Evenings like this make up for the remorseless grey days of winter.

Stephen Byrne, Robert Curley and I will be signing copies of Róisín Dubh in the Library Bar, Central Hotel, Dublin from 7pm onwards on the 17 February.

Come along and have a chat with us.

If you can’t make it, we hope to meet you at Epic Con in Maynooth the following day.

And then there are days when words don’t describe it.

So I do this instead.

I’ll be attending Epic Con in Maynooth as a guest along with Róisín Dubh teammates Stephen Byrne and Robert Curley.

The event is going on the weekend of 18-19 February in Maynooth, and the three of us will be there all day on Saturday, 18 February.

Epic Con is run by the Omega Society, NUI Maynooth’s sci-fi, anime and fantasy organisation, and 2012 marks the society’s ten-year anniversary.

There will be a variety of events going on throughout the weekend ranging from panels, workshops, cosplay and screenings. There’s even an art/writing competition being held during the convention.

We’re looking forward to meeting old and new fans of the comic book.

Issue 2 of Jennifer Wilde is in the final prep stages and should be heading off to the printers soon.

So, as an appetiser here’s the cover of issue 2.

Once again artist Stephen Downey has delivered another captivating image.

We’ve had a mild, wet winter in Ireland. As a result the gorse bushes have continued to flower.

This was taken at dusk a few days ago and it was tricky getting my camera to focus on the flower in the low-light conditions.

I love capturing water beads balancing in this wondrous fashion on flowers or foliage.

Nature’s marvellous balancing act.

Hi-Ex artwork by guest Tanya Roberts

Since starting to write comics I’ve been fortunate to meet many new people and come to call them friends. Two such gems are Vicky Stonebridge and Richmond Clements, who run Hi-Ex: the Highlands International Comic Expo.

Not only are they warm and generous people they are also talented creators in the comic book industry, and run what I’m told is one of the most enjoyable events in the British comic book calendar.

I’ll be able to confirm this for sure in a few months as I’ve been invited to be a guest at Hi-Ex, which is taking place from 31 March – 1 April in Inverness, Scotland.

I’m looking forward to meeting a new group of comic book fans and creators as well as flying the Irish flag alongside fellow guests Michael Carroll and Alan Nolan.

During the holiday period Galway city had a Winter Market in Eyre Square, which involved a mini fun-fair, including an old-fashioned carousel.

Each horse has its name painted on its neck. This one is named Ruby.

She’s a champion. Fleetest filly of them all.

One positive side-effect of all the rain this winter is I get to snap an image like this.

I took this today at Coole Park while walking the dog. When we have exceptionaly rainy weather the Turlough in the park floods sections of the forest, rendering some of the paths impassable (unless you have wellies – or waders!).

The dog was delighted to have the opportunity splash about in the water, and desperately wanted me to throw a stick into it so she had a reason to dive in. She even dragged a huge branch out of the shallows in an attempt to entice me into a game of stick throwing.

Alas, I hadn’t counted on a fully saturated dog seeping into my car on my return journey, so she had to make do with paddling.

Here’s her admiring her reflection.

I’ve a couple of extra photos from the excursion on my Flickr set.

Emmet O’Cuana’s review of issue 2 of Róisín Dubh on Comicbooked.com had me beaming.

I should also mention that the Eagle Awards for the comic book industry are open for nomination at the moment.

I’d love to see a diverse range of writers and artists nominated. I’m not saying people should be nominated if they’re not talented, but have a good think about the titles you’ve enjoyed this year and spread the love around. Anyone can nominate. If there are people you think are deserving in a category then you can add them.

The 2012 Awards winners will announced at the MCM Expo LondonComic Con on the evening of May 25th.

It would be great to see plenty of Europeans represented, since it is after all a British-based award.

I don’t often petition for others, but I believe that Renae De Liz deserves a nomination in the Honour Roll category for her work on the Womanthology project.

Not only did she complete the project from idea to print in approximately seven months, she wrangled 150 different artists, writers and editors to the task, promoted it effectively and fund-raised over 100K on Kickstarter (the largest sum ever raised for a comic book project on that platform). All the money is going to charity and she has elevated the profile of a lot of women in the industry.

I’m frankly astounded by her passion and engergy. We need people like her in the world driving change and bringing a fresh perspective to the industry, and we certainly should acknowledge and mark achievements like this. (I’m sure she’d be the first to recognise the team of women who have helped her, but without Renae this project would never have happened.)

Sure, I’ve got a script in Womanthology, but I still believe my logic is sound for honouring her in this fashion.

After all, she’s already landed on Geek Out!’s List of 2011 Geek Heroes.

But, whoever or whatever you nominate – get online and do it! Don’t leave it to other people. Have your say.