The Creeper

'Tis the season of Winter - the time of ghosts and things that go bump in the night. I honestly could not think of anything better to arrive in the post to herald the darkest month of the year than this new figure - the latest addition to my horror Pop Funko collection - The Creeper from the scary Jeepers Creepers movie:

The Creeper from Jeepers Creepers

Typing Up Edits

Typing up the edits of Chapter 3 of Berserk! with this one:

The Saboteur

Thwarted

I had been planning to make a start on typing up the final draft of Berserk tonight. But this attention seeker put a stop to that:

Berserk! Final Draft Complete :)

The third and final draft of my next novel is now complete. 😊 I just have to type the whole thing up again now, typeset it and get the book cover formatted. The New Year deadline for getting this beast published is looking promising 👌

Billy Connolly - Tall Tales and wee stories

A nice new signed copy of Billy Conolly's latest book to add to my bookshelves :) I am looking forward to raising a smile with this particular book, one of only a few light-hearted reads in my personal library  :)

Berserk! Final Draft. Chapter 12.

Penarth Pier

I took a stroll along Penarth Beach today. 

Penarth Pavilion

Whilst Penarth has a stunning beach, I did not linger there long as the icy fingers of the approaching winter had a bit of a punch to them this afternoon :( I did, however, muster up the fortitude to take a trio of snaps of the place, including a long-distance selfie!

Beneath Penarth Pier, with the islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm in view

Yours truly 'neath Penarth Pier

Fluttering Polythene #1

God only knows why, but I seem to have developed a thing for raggedy bits of polythene fluttering from barbed wire fences lately. I see them virtually everywhere these days and they always catch my eye. They are usually black or clear in colour, but sometimes, like in this instance, which I photographed less than a hundred metres from my house, they are found in more attractive shades.  Perhaps there is a future photography project waiting for me to take the initiative. If so, then it has already begun:

Black Rock Sands, North Wales

Given the unexpected sunshine, I couldn't resist spending the morning on Black Rock Sands before heading home from North Wales. 

The immense and quiet Black Rock Sands 

Despite the lateness of the year, I had expected the beach to be quite busy, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that we pretty much had the wide expanse of sand to ourselves :)

Me and my wife, Black Rock Sands

Stretching our legs a little and taking in the fresh and salty air, we finally returned to our car refreshed and ready for our long drive home...

Farmyard Pwscat

I made a little friend whilst holidaying in North Wales - a lovely farmyard pwscat:

I absolutely love cats and am over the moon that the feeling seems reciprocated whenever I meet one :)

Berserk! Final Draft. Chapter 10 Completed.

Ever vigilant of the impending deadline for the completion of Berkerk!, I awoke early whilst on holiday in North Wales to crack on with the final draft of Chapter 10:

Pre-dawn writing

As dawn broke over our holiday cottage, the rising sun startled me as it blazed directly through the kitchen window!

I think this must have been the first time in my life
that sunrise has actually made me jump

After a couple of hours of writing, I completed the chapter just as my wife awoke and came downstairs, in time for her promised breakfast :)

Berserk! Final Draft. Chapter 10.

Here We Go...

Heading up to North Wales for the weekend...

Local Bus Field Recording

Philip K Dick ~ The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

I have been doing a lot of reading these past two weeks and have recently completed both George Orwell's '1984' (last week) and Stephen King's 'Misery' (today). This was to clear time for the mammoth push required in December to complete my novel Berserk! Unfortunately, I then saw this Philip K Dick book on sale in HMV in their buy 2 for £5 offers: 

Philip K Dick ~ The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

I can tell you now, with a blurb as intriguing and exciting as the one on the back of this book, I will not be able to resist tucking myself between its pages within the net few hours. And, as usual with Philip  Dick, my mind will then be imprisoned within that dystopian world until I have served my time and devoured every last word of the novel:

The Blurb

Oh well, I guess the deadline of December 31 for the completion of Berserk! is going to be every bit the battle I envisioned it to be (which is quite apt given the subject of the book).

Berserk! Final Draft. Chapter 9.

Berserk! Chapter 8. Final Draft.

Thunderclap

The whole house (and probably our whole street) were awoken last night by the loudest and longest thunderclap I have ever heard. I have never been one to be afraid of thunder and lightning, indeed I love a good storm, but the ferocity of this particular thunderclap was startling, to say the least. Racing from my bed to find my audio-recorder, I managed to set it up with only seconds to spare before the second and final crash of thunder rolled across the heavens above me. Unfortunately, this second thunderclap was more distant and quieter than the first but I am happy to have been able to add the following recording of it to my portfolio of field recordings: