Christmas book signing... there'll be books, there'll be sheep...

While bedlam ensues on the high street  this Saturday I'll be enjoying the Christmas  party atmosphere at York Flea Market , so why not come along and buy a unique gift for someone for Christmas, and enjoy some festive food and drink.

There'll be books - there'll be sheep. one sheep free with every purchase of But I'm Not Sleepy while stocks last...

Sheep production line... and new colours on the way!

Sheep production has become a bit of a production line this week, after running out of black wool, I knitted 4 sheep bodies in one evening, but only one had a head and they were all legless ad earless - so last night I knitted the other 3 heads and attached them, and did a line a ears which are all still connected like a a line of spaced out punting... So that means tonight must be faces and legs night. I think I prefer knitting one sheep at a time...

Sheep production is about to branch out into other colours - I've just been knitting cream sheep with black faces and legs so far, but I now have some black wool and some grey wool ordered, and I might even branch out into rainbow sheep - if there is a demand - views anyone...?

Don't panic it's nearly Christmas

Is it just me or is Christmas sneaking up on everyone this year...?

...and I still have one more book signing to fit in before Christmas - Lost in a Book will  be at York Flea Market this Saturday signing books and giving a free sheep away with copies of But I'm Not Sleepy (while stocks last)

I had a wool crisis last night when I ran out of black wool, resulting in a number of legless and even some headless sheep being knitted, but this has been remedied with fresh wool for York market, and sheep production will continue tonight.

How not to write a blurb...

So my task of the day is to write a blurb for my forthcoming book...

I made a start, I made some notes, then I remembered that there is a formula for writing blurbs - buzz words, and ways of making a blurb stand out, so I googled it...

I read some advice about how to go about it, the best one seemed to be to read the blurbs from similar books to get inspiration, which lead me to a well known on line book seller, and that's when inspiration turned to distraction - after reading some blurbs, I then progressed to the 'look inside' option, and I was soon totally absorbed in reading some first chapters, and now have a short list of 3 books that I simply have to read...  so what now - well maybe I should analyse what took me from market research to need to buy... or maybe I should just get my head down and write my blurb...

Book signing at Christmas fair this weekend near York

This one has to be one of my favourites of the year - a Christmas fair in the beautiful Tithe Bran Nether Poppleton near York. 7th Dec 10am - 4.30pm

And what's more - tomorrow is Support Small Business Day, and my business can be fitted into a fewer boxes and bags, although I did invest in a crate on wheels this summer so that I don't enter every event staggering under the weight of my books and a flock of sheep... well they are only small sheep, but sheep can be quite unruly, especially without the help of a sheepdog...

Stormy day in York

It's stormy in York today, the perfect day to write a blurb and design a book cover, if I can just stop looking out at the roof felt as it makes its bid for freedom from the shed roof...

The cats are in danger of becoming stir crazy, they don't like the wind either, when Captain insisted on me opening the door for him, he got caught in a gust of wind, blowing his ears flat against his head and making him hunch his head up into his shoulders.

A water butt lid just blew past the window, and there's a mini lake under the front door...

Free gift

Everyone loves a free gift, and since my knitted sheep have been such a hit at Christmas fairs, I've let some of them lose in my website bookshop, where they're running a amok and getting into mischief.

So if you'd like to give a good home to one of these woolly characters, they're £3 each, or free with a copy of But I'm Not Sleepy

One hand knitted sheep

approx size:

nose to tail 12cm

width 7cm (some are fatter than others)

height 7cm (when on tip toes)

Each sheep is hand made and therefore slightly different. They were inspired by the characters in the book But I'm Not Sleepy, and can be purchased individually or free as a gift from me when you buy a copy of the book.

Lost in a Book, knitted sheep and book signings...

Well on Friday I got totally lost in a book, and all mundane jobs and worries went out of my head, in favour of editing ready to  get a print quote for my next book. There are a lot of photos despite my best efforts to edit some out, so I think I'll be taking a deep breath before opening the quote, and hope I don't have to edit out any more.

Meanwhile... sheep production is back in full swing to promote But I'm Not Sleepy at my Christmas book signings - the next one is in the beautiful Tithe Barn in Nether Poppleton near York on Saturday 7th Dec 10am - 4.30pm There'll be one free knitted sheep with every purchase of But I'm Not Sleepy, while stocks last.