Plans Update

I am not really enjoying working on my Gower Beaches. It has been a bit of a grind, to be honest. I think the reason is because I haven't needed to go out and take photographs for it as I already had the imagery needed for the book in my portfolio. I do need one trip out in Gower though as  I lost a lot of my stored files in the housefire earlier in the year and havent got photograpgs of the caves down Fall Bay. We are holding out on heading down for the moment as Mrs E is hoping that there will be another northern lights display in the next couple of weeks so we might be able to put two projects to bed in one outing.  Whatever happens, the Explore Gower Guide to Gower Beaches will be available from Amazon on November 1, 2024.

After that, I will be spending November working on my next horror novel, Familiar. I hope to get a full first draft of the book completed by Christmas.

My research on familiar folklore continues...

2025 should be a quieter year for my writing. Famiar should be out sometime in the first half of the year, and my only other blook planned for next year is Issue 2 of my Avalon guidebook series exploring the town of Glastonbury. 

Other than that, the only other publication I have planned for next year is another Guy N Smith zine. This one will see me more in the role of editor, designer and publisher, however, as this issue will feature the creative work of  varied creatives who fans of GNS. At the time of writing this, this new GNS zine has the promise of being something very special...
 

Gower Beaches Progressing

Continuing work (just) on my Gower Beaches guide.

Gower Beaches | Day 61/100

Day 61/100. I'm cutting this project fine. Listening to #seashanties whilst working on my guide to the #Gower shoreline

Look at those whisers!

Stormy Reading

Whilst the  South Wales thunder raged in the skies overhead and the rain belted down, I read this grim short story by Guy N Smith.

Guy N Smith - The Knighton Vampires

I really should have read this book before this past weekend. But its fascinating to read a story set in a place you have literally just read... I've just got to persuade little fudjcake to let me get back into reading again.

Sleeping Pwscat

Polish Mania

Shortly after my Guy N Smith fanzine was published, I received a message from a prospective buyer in Poland stating their disappointment that Amazon would not ship to his country. As chance would have it, I had been frustrated at Polish bookshops refusing to ship a particular edition of a Guy N. Smith book I wanted to add to my collection. In my return message, I asked whether he would be willing to purchase the Polish book and then post it privately to me. In exchange, I would return the favour by sending him a signed copy of my zine for free. To my delight, the customer was a real gentleman and took the idea of us helping each other warmly. Two weeks later, and just a couple of days after my package arrived in Poland, the postman slid a very special delivery through my letterbox. 

What a great, and rather disturbing cover, eh? Perfect for a Guy N Smith novel, eh? And far superior to the British edition, which can be viewed on my devoted  GNS page.

Cheers Rafal. As I said, you are a true gentleman.

Keeping the Neighbours Away

Fudge never gets on with other cats lol!

Pswcat Pads

The Gower Show

Spent the day down the Gower Show. The country lanes were jammed with traffic as the decent weather brought out the crowds.

The show itself wasn't as good as I remembered from past years, with a lot less stalls and exhibits. The food on offer there was what I could only describe as a vegan's nightmare!

We ended up purchasing items from just two sellers. The first was a framed artwork of Three Cliffs Bay from the above seller:

And the latter being this fine trio of magical mushrooms seen in the pic above. I have been yearning to purchase this kinda thing ever since watching the opening scene of Michael Mann's brilliant film The Keep, where Nazi soldiers drive past such adornments as the near a castle steeped in folklore, all to an exquisite Tangerine Dream soundtrack.

All in all though, we both enjoyed the afternoon and our purchases look great in their new home:

 

pwscat on the stairs

 

Olympics, Gladioli & Crabs

Was stuck in bed until late morning as fudjcat decided she wanted to sit on my lap and watch the Olympics on my phone. She has really got into watching TV this year.

 

When I finally made it out of bed, I messaged Mrs E to show her how her gladioli buds had opened. In the message I foolishly remarked how I had positioned myself like a pro to avoid my reflection in the mirror.

Her wordless reply was just this close up of one section of my photo lol:

Spent the rest of the day removing boxed we had stored from the fire whilst the house was being restored out of the shed and back into the house.

Fudge was happy to be outside with us as she had made it her mission to remind the neighbourhood cats, who had made our garden their home while we were away, that she has returned and that the place was HER territory!

I have been on tenterhooks all week following the listing of a particular edition of one of Guy N Smith's books I never thought I would even get the chance to own. Although it finally went for a princely sum, I had been willing to up my bid if necessary, and to my relief, this little treasure should soon be making its way through the postal system to my letterbox! :)

Good Morning

I woke up this morning to see little fudjcat's shadow on our airing cupboard door as she sat on our bedroom windowsill re-familiarising herself with her view of old.

Having another day off work, we then drove the removal van back to the rental company, where I spotted these little treasures:

GNS Day 99/100

My GNS book has been completed on Day 99 of my 100 day project. It will be available for purchase on August 1st. Time now to start work on my third book of 2024 - Tidal Gower, which will explore the many fascinating places to explore along Gower's tide line...

A Promise is a Promise

Just 2 weeks left to complete my zine celebrating 50 years of Guy N Smith's novels. It will be done, even if I only have half a screen left to work on.

Cutting the Page Count

Fine-tuning my Guy N Smith zine, which will be available to buy next month. Trying to squeeze the page count to tighten the content and make it cheaper to buy. Currently standing at 140 pages...

fudjcat