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As a precursor for the great pirate event which begins at Rozelle on 2nd November South Ayrshire Libraries have been running pirate events for young landlubbers! There will be a V&A exhibition and many activities until March 2020 so………….watch out for info!

Last Saturday I had book orders to post off. Not one of the three printers in my house was working..not one! Undaunted I copied invoices on to my pen drive and set off for the local library….my favourite go-to place whenever problems arise. Guess what? The library printers were out of order and the weekend staff could not remedy the situation. I did manage to copy a couple of documents and…guess again, I’d changed bags and my purse was still at home in the day before’s bag! I returned home, got the money, returned to the library and paid for the copies then I set off for the next nearest library.
I printed off the invoices, sealed the packages and set off for the post office. Oh the joy when I saw the books places safely in the post bag. The joys of being a writer, satisfying though.
This morning, in the wee small hours, I wakened and oh the brain kicked in with ideas for a new story I’m in the midst of. Not wanting to disturb my husband, I reached for the notepad and pencil which were at the bedside. This was most fortunate because I have to grab every idea and get it recorded in text. The brain just would not let up and there were three more interruptions to my sleep. Let’s hope the story ends up being worth it!
There’s seldom a dull moment in a writer’s life, I love it!

I have decided on this glorious Autumn day that I should forego the pleasures for writing and chill. I climbed over the back wall and gathered brambles(blackberries) and apples growing wild. Every time I gather brambles I think of my grandpa who took me brambling when I was wee. Happy days!
I think I was due a break from writing(and here I am at it again!) as I’ve been working on the next Tartan Witch book, my children’s novel and getting my Tax return organised. All in all it’s been pretty busy. Tax is sorted though so that’s a great relief. I’m back to NYC in December and this morning I had the cheek to ask the Public Library, NYC if I might be able to do a reading whilst there….if you don’t ask!!! Watch this space. I’m really excited about the latest witch story…I suppose I’m pretty excited about the novel too, heyho.
My brain is working overtime telling me of great ideas, it just has to remind the memory part to remember them all because sometimes I just can’t keep up with it!😂 I’m just off to jot down a few ideas…just in case.

I spent yesterday morning at the Outdoor Education Dept with the Learning Outdoors Support Team planning curricular lessons with How the Pirates Turned the Tide as stimulus. This proved most satisfying and I thoroughly enjoyed helping devise engaging activities which will develop the children’s understanding of a healthy lifestyle, recycling, sustainability and plastic pollution through all curricular areas. I am so looking forward to this being implemented in term 3….bring it on!

Last Saturday I was delighted to read the first few chapters of my latest venture, a children’s novel, to twenty keen listeners at Troon Library. After the reading the children played my ‘Scarecrow Drive’ game, a crossword, wordsearch and a ‘How Many Words Can You See’ sheet. Ella and Eilidh illustrated scenes from the chapters read.