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snowy WexWorlds
The drive down to Wexford yesterday was good, if somewhat tiring, and on a couple of occasions made frustrating by a lack of signage – an old problem on roads in Ireland. We went to the opening of WexWorlds – the Mayor of Wexford showed up – met friends, and had food. This morning we were greeted by a winter wonderland. Unfortunately, it’s meant that some of the guests of the convention have not been able to get to Wexford. My two panels thus far have been very enjoyable, even though the numbers were smaller as a result of the weather. So far everyone seems to be having a great…
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winter morning
For a dog that’s camera-shy – Minnie hates me taking her photo – she’s beginning to creep her way into a lot of my nature shots lately. I don’t mind as it often adds a spot of interest to the image. As you can see it’s cold today with wintery fog. I won’t say anything else about that image because it’s doing all the heavy-lifting. I’ve been churning away at the novel, and it’s over the 30K mark now. I had a couple of missed days for a variety of reasons but I’m in the swing of things now. I need to be because I have WexWorlds this weekend. I…
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spiral spud
The Galway Christmas Market opened in Eyre Square on Friday, and I went in for a gander yesterday. It seems to be hugely popular and busy. There are stalls and stands from people selling goods and food from all over Europe. It also has a Beer Castle, styled after the German Beer Halls, which is bound to be a hit with Galwegians. I was there during the day, but I’d say when night falls – quite early nowadays – it will look very Christmassy. One of the stands I went to was selling Goulash, and deep-friend Spiral Potatoes. Now, this is genius. It’s quite a stereotype, but we Irish love…
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night walk
Tonight, there is an amazing moon. I’m lucky to live in a place with little liight pollution, and there are some nights when this is a joy. Earlier this evening, because it was a clear night with strong moonlight, I decided to walk Minnie in the woods in the darkness. I don’t do this frequently, but whenever I do I swear I’ll do it more often. When we arrived at the woods I noticed that the person with the property opposite to the entrance was having a bonfire. It was magical. The fire snapping and popping, the saffron-crimson flames licking up between the gaps of the trees and Mistress Moon…
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making friends
This is a picture of Mr. Barky and Minnie, which I snapped today after they became friends in my local woods. I don’t know the name of the dog, but that’s what I’m calling him, after his method of introduction when he spotted us. Dogs are pretty easy to understand if you take the time to learn to read their body language, and remember that they normally strive for harmony. They want everyone to get on, and preferably to live together in a large, affable, smelly pack and to run about, play, sleep and gnaw the odd bone. This is not to say that they don’t grump at each other…
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going monochrome
I’ve been experimenting with changing some of my recent photographs of trees to black and white, and taking a slightly arty style. In some of them I’m using sepia tones. I start with the base image, go with my instinct about which filter works best and start building layers of effects. Of all the creative work I do artwork and photography are probably the most satisfying. I lose massive chunks of time when I get involved in it because it absorbs my attention completely. It’s also the work that has no pressure attached: I do it simply for my pleasure. I’ve mentioned before that woods and forests are where I…
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sun on sun
There was more stormy weather last night so there isn’t a leaf left on any trees in my garden. This morning the rain fled and left behind freshly-scrubbed skies and searing sunshine. I took this image after my walk in the woods, where I snapped a few nice images also. It’s difficult to capture a moment of beauty in its entire spectrum, be it in words or images. Much of what I do is a failed attempt. I try to squeeze the intangibles into the pixels and letters, but even when it’s good, it rarely does the experience justice. There are so many little moments that squeeze my heart. Such…
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WexWorlds 2010
From the 26th – 28th November I’ll be a guest at WexWorlds, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction Festival in Wexford, Ireland. A .pdf of the programme is available for download, and it looks like it’s going to be a weekend packed with lots of fun events – WexWorlds is primarily focused on young people, but there will be plenty for older people to enjoy as well. It’s ideal for households of adults and children who love science fiction and fantasy literature, television and cinema. I’ll be involved in the following events: Whites Hotel: Saturday 13.00-13.50 Recommendations of the best Sci-Fi and Fantasy books of 2010 I’ll be moderating the…
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is this seat taken?
Today I’m guest reviewing for Peter Tennant on Black Static‘s Case Notes Blog. I discuss the new audio drama ‘Is This Seat Taken?’, written by award-winning horror writer Sarah Langan (Audrey’s Door, The Keeper), which is part of a new series of horror audio drama by Tales from Beyond the Pale. I’d also like to highlight Peter’s article, published last week, called ‘To Be the Best‘, in which he does a bang-up job of analysing three horror Year’s Best anthologies, edited by Datlow, Jones and Guran. The statistics prove that your chances are higher of appearing in a Year’s Best anthology if your story has appeared in a previous anthology…
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the frost dance
Another picture from today where Minnie edged her way into the background. She’s a rather impatient dog and doesn’t like it when I stop to take photos. Sometimes she’ll snuffle around, while other times she’ll plant herself on her arse and wait for me to stop staring at mushrooms through the shiny metal object. There are flaws to this photo that make it less than perfect, but the double subject makes up for it. For those of you who don’t care for dogs, you get a mushroom, and for the dog and mushroom lovers you get nirvana. If neither takes your fancy then I might not be the best blogger…
