At the end of last week I received another bundle of letters from Room Three. What a lovely bunch they are. I will be sending a reply along momentarily.

I have been working with artist Nani Mahal on the new website and it is really coming together. Nani says that she will soon have art ready to go into digital production and then… and then… with a bit a magic from the spider at the centre of my web I will soon have a new look right here. We used this ink pot as inspiration for the one that will be seen in the design she is making:

We both love art nouveau. We are also incorporating a gift my mother gave me, a family crest, and the book I am writing in at the moment (I do most of my first drafts longhand).

I’m pretty excited about getting a new web design and Nani’s work. Nani will also be creating the maps for the inside covers of Somewhere Else.

I just had a second lesson with my lute guitar. I now know how to position my fingers properly and how to tune the beastie. I have a long journey ahead of me to become anything like competent but I have taken two steps and I am loving it.

Armageddon, a sci- fi/ Fantasy/ and general geekery themed convention, has just finished for this year. I had a great time and took advantage of the bargains at various tables to get graphic novels including an Eternals one by Gaiman, some X-Men and Runaways. I also picked up one of the Twelve Kingdoms manga, so I can see if I love the manga as much as the anime, and the first volume of Warren Ellis’s Freak Angels.

But the highlight for me was the brunch I attended this morning. Among others, I found myself sitting across the table from Colin Baker who told me about his meeting with Stephen Donaldson, a writer Colin and I both love and admire, and that they both sat in a cafe unable to speak for some time because they couldn’t think beyond ”wow.” Apparently, Donaldson is also a fan of Colin’s. It is always wonderful to hear that writers you admire are great people as well. Somehow, it makes their books even better. The table conversation was fascinating and I am incredibly grateful I got the chance to go. All the attendees (famous and not) were great.