The Dryad - a solstice story

I spent this morning continuing my work on the cover of my next book :)

 

Solstice Stories - The Dryad Cover Design

Coming soon - my first in a series of 4 connected Christmas ghost stories... Started working on the cover design tonight - here's my initial effort:

Solstice ~ Story 2

The second tale of my portmanteau Christmas ghost story is coming along nicely now. The two protagonists are now heading out into the words to kickstart their evening of fun...

 

Progressing Nicely

Progressing nicely with my next novel now 🙂

 

Cracking On With Ghost Story 2

 

Evening Sky

Last night's sky was pretty cool.

 

Solstice ~ Story 1 Illustration

Illustrations for my new Christmas ghost story - the first of four such tales I am working on. All 4 stories revolve around the same Christmas tree over the same few nights between Mid-Winter Solstice and Christmas Day...

 

Amanita

 Time to work on my second Christmas ghost story...

Jade - Hummel's Sunset

I do love this variety of Jade (Crassula ova). It is called Hummel's Sunset. Look at those colours :)

 

Summer Reading

80s pulp horror at its best 😊

T - 2

Making the most of my last two days before I return to work by spending them in the garden. I am so happy the sun is shining 😎

T - 3: Bees in Our Garden Today

I am so pleased that the sun will be shining for the three remaining days of my pandemic lockdown :)

(Curious sundog in the afternoon sky. The bee is in the bottom right corner)

 

Torture Garden

Continuing my run of watching portmanteau horror films of late (without a doubt my favourite movie genre), I watched Torture Garden today. It's a lovely little film, with the first story, about a greedy playboy wanting to get his hands on a horde of witch's gold he thinks his uncle has discovered, easily being easily my favourite stand out tale in the collection :) 

Writer's Block!

Despite her best efforts to hinder my progress, tale one of my portmanteau Christmas ghost story is now complete :)

T - 6 - Nearly There

I am Nearly there. I just have the last scene of my 1st Christmas ghost story to work on now...

T - 7

I am absolutely determined to finish the first tale of my portmanteau novel before I return to my office job next week... 

Sweynes Eye - Issue 12

Issue 12 of my photography zine Sweyne's Eye has now been published:)

T - 8 Days

Listening to The Carpenters as I work on my next book 🙂

T - 9 Days

I have just nine days left of my pandemic lockdown before I return to work :o/ 

Determined to make the most of this time, today I finally managed to completed the latest Sweyne's Eye photography zine. It should be hopefully be published sometime over the next few days :) 

Beautiful Borage

The Borage seeds I sowed back in Spring are now coming into their own :) One of my favourite plants in the world. And they are a magnet for honey bees :)

Bliss

Reading in the sunshine. 😎 With the most beautiful clouds floating in the sky above me. Bliss.

Editing

Portmanteau Movies #1 and #2

Getting in the mood to continue my very own collection of portmanteau horror tales by watching my favourite portmanteau movies. Starting with these two Amicus gems 😊

Gifts From My Daughter

I received a parcel in the post this morning from my lovely daughter - a fairies/gnomes waymarker and a gnome :) They have already found a home amongst my plants :)

The magickal waymarker looks very fitting amongst the branches of my oldest Crassula ovata plant. The little pixie in the background is resting atop the stump left when I made a cutting of the plant for my daughter when she left home a couple of years ago. The plant is of sentimental significance as I grew it from a single leaf cutting taken when my daughter was born 25 years ago.

Pixie resting on the stump left from a  large cutting
I took a couple of years back 

My daughter's Crassula ova plant, grown from the
cutting taken from the mother plant

The gnome, too, seems happy sat amongst the leaves of another of my favourite house plants :)

Quiet Life

My local beaches are hectic when the sun shines, with people gathering en masse as though we weren't in the midst of a pandemic! And so, for this evening's walk, I took a more sheltered route through my local woods and park.

Slowly But Surely...

Distractions

Tried to do a little writing today. Until this one got involved.

Comet Neowise

Comet Neowise. Photographed from my bedroom window in the wee small hours of the morning.

Forest Remains

Managed to step out of the house again today and take another stroll along my local beach. Today I headed east across the sands, passing the 10,000-year-old remains of the ancient forest that once filled this area of Swansea.

Stretching My Legs

I took a walk along my local beach this evening. This was the first visit to the coast since the Lockdown and it was a relief to finally stretch my legs across its sands for an hour plus.

I have been suffering from extremely detailed anxiety dreams of late. In these nightmares, I am walking along the beach, when suddenly I find myself in the midst of hundreds of people who swarm around me like a scene from The Walking Dead. Only they are not zombies, just possibly infected members of the public.

These nightmares clung to my mind as I strolled in a state of hyper-vigilance across the sands but I managed to keep a full-blown panic attack at bay, thanks to the company of my wife on the walk. Indeed, much of the walk was a delight. It was good the smell the salt-laden air, hear the waves lapping over the sand and feel the crunch of abandoned shells beneath my feet again. The only down part to the walk were the hordes of joggers that were clueless to the meaning of the 2-metre rule and who kept chugging up, panting furiously, along and past me without a care in the world. :(

Still, this was another successful effort at leaving the safety of my house as I try to conquer the extreme anxiety that has swamped me of late. 

This signpost was apparently invisible to joggers today 

A Welcome Sunny Day