Live interview; tune in today!

Tune in to my live interview on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indiereviews-behind-the-scenes today (June 7th 2014).

5:00pm GMT (12:00pm EST) for about half an hour.

You can tune in from anywhere in the world by going to the website mentioned in this post.

Reminder: upcoming live interview

This is just a reminder to tune in to my live interview on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/indiereviews-behind-the-scenes this coming Saturday (June 7th 2014) at 5:00pm GMT (12:00pm EST) for about half an hour.

Random ramblings - June 1st 2014 (FD)

I asked this on Facebook yesterday, but thought I'd ask it on here too...

If your sleep schedule has you sleeping in the day, do you call the meal when you get up breakfast or dinner?

Some people on Facebook say it depends what you're eating, some say it depends what others you're eating with call it, others say it's breakfast either way, because it's after you break your fast for sleep. Kim Harrison, in her 'Hollows' series of books, uses that last one, referring to the meal between noon and roughly 2:00pm as lunch for humans and breakfast for inderlanders (witches, werewolves, living vampires, etc) because humans get up in the morning, but inderlanders have a sleep schedule where they get up usually between noon and 2:00pm (unless they're undead vampires, in which case they don't usually get up until sunset). Kim Harrison used this rule even when the lunch and breakfast in question was burger and fries from McDonalds.

But, what do you think?

***

Kero's scratching got really bad again, so we spoke to the vet. He's on pills again; the same ones he had last time. He started taking them yesterday, and has already calmed down a bit on the scratching.

***

The degus and gerbils have noticed each other properly now and are trying to make friends through the bars. Jacob actually keeps trying to jump out of the degu cage when we have the top open to feed them or whatever. Well, I say "trying" but he's managed it at least twice, and was grabbed while standing on top of the gerbil cage, right beside the door on the top of the cage, squeaking to be let in. He wasn't too happy when he was picked up and returned to the degu cage, LOL!

***

I'm done writing 'Jinx And The Faerie Dragons' and am currently working on editing. The plan is to publish it in a month, which gives me plenty of time to do the editing and get it set up to publish. It should also have plenty of time to get listed on Barnes And Noble for those people who usually grab it via that site.

***

The weather is beautiful today. It hasn't been every day this week, but it is today. It's nice and sunny and warm, but without being hot. Plus, there's a nice breeze coming up from the sea.

***

Hope you're enjoying your weekend, however you've been spending it.

May 2014's reading challenge

One of the groups I'm a member of on Goodreads had a reading challenge similar to April's for this month. There were 12 holidays you could read books to celebrate, but I didn't do them all. Here are the ones I did, along with the books I read for them...

May 4 is considered by many Star Wars fans to be Star Wars day for "May the fourth be with you" sounding similar to "May the force be with you". Read a book that is in the Science Fiction genre.
Read: Only You Can Save Mankind (Johnny Maxwell, #1) by Terry Pratchett (read on May 11th 2014).

May 5 is Children's Day in Japan and Korea. Read a book that has children on the cover or that is in the child/middle grade genre.
Read: Fairy Rescue by Gwyneth Rees (read on May 1st 2014).

The last Monday of May is Memorial Day in the United States, first celebrated on May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, New York. Read a book that has fireworks on the cover or Read a book that the author is from the USA.
Read: Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm A Supervillain by Richard Roberts (read on May 4th 2014).

May's birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success. Read a book in the Romance genre.
Read: Breathe Me by Alexia Purdy (read on May 5th 2014).

National Smile Month in the United Kingdom. Read a book that will make you SMILE!
Read: Fairy Secrets by Gwyneth Rees (read on May 1st 2014).

Character interview: Kero the Westie

Since he has his own series of books, which are the six books in the 'Kero's World' series, for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know, my Westie, Kero, had the oppertunity to be interviewed by Alexandra Butcher of http://libraryoferana.wordpress.com

You can read the interview at http://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/character-interview-number-twenty-kero-the-westie

Kero is 10 today!

My little puppy is all grown up... Well, I say puppy, because he'll always be one to me, but he's 10 years old today!

It seems like only yesterday I was bringing home a little 9 week old Westie puppy, with a floppy ear that hadn't learned to stand up yet, and here he is all grown up... Time flies, huh?

A couple of times in the past year I've wondered if we'd make it to this day, but we did, and my little boy is officially in the double figures!

Happy birthday, Castellan Keroberous!

11th anniversary outing (FD)

Today is our 11th wedding anniversary, and tomorrow is Kero's 10th birthday, so we decided to have an outing today to celebrate both.

We took Kero to the pet store to pick his own birthday gifts. He ended up with a blue stuffed elephant and a selection of treats, including one called a "salami" (it's not like a regular salami; it's a sort of soft rawhide covered in meat juice or something). The salami is the one he picked himself, and he wanted it right away when we got home. He's already eaten it, LOL!

Then we went to lunch at a local cafe I really like. It's a vegetarian friendly cafe, and also allows dogs in, which means Kero can come with us when we go there. I had a vegetarian cooked breakfast with some Victorian lemonade, then an organic banana milkshake to take away (they don't usually do milkshakes to go, but I asked if they'd put one in the cups they have for hot drinks to go, and they said they would). Kelly had a burger and coke.

There was a storm last night, so I'd been worried about the weather, but it was nice all morning. The rain came back this afternoon, but we were home by the time it came back so I don't mind.

We took a cab from home to town, then took another from town to the cafe, but we walked home from the cafe... Since it was a nice day and only 4 blocks away.

Kero was an absolute angel the whole time. We were all ready for a nap when we got home though... Even Kelly, LOL!

When Kero met Tramp

Here are the photos taken when Mam came to visit at the start of May with her little puppy.

The puppy is a Cairne Terrier; a closely related breed to the West Highland White Terrier, which is what my Kero is.

His name is officially Tramp, but he's also known as Buddie. I tend to use Tramp, Mam tends to alternate between Tramp and Buddie, but you can use which you like.

Anyway...

Here's one of Kero on his own:



Here's one of both Kero and Tramp:



And here's a photo of me with both the boys:



Sorry if they're not very clear, but Tramp wasn't very good at staying still.

I hope they publish up the right way, because even though Kelly made sure they were up the right way they turned themselves when we put them on Facebook. If they didn't, sorry.

Here's another photo of Kero. This one was taken a couple of weeks before the others, but with how much Tramp tired him out it could have easily been taken after my Mam and Tramp left, LOL!

Gerbils and a gnawing block (FD)

Bilbo and Baggins, being typical gerbils, love their food. They especially love pumpkin seeds, cheese and oatmeal. But, being typical gerbils, they also love to gnaw on things in general. So, we brought them a big gnawing block of their very own like the degus have.

Here's Baggins trying to figure out what it is:



Bilbo is curious too...



We did try to get a photo afterwards when Baggins was actually gnnawing on the block, but it didn't come out clearly enough for him to be made out, so we didn't keep it.

Interview with Barb

Hey, guess what? It's another new interview!

My interview is with Barb of Creative Barbwire today.

Go to http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/sunday-surprise-53/ if you want to read the interview.

Thistle The Fairy Trickster - officially released today

"All fairies love playing games and tricks, and Thistle is no different. So when she gets bored one day while watching to make sure no children are in trouble near the stream, she decides it’s time for a bit of fun. But the other fairies quickly get fed up of her tricks, and when a small boy really does need help they don’t believe her.

Loosely based on the well-known story of ‘The Boy Who Cried wolf’ but with not a sheep or wolf in sight, ‘Thistle The Fairy Trickster’ tells the story of a bored little fairy who plays one trick too many."

The above is the synopsis for "Thistle The Fairy Trickster" - my latest book, which is officially released today.

You can already buy it from Smashwords and some other ebay retailers, and will soon be able to buy it from others.

Of degus and coconuts

The degus have a coconut treat. It used to be a few coconut shell halves atatched via some grasses, but they pulled it apart. Jenks recently decided that making one of the coconut shells spin like a top was a fantastic game. It was really cute how he sat there for ages playing with it.

We tried to get photos, but every time we went near him with the camera he'd stop playing to squeal angrily at us as if telling us to get away from his toy. We would have tried videos too, but we can't remember how to work the video function on the camera. Plus, as I said, every time we went close he went nuts.

I guess Jasper decided it was a fun game too, because after a while they were taking it in turns, and most of the day one or the other would be there happily spinning the coconut shell.


Jasper wasn't much more eager to be photographed than Jenks, but at least he'd alternate between playing and squealing, so we managed - with patience - to grab a couple of shots of Jasper sort of playing with the coconut shell. Here they are:

And here's a close-up of Jasper:

Here are two of the degus enjoying some lunch, while the other two take turns on the wheel:

OK, time for all the degus to go to bed...

Canadian Mothers' Day 2014

Today is Mothers' Day in Canada, as well as in the US, Australia, and maybe some other countries for all I know.

I wanted to say "Happy Mothers' Day" to my Mother-In-Law.

I don't know if she'll see this, but I want to say it anyway.

So...

Happy Mothers' Day, Mom!

Also, happy Mothers' Day to all the Mothers who are in the countries that celebrate it today!

Random ramblings - May 7th 2014

I was sleeping at night, so I thought I'd try for a routine. But once again the moment I tried for one my sleeping pattern changed. Figures! Ah well, I'm getting the things I need to done, and I'm sleeping, so I guess that's all that matters. I probably wouldn't have stuck to the routine anyway; I'm really not good with them, and don't really know why I keep trying to sort one out when I know I won't stick to it anyway.

***

My Mam is visiting tomorrow. She's staying with my brother, Carl, and I have some stuff for both her and Carl, so she's going to come down for a couple of hours and then go back to Carl. She was going to stay with us for a couple of days, but since I have stuff for Carl and Carl has somewhere proper for her to sleep, where as we only have a sofa to offer, she decided to just spend a couple of hours with us then go back to Carl.

Mam got a puppy a couple of months ago; he's a Cairne Terrier. He'll be coming with her for a visit.

***

Kero had stopped scratching, but now he's started up again. He's not scratching much, but if he starts scratching a lot again then I guess we'll end up taking him back to the vet, which we don't want to have to do, but we also don't want him making a mess of himself scratching himself until he's bleeding.

***

I don't know what else to post, so I think I'll leave it at this. Besides, I should start thinking about attempting to persuade my body and mind that night time means sleep time so I can potentially get some sleep between now and when Mam gets here, otherwise I'm going to be wanting to go to sleep about when she arrives, which would be really annoying. Besides, I'm pretty sure going to bed when someone comes to visit for a few hours would count as being rather rude.

Reflections on eight years of blogging

I started this blog eight years ago today.

Time sure flies, doesn't it?

I still remember my first posts though; even without looking.

My very first post was a belated happy birthday to my hubby, Kelly, because his birthday is May 2nd. I then posted about how we were about to add my Oriental cat, Chance, to the family. A lot of my early posts were about Chance, because I was mostly using my blog to show him off to my Grandma at first, and as a result I can't think of my blog without remembering him.

My blog was mostly focussed on my pets for a while, then became about everything that was happening in my life, then articles and random things I felt like sharing too. These days it seems to be mostly about my writing, but that's at least partly because most of my time is spent focussing on my writing these days. I do sometimes think I'll come on and do a post about just random things happening in my life, but I either don't get around to it or decide it's probably not interesting enough for people to consider it worth reading.

Actually, in the past couple of weeks it's been more a case of not getting around to it; there haven't been enough hours in the day lately. Well, I suppose I could have made time if I eased up on the reading. But, by the time I was done with sorting things for all the interviews and guest posts you probably noticed last month, got housework done, then sorted e-mails, I generally just felt like stepping away from the computer and either playing with the furries or curling up with a book.

On that note... The laundry won't sort itself, no matter how nicely I ask it, so I better go do it.

Thank you to new followers, but an especially big thank you to those who have stuck with me and put up with my nonsense for years!

April's Monthly Reading Challenge - Celebrate April

This month's reading challenge on one of the groups I'm a member of on Goodreads was to read books for certain things that happen in April. There were 13, but I only did 10 of them. Here are the ones I did, and what I read for them...

April Fool’s Day - Read a book that is listed under the genre “Humour”
Read: If It Wasn't For Sarah by Lynne Roberts (read on April 25th 2014).

Easter Book Hunt - Hunt down that book you have been meaning to read for a while.
Read: Surviving The Fog (Surviving The Fog, #1) by Stan Morris (read on April 6th 2014).

April’s Showers - Read a book with a form of weather in the title. i.e. The Sun Dwellers or Water & Storm Country (The Country Saga, #3).
Read: Why Did It Have To Rain Today? by Donna L. Dillon (read on April 9th 2014).

Earth Day - Read a book in either the science fiction or dystopian genre or with a picture of the moon/earth on the cover.
Read: Xandra by Ann Snizek (read on April 1st 2014).

Fourth Month - Read a book that is fourth in a series, or has four words in the title.
Read: A Fistful Of Charms (The Hollows, #4) by Kim Harrison (read on April 17th 2014).

Reader's Choice - Read any book of your choosing.
Read: CRYO: A Changed World (CRYO, #2) by Geoffrey Wakeling (read on April 16th 2014).

April - Read a book which title or author’s name starts with “A”.
Read: Alien Coffee by John H. Carroll (read on April 9th 2014).

The diamond is the birthstone for the month of April - Read a book that has a diamond on the cover or in the romance genre.
Read: Missing In Egypt by Rita Lee Chapman (read on April 26th 2014).

National Frog Month is celebrated in the United States during the month of April - In honor of the little amphibians, take a moment to learn more about them. Find a frog-related craft or activity to get your family in the spirit of Frog Month and take the time to celebrate one of the earth's oldest living creatures. Come back and share with us via picture or tell us what you did to celebrate National Frog Month! OR Find and Read a book with a Frog on the Cover...(have fun).
Read: Roger The Frog by James Sutherland (read on April 9th 2014).

April Showers brings May Flowers - Spell it out – read a book that begins with each letter in the word…..MAY!

M - The Magician's Turban by Gita V. Reddy (read on April 2nd 2014).
A - The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents (Discworld, #28) by Terry Pratchett (read on April 5th 2014).
Y - The Young Wizard (Anaboraxus, #1) by Norman X. Scozzafova (read on April 13th 2014).

Author tag chain

This is an author blog tag chain about our writing, and I was tagged in this event by Alexandra Butcher.

"Alexandra Butcher is the British author of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles series and several short stories in the fantasy and fantasy romance genre. She is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet and a dreamer. When she is grounded in the real world she likes science, natural history, history and monkeys."

Blog: http://libraryoferana.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/libraryoferana
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarkFantasyBeyondTheStorm

***

Now it's my turn to answer the questions...

1. What am I working on?

"I'm currently working on a story called 'Jinx And The Faerie Dragons' (which should be finished and published in the next couple of months). It's about a pixie and his faerie dragon friends who are always getting in to mischief, but one day get in to more mischief than usual, finding themselves in a cave full of goblins and a whole lot of trouble. I'm also working on a story called 'Cubby And The Beanstalk' (though this one is only in very rough draft right now). It's an alternative version of 'Jack And The Beanstalk' with bears. Oh, and I just finished a story called 'Quest For The Purple Pumpkin' a couple of weeks ago; it's a story about a little girl who ends up in a world full of elves where just being human is punishable by death. That last one has been submitted for inclusion in a collection of fantasy and science fiction stories a group of Smashwords authors are putting together via a Goodreads group, which will be published in a few months time. I also have several other ideas in various stages of development, including a story about a vegetarian zombie, and a story about a forgotten angel."

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

"I try to stay away from stereotypes. Also, I have my experiences of losing my sight to draw upon for characters like Toby in my 'Toby's Tales' series. Plus, being blind means I see the world slightly differently from a lot of other authors."

3. Why do I write what I do?

"I write for children because I enjoy doing so, and because I've been told I do a better job of writing for children rather than adults. But as for the actual topics and plots... I write what I write for one reason only: those are the ideas in my head, so I go with what I'm inspired to write."

4. How does my writing process work?

"It's pretty simple: I get an idea, then I sit down and start writing. Once I'm done, I go through it again and tidy it up a bit; fixing what doesn't work, adding a little more description here and there, etc. I do this several more times until I'm happy with it, then start the editing process to look for typing and grammatical errors I missed."

***

I tag... Geoff Wakeling

"Geoff Wakeling lives in London and escapes the smog of the city through his writing. The Inside Evil series, even though being dark and mysterious, was a way to escape the drudgery of every day life and indulge in something a little more fantastical. Meanwhile, CRYO offers the chance to dream of a future life. With a degree in Zoology, Wakeling is animal mad and has three cats, fish and five chickens in his London home. He is a keen gardener and conservationist. He is also still awaiting the arrival of his Hogwart's Owl!"

Amazon author Profile: http://www.amazon.com/Geoffrey-Wakeling/e/B007JNTZLG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Website: http://www.geoffreywakeling.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook/GeoffWakeling
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GWakelingWriter

I also tag... Michelle Cornwell-Jordan

"Michelle Cornwell-Jordan is a New Adult/Young Adult-Paranormal Author. Her titles include a YA Novella series... School Nightz :Night School Vampire Hunter Trilogy compilation and novel Chrysalis. She is also the producer of the online radio segment IndieReview Behind The Scenes, where she and her co-host Jamie B Musings interviews Indie Authors and Musicians. Michelle has been married for 18 years and has a 15 year old daughter. A book lover, her favorite genre has always been paranormal adventures. Another love is writing. Michelle has been writing about as long as she has been a bibliophile! Losing herself in a fantasy world that she is creating on paper is how she loves spending her spare time."

Hunter Alliance on Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hunter-Alliance/288004677978367
Blog: http://indiewritersreview.wordpress.com

My guest post on writing blind

I wrote an article for a guest post for Words On A Limb. It's all about being a blind author and reader.

If you want to read it, you can do so by going to http://wordsonalimb.com/2014/04/23/writing-blind

20 questions with Doug S

I did another interview, which I submitted a couple of weeks ago, but only went live today.

This time it's 20 questions with Doug S of Pegamoose Games.

You can find out what those 20 questions were, and how I answered them, by going to http://pegamoose-g.livejournal.com/50592.html

Words On A Limb interview

I was interviewed on Words On A Limb yesterday (April 15th 2014).

You can find the interview by going to http://wordsonalimb.com/2014/04/15/woal-interviews-victoria-zigler if you want to read it.

Filicity The Musical Platypus officially released

"Filicity is a platypus who loves music and has only one question on her mind... Why can’t a platypus be musical?

She’s heard the birds singing, she’s heard the music coming from the wonderful musical box with buttons that the humans call an ipod, and she’s heard the instruments of the travelling musicians on their way to the nearby town. All of them sound beautiful to her, and she longs to make music too!

Determined to find a way to be musical, Filicity sets off on a quest to find a way she can make the music she loves so much. After all, there has to be a way for a platypus to be musical too... Doesn’t there?"

Today (April 15th 2014) is the official release date for this book, and the ISBN for it is 9781311278012

It's already available via some retailers (such as Smashwords and Barnes And Noble) and will soon be available via others.