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Equal day and night
I took this photo of the centre of a flower, on a sunny day, just before the Equinox. The curls of petal at its dark heart remind me of feathers. I love taking macro photographs, where the normal can become extraordinary up close. Thanks to all the many people who have given me information for my Women in Comics listing. I’ve decided to expand it to include European countries outside of the UK/Ireland. There are currently 202 women on the list, which seems like a large amount, but it’s only scraping the surface of the entire European market. It’s a lot harder to find women comic book creators in foreign…
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Irish Comic Book Month
We’re mid-way through March, and I figured I should mention that this month has been designated Irish Comic Book Month. You can keep up with what’s going on at Irish Comic News, which is the best web site for news/information/sneak peeks of the work of Irish comic book artists & writers. Last night, to celebrate Irish Comic Book Month, Lightning Strike organised a talk discussing Irish Comic Book production. The guests included Declan Shalvey, Stephen Mooney, Robert Curley, Darrin O’Toole, Robert Carey, and Ciarán Marcantonio. The Lecture was held in Trinity College, Dublin, and from what I understand there was a great turn-out for it. (The audio from the event…
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winter's grip lessens
It’s been a long, dark, winter, so the last couple of sunny days have been uplifting. It’s amazing how quickly the land responds when it gets a blast of sunshine. Suddenly dandelions are prowling among the grasses, and the gorse bushes in the woods have burst into glorious flower. I love the gorse flowers’ coconut scent, so strangely exotic for the blooms of a local wiry shrub. Most of the other plants and trees have not started to grow, so winter’s severity still rules. Soon, all will be stretching up and out of the darkness. Until then we have the beauty of gorse.
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Women in Horror 2013
It’s Imblog today, the traditional start of Spring in Ireland, and it’s sunny too – a welcome break from the recent fierce squalls. It’s also the start of Women in Horror Recognition Month, which I’ve discussed before on my blog. Two years ago I wrote a piece for the fabulous Bad Reputation web site in which I recommended five women horror novelists. This year they asked me to contribute again, and this time I’ve chosen to highlight the work of women from across the horror media spectrum. It’s a personal pick of women who are doing interesting work in the field, and of course there are so many more. Today…
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Twisted Fairy Tales coming soon
My first collection, Twisted Fairy Tales, will be released on 1 February, 2013 in the USA. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon.com already. I’ve also created an Amazon Author page (a rite-of-passage moment), and I’m on Goodreads too if any of you use that platform. I had a really good time writing this volume. First, I love the stories, and second my team were terrific: my editor Samantha Warrington, our illustrator Jane Laurie, and designer Martin Stiff. Plus, the finished book is beautiful: it’s 144 page large-size hardback. I hope people will enjoy it. The publisher, Barron’s Education Series, has created a Book2Look presentation for the first story (Snow White),…
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well heeled
Welcome 2013! It struck me lately that I’ve nearly 2,000 images on Flickr, and they could be put to good use – such as generating blog posts. I signed up to Flickr in 2006 and I’ve been adding photographs and artwork there on a regular basis. It represents a tiny fraction of the images I’ve shot over the past seven years, as I’m picky about what I show, and sometimes I’m too busy to sift through my images. As a project for 2013, and to return to regular blogging, over the coming year I’ll choose images from my archive and use them as a springboard for a post. I took…
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Goodbye 2012
I took this photo a short while ago so I’d have a beautiful image to celebrate the passing of 2012 and the arrival of 2013. I’ve a bottle of Perrier-Jouët champagne in the fridge, ready to wet the baby year’s head. I’ve had a good year overall, and early in 2013 Twisted Fairy Tales will be published. If someone had told me this time last year that by the end of 2012 I’d have a collection written and nearly published, I’d be short-listed for an Eagle award, and have written part of a play that would be performed in London I would have been rather sceptical. It makes me wonder…
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Yule Gold
It’s a gorgeous sunny Yule eve in the West of Ireland, which is most welcome after a long parade of wet, dull days. Since the light was so good I took this picture of a rose from a mixed bunch of flowers I’m bringing to holiday celebrations. Good luck and happiness to all this festive season! I’ve been busy these last couple of months, as well as being ill twice – once with a head cold, followed by a flu (only just abating). This is probably brought on by the travelling I’ve been doing in the last five months of this year – three trips to London, one to Leeds…
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2012 Junior Film Fleadh
Since 2009 I’ve been involved with jury work for the Junior Film Fleadh in Galway, and I’m delighted to be on the jury of the Script Pitching Competition again this year. The competition is organised in association with the Galway Film Centre and SpunOut (a leading national youth organisation). The three short-listed finalists will have to deliver their film concept in front of an audience of their peers, and the jury, at noon tomorrow in the Town Hall Theatre. I have nothing but admiration for these young people who are brave enough to enter this competition and describe their ideas to a live audience. The Junior Film Fleadh starts today…
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Hallowe'en Sessions Round-up
I’m back from my London sojourn, and it ended up being a busy period. I attended the opening and closing nights of The Hallowe’en Sessions, but I also turned up at the theatre every evening to say hello to the people who supported the play. It was fantastic that so many friends and colleagues of the ensemble came for one of the performances. The audience packed into the Leicester Square Theatre for the final night, and fired questions at the writers for the Q&A afterwards. We took the seats the actors had vacated for that bit, and considering what had gone on in the play it was somewhat unsettling to…
