Dear Abyss, The book is finished, I think... sharing the journey of building a picture book.

 March 2026

Dear Abyss,

The book is finished, I think… all the words and pictures seem to be getting along, so I’ve closed the book (file), and come out from under my rock to have a play with technology.

We’ve already had false spring, and now we seem to be dipping back into winter again, …resisting the temptation to go back into hibernation here, but with a theme of sleep, there is a good deal of yawning involved, from the characters and the author. I really must write something more lively, but it is a bedtime story, so I’m probably on the right track with yawning… zzzz

Bye for now

AMS

Self Publishing in the UK sharing the journey... again

February 2026
February and it’s still raining…

So how is the book coming along?

It’s so very nearly there, and so tempting to just get it finished, but there are some illustrations that don’t quite click as I format them into the book; words and pictures having their usual argy bargy as they settle onto the page together. And I know from experience that this is the easiest time to make any alterations, or even do a new picture, because nothing is yet set in place, things can still shuffle around or be replaced without too much trouble. So it’s back to the drawing board with a couple of pictures.

The theme of the book is sleep, or lack of it, and as the characters yawn their way through their story it’s hard not to join them. zzzz

January 2026

It’s January, and it’s raining…

So… here we are in a new year, well 22 days into a new year if we’re counting. But can we really count days that never seem to get properly light? I think bears have the right idea; we did the gathering of food and stuff ready for Christmas, so now we should be hibernating and living off the stuff we gathered (or just sleeping).

So how is the book coming along?

I think the characters may have gone into hibernation after being neglected over Christmas, certainly the paint brushes had forgotten how to paint! But during these dark days of January the paint has started to flow again, the cogs of the imagination are turning slowly and the characters are coming back out to play…

 

  

Tis the season, well the season to be getting ready for the season at least

Tis the season, well the season to be getting ready for the season at least.

I have two Christmas fairs booked in and around York and will give more details nearer the time. Christmas is a big time for gifts and what better gift than a book! So it is the time of year when I gather my books and a pen, and go out into the world to encourage as many people as possible that mine are the perfect books to wrap and give this season.

And also: the picture book is still brewing, technology has not been my friend this week, and just when I thought I had the upper hand with the new scanner, it had other ideas and decided it didn’t want to send pictures to the file I wanted them in, and would much rather save in a different file type to the one I need. So I’m going to be having another play with the scanner once I’ve finished here, and get the pictures I want, where I want them…

Never a dull moment in self publishing…