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Category Archives: Day Job
Indie Publishing and Me
A couple of years ago I met with Scottish publisher, author and agent, Allan Guthrie. We met up in a pub in Portobello and spoke at length about the publishing process, writing, and all that kind of stuff. I was … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Day Job, eBooks, Literature, Publishing and Marketing, Writing
Tagged Allan Guthrie, August Wainwright, indie, JA Konrath, publishing, Scott Nicholson
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Making Changes
It’s been a while. I’ve not written anything, fictional or poetic, since last spring. That’s the best part of nine months. And I’ve not blogged since the middle of last September. The reason for this has been a shift of … Continue reading
Missing the Book Festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is a week old, kicking off at Charlotte Square last Saturday and by all accounts, it’s going well in what is its 50th year. I say “by all accounts” because so far this year, I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Day Job, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Book Festival, Literature, Writing
Tagged book, Charlotte Square, EdBookFest, Edinburgh, festival, Reading, Writing
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The Non-Writing Life Versus The Writing Life
Last week it was almost freezing here in Scotland. Dark clouds smothered the nation; rain, drizzle and hail fell at one point or another; beer gardens were empty. This week is a different story, and as if the Gods that … Continue reading
To Blog, or Not to Blog
Image: legalmarketingmaven.com A New Blog Well, this feels weird. I last posted on this blog on 7th February, 2012. It contained a poem about the perils of Scottish Independence called BROKEN NATION. Two weeks later the blog was invaded by … Continue reading
Christmas Headaches
Image: News.com.au I was into everything over the weekend—everything! Not only did I get through a ton of Christmas cleaning, DIY work, TV and gadget fixing, and writing work, but I also managed a Day Job Xmas bash, and a … Continue reading
Posted in Day Job, eBooks, Edinburgh, Family, Fiction, Food, Drink and Bevvy, Writing
Tagged alcohol, bevy, birthday party, brunch, Chrimbo, Christmas, Christmas cards, Christmas headaches, Christmas tree, cleaning, Cloisters, coffee and pastries, computer games, curry, daughter, DIY, eBooks, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, ereaders, Family, Fiction, Food, Drink and Bevvy, free ebooks, Greener is the Grass, Indaba, Indian meal, Khushis, Kindle, Kobo, Mother-in-Law, novel, novella, pizza, pubs, Slick, South African food, summer reading, The Pear Tree, work, Writing, Xbox, Xmas
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Time is Tight and the Scotrail Fiasco Rumbles On
Image: FoxNoMad Tight with Time Things are starting to get tight with time and for once it’s NOT to do with the eternal battle between the day job and my writing career. This time, it’s Christmas versus DIY. The house … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Day Job, eBooks, Family, Leith, Poetry, Scotland, Travel, Writing
Tagged Art, art students, assault, Christmas, Christmas cards, Christmas presents, Christmas tree, decoration, DIY, eBooks, free ebooks, giveaway, home, House, illustrations, iMac, iPhone, Kamila Ratajczak, Leith, Leith School of Art, living room, loung, novels, Scotland, Scotrail, Silly Poems for Wee People, thrillers, ticket dodgers, time, time is tight, train, violence
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Fighting Back Against the Fare Dodgers
Image: The List TIME Newsfeed summed it up perfectly: if you ever find yourself on a Scottish train without a ticket, don’t even think about trying to sneak a free ride. The video in this article (which has now caused … Continue reading
Posted in Day Job, eBooks, Fiction, Scotland, Travel, Websites, Writing
Tagged Books, Christmas, Coffee, Day Job, eBooks, fare dodgers, feedback, Fiction, free, giveaway, Internet, novel, novella, online, readers, Reading, Scottish, Shopping, Slick, Time magazine, Time Newsfeed, trains, Website
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Manky Scotland
Image: Flickr A manky day, truly manky. It was below freezing for most of it, the overnight snow (yes, snow!) had iced up hard, and I nearly skidded onto my arse at least twice on my way into the day … Continue reading
Posted in Day Job, eBooks, Leith, Music, Poetry, Scotland, Travel, Writing
Tagged freezing, gig review, Kilmarnock, Leith, Living Leith, Music, planning, Poetry, preparations, Scotland, Scottish weather, Shed Seven, SKY Project, sleet, snow, Travel, Weather
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A Child Abuse Reminder from Banksy at Christmas
Image: BBC Mega busy in the day job yesterday after my boss landed a heap of trouble on my desk at the last moment. Christmas cheer abounds in the office these days, so much so in fact, that yesterday the … Continue reading →