoy coming to visit your blogs as and when I'm able.

Writing is just the beginning

I've had a few people ask about buying my book, wanting to know when it will be available.
When I paint, the work is done when I lay the brush down. Writing isn't like that. Unless you know publishing you think, write the book, get it published.
The reality is much more involved.

If you wish to have a publisher, you have to first have an agent. To get one of those, you need to find one who represents your genre and query whether or no they will represent you. There are so many asking that this process can take a very long time.

If you wish to self publish, then you should go through all the steps a large publisher would do, if you wish to have any longevity as an author. After all, if I'm going to ask you to part with money to buy my book, I feel that I owe it to you to get it polished and the best it can be.
Self publishing means you don't have an agent, but you get to do the jobs a big publisher would do for you. Like having someone edit your book and return it for revisions. An editor is more than a spell and grammar checker, they check for continuity and flow also. Its the difference between having a rough old plank for a dining table, or a polished piece of oak.
This is where my book is at, and it takes some time. I have had some great advice from a friend and colleague who I first met in my days working for a publisher. The best part was to start writing number two so I'm not tapping my fingers and gnashing my teeth waiting for number one to be ready.
I've been incredibly fortunate with the people who've offered to help, but my book is not the only thing on their to-do list. Professional people, who've chosen to help, because of who I am and who they are. So I have to be patient and wait for them. Patience is probably the hardest thing to learn, especially when the body of the story is down.

Timing wise, I think that towards the end of the year is realistic.
By then, I should have a book that is nicely polished and a cover that's been designed by an illustrator.  An illustrator - I know - very exciting!
I truly have been blessed with the help that's been made available to me. I hope when you do get to read the book that the whole is a wonderful experience for you.

Creating

There's great joy in creating, whatever it be.
I'm currently writing book two and am fifteen thousand words in. I know, you haven't seen book one yet - but while its in the process of editing, I've started the next.
Of course, I'm not writing all the time. Sometimes I get the brushes out and paint.

Hubby is creative too, but in wood. He has made some beautiful things for our house. He went to his shed yesterday and made this lovely woodland mushroom.

Where do we find the time? Currently we're both on holiday, but even when we return to work, we prefer hobbies to TV. How about you?