It’s the end of the month and time for another blog update from Moggy Towers.
When I last posted at the beginning of February, I have to be honest and say that I was not expecting too much excitement over the next twenty-eight days. My plans were to finish my second edits on Lovestyle # 3, get it sent to my editor and then begin working on the revisions he’d begun to send back. That was going to be the highlight of my month.
Well, as Robert Burns once said, ‘The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…’
February did start off on a quiet note but it wasn’t long before ‘Coffeegate’ came along and, following quickly on its heels, ‘Bullygate’! I’m not about to regurgitate old news but, if you haven’t seen any of this, you can read about it in this post – When is bullying acceptable? – and things all got a bit heated in certain quarters. The upside has been, however, that where a mere handful of bloggers have chosen to ‘shun’ me, many more have befriended me and voiced their approval over my speaking out on the subject. As usual, the bullies continue to be the minority and the vast majority of bloggers continue to be decent, kind people who simply want to read their books and write their reviews without any hassle, intimidation or drama. I hope that continues to be the case for a very long time to come.
Following on from that, I attended a ‘Bloggers and Authors Meet-Up’ in Stoke-Upon-Trent and met some old friends from previous meet ups and made more new friends. I’d been looking forward to this event for several weeks for it’s always nice to meet people who have the same interests as yourself. To be in a place where you can talk about books for hours on end, no one gets bored and, better still, no eyes glaze over, is highly enjoyable. It also has to be said that while the above scenario cropped up in one or two discussions, overall, everyone had moved on from it and we spent far more time talking about blogs, books and all the fun that comes with being a blogger and an author. There was a really good turn out of people and my only regret was I didn’t have the time to speak with everyone present. I’ll be making sure I get to chat with them at the next one.
The next unexpected piece of news came from my editor who wrote to inform me that, due to some family health issues, he hasn’t been able to move through his workload at his usual rate and is now behind in his schedule. This isn’t about to correct itself in the immediate future and my edits will be delayed in coming back to me. Well, since he’s now in possession of all my edits, this has left me at a bit of a loose end. There was only one thing for me to do – begin writing Lovestyle # 4! As the story has been brewing in my head for quite some time, it is great to now sit down and finally begin writing it. Although, as I always detest writing the first draft, I may change my mind on that in the not-too-distant future. The other piece of book news is that my fabulous art designer will be commencing work on the cover of Lovestyle # 3 and, if things go well, there might be a reveal in the next monthly update. Fingers crossed. Furthermore, as advised last month, I took the plunge and did some work on my website. Somehow, I managed to improve its appearance without blowing it up, shutting it off or having a nervous breakdown! Miracles will never cease. It’s still not perfect and I need to sort out some font issues so if you’re reading this with your head to one side because the font has gone sideways, then you’ll know I’m still working on it.
Other news from Moggy Towers is that Mr Mogs and myself are continuing to work on our weight loss and, thus far, we’re both coming up on the winning side. Our big black, fluffy, snuggle monster, Mr McGee, had his yearly MOT and the vet was happy with him although Mr McGee was not so happy at the indignity of being put in the cat cage and dragged off there in the first place. My final bit of news is that Charlie Kitten went back to the vet for his second booster injection and, in the three weeks between the first jab and the second, he managed to put on a further 200g which makes him almost 3kg at the age of six months. I’m seriously beginning to think that, by the time he’s fully grown, Moggy Towers will have one of these…