Celebrate the small things, 3 March

Looking out of the window into my windswept and rain-soaked garden, it's quite hard to find something to celebrate today, but here goes.

I have lots of freelance work on at the moment, which is good news. It all helps to bring me closer to the day when the mortgage will be paid off. Another submission has been greeted with 'Not sure, let me think about it,' which is better than 'No thanks.' Also, my son has landed another music teaching contract to boost what he's already doing.

Finally, I have a couple of stories available on Smashwords. Briefs Encounter is free anyway, but next week the site is running a promotion: Read an eBook Week, during which my other story, Robbing Hoodies, will be available for just 49cents (usually 99cents). If you were tempted to pop over next week and have a look here, I'd be interested to know (a) if the promotion code is actually there, (b) whether you found the site easy to use and (c) what you thought of my story (there is a facility to leave a review). Thanks.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Want to join in and celebrate with us? Hop over to Lexa's blog here and sign up.

Celebrate the small things

Join the blog hop and share your celebrations with us. Here are mine.

My day began with a text from a friend wishing me a happy day, for no reason other than that she was thinking of me. Isn't that nice?

Then I got an email from Smashwords to say someone had left me a 5-star review for my free short story 'Briefs Encounter'. Well, thank you!

I have a weekend of culture planned. It's the Malcolm Arnold Festival in Northampton, so I'm dusting off my opera glasses and intelligent conversation to go and mix with the musical cognoscenti of the county.

Have a good weekend, folks.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop hosted by  Lexa's Blog. Join us. 

Causes for celebration

We might moan about the National Health Service here in Britain, but I'd like to celebrate it today. Several people in my life have had reason to be grateful for its existence recently and while there's no denying that it could do with a massive injection of cash and, perhaps, an overhaul, the fact remains that if you call an ambulance it will come; you will be taken to hospital and treated. No charge, no questions asked.

I'm also celebrating yet again the freedom that self-employment affords me. What a joy it was to be able to say this morning: 'I'm off for a walk in the autumn sunshine.'

Also on the work front, I'm celebrating that I've finally got my paperwork sorted for Smashwords, where I have a couple of short stories available for download. One of them, 'Briefs Encounter', is free at the moment; the other, 'Robbing Hoodies', is available for 99cents (which is about 77p).

Finally, the comedy club at the Arts Centre resumes tomorrow, which is always a good night out.

Have a splendid weekend, folks.

Celebrate the Small Things  is a blog hop. Visit Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week. Originated by VikLit) and co-hosted by L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog.  

Mixed media

I've been on local radio this afternoon (BBC Northampton) talking about the choir's forthcoming Come & Sing 'Joseph' event next Saturday. I was surprisingly nervous, given that I'm on the radio once a fortnight anyway, but I think it was because it was live by phone. I'd prepared myself with lots of notes and had the choir's website open on my PC screen, so I was able to answer all the presenter's questions. What I don't know, of course, is how it sounded. I do have a tendency to gable when I get excited. The proof will be whether anyone books a place.

Elsewhere, I've been grappling with Smashwords again and have put another short story up, this time for sale. I had quite a good response to my free story - if only I could contact everyone who downloaded it and say: Look! Here's another one!

Pigeons: possibly the dumbest birds in the world

There is really no excuse for posting this picture, except that I thought it might make you smile. We have a very small bird bath, barely big enough to house a sparrow, but that didn't deter this pigeon from taking up residence there this morning. Either he didn't realise that his tail was getting wet or he had a hot bottom; either way, I thought he looked daft enough to warrant a photo.

In other news today, I've had a little play with Smashwords (see previous post) and uploaded a short story. At least I think I have. If you try to read it but are stymied, please let me know. It's free.

Feeling like a writer

I had a lovely meeting (OK, tea and macaroons) with my writer friend Elaine on Friday. We thrashed out a few ideas for a forthcoming joint publishing venture: more on this anon.

Yesterday, I went to an excellent short story writing workshop organised by the county council's Adult Learning Service with a wonderful lady, Morgen (with an 'e') Bailey. As well as being a tutor, she is also a writer, editor, blogger and speaker. She packed masses of information and advice into six hours without making us feel under pressure to produce anything - though we did, and lots of it. There were only three of us, so there was nowhere to hide, but the small group also made it feel very friendly and informal.

I don't know about my fellow students, Anna and Lauren, but I came away with my head buzzing with ideas. I feel quite inspired today! Thanks, Morgen, for being so generous with your resources.

One topic we touched on very briefly was e-books. I have one available for the Kindle already (The Little Guide to Teaching Yoga in A Gym), but am wondering what to do with my next one, which will be another non-fiction title. Should I venture into Smashwords? Anyone have an opinion on this?