'The Bodleian Murders' book launch

It doesn't take much to get me down to the pub to listen to some local authors reading from their latest book, and I'm certainly glad that I accepted the invitation from Jane Gordon-Cumming to come to the launch of the OxPens writers' latest anthology - 'The Bodleian Murders'.
There was a great atmosphere at the event and the anthology sounds like it'll be a cracking read.

The Write Fantastic

I met up with a host of Authors at the 5th Anniversary Write Fantastic today.
Amongst them, Ian Whates seen here with the eBook version of his novel 'The Noise Within' as produced by Oxford eBooks in April.
Ian also joined in one of the lively panel discussions at the event and was avaialble for book signings throughout the day.
Something that occured to me after I joked that I didn't want Ian to sign the Kindle was, that if eBooks ever spell the death of printed books, then surely it would put an end to book signings... ok so that's not likely to happen, but what if there WERE some digital equivalant? How might that work? I guess you could use the annotation feature on the kindle to write a dedication, but it's hardly the same is it.
Oh.... now hang on a minute I think I know how this might work, I've just had a BRILLIANT idea. I'm going to write a couple of emails to a couple of people. Watch this space.

I also caught up with independant author Dawn Cartwright who'd travelled all the way across the country with some other members of the Welwyn Writers group. Here she is proud as punch with her trilogy of short stories 'It Always Happens in Threes'. As an occasional writer myself, I know the value of being able to get work out in the open and up for sale through channels more serious than the vanity sites. That's why Oxford eBooks is keen to try to support writers by making their short stories or experimental writing into eBooks.

Many thanks, of course to Juliet McKenna for allowing me to ply my trade at the event and of course to Jenni Hill and Dave Moore from Abaddon / Solaris for putting my brochures and business cards on their sales table.







Ian Watson (below) treated us to an improptue and rudely hilarious reading... and shared with us all one of the unfortunate side effects of being a vampire. Being undead and therefore having no blood pressure to speak of it would seem that even the Little Blue Pill can be of no help during those... crucial moments.