Party Time!, John Bellairs, ROW80, and Photos from Book and Craft Fairs

Night at the Museum!

Featuring... The Tower of London, a spaceship crashing through the roof, monks, warriors, a veteran of World War I, a veteran of the Viet Nam war, a man cursed into Beast form, King Charles II, a race on a Ducati, a koala, a cave that leads to Australia, a talking garden gnome...

All of that, and more!

Yup, the Writers' Houseparty is in full swing, and if I'm falling behind on blog comments that's the reason. Non-stop writing, creating, exploring, and making friends.

Five of my characters are attending this round, including Kedi the cat.

Here's a very brief snip, featuring two of my characters meeting another:
The hair rose on the back of his neck, and before he could prevent it, all the Beast's senses were rushing to the forefront.
He growled, deep in the back of his throat, and made to fling Len off. He'd pin him down, and then... well, his Mistress was always hungry.
"Fred, what are you doing? Stop!"
As suddenly as the Beast had risen, it was tamped down. His hands - hands, not paws - fell from the man's neck.
Lyne had grabbed his arm, and just like that, the Beast had receded.
He stepped back on wobbly legs. "Sorry, man. Look, we didn't see any girl, right? But if you need help looking for her -"
"I heard voices from over that way," Lyne said. "I'm Lyne, by the way. What's your name?"
And the Beast caught a new scent. Of musk, and sandalwood. She found this bloke attractive? How could she?
How could Beauty even look at another?
Not much time left for ROW80, so I'm hoping this party will kickstart my motivation and get me back on the editing wagon. I've got to submit a snip for WRiTE Club!

In perfect timing, Nathan Bransford has a post on When It Feels Like You're Never Doing Enough, and Kait Nolan's got a post that summarises my own lifelong attitude to trying, not trying, and avoiding failure.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the publication of John Bellairs' The House With a Clock in Its Walls. A perfect excuse to reread all his wonderful, mysterious, thrilling books.

illustrations by Edward Gorey! Read more here

I was at a beerfest a couple of weeks ago!

Wey Beer Cream Porter - yum!

A list of Rogue Ales

I had the Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout - yum!

A display of Molson bottles over the years

A massive German bottle

Local microbrewery Boqubiere

Good old Newcastle

Round about the same time, I organised a charity book fair at work!


Browsers

We raised 925$ for a children's library in Tanzania, which the office 'International Fund' sponsors. I, er, contributed by picking up a few handfuls of books for myself...

And last month I was at a craft fair!

Me on arrival

Setting up

Panorama shot

Ready!

Ready to sell!

Lots of knitting - a baby hat

Other vendors had interesting items, including homemade soap, handmade dolls, jewellery, jams, baked goods. I won't pretend I didn't use up some of my profits buying from fellow sellers!

Homemade lipgloss in the bottom righthand corner - this, oddly enough, turned out to be my bestseller that day

Have you attended or hosted a fair recently?
Which book's anniversary are you celebrating?

Comments

Gosh, I am always worn out reading your very active posts! You certainly keep busy, Deniz. Keep up the good work, especially the fundrasing!
Crystal Collier said…
Now I need to totally go reread that book! It's been way too many years.

What a fun display, and your little girl hats are adorable. Way to get out and be a part of the community!
nutschell said…
great post. Lots going on and I love those pictures!
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Looks like lots of fun things!! Loved the snippet :) I was just at the local lunch and music fair today by the river--lots of good food and fun times!
Dana said…
You've been busy! :) Good for you for organizing the book fair. I wouldn't know where to begin...

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday. ☺
Unknown said…
That Len is such a troublemaker...

The craft fair sounds like so much fun--wish I could have gone!
J.L. Murphey said…
I love arts and craft bazaars. Book stalls are always a hit. Boy, but the organization skills needed.
M Pax said…
What neat hats. They'd sell great at the observatory... it's cold up there. The lip gloss, too. Lips get chapped up there.

I have a booth with other writers this weekend to sell our books at a street fair. I'm a bit nervous, so am glad I'm doing it with others.

You've been uber busy. :)
PK HREZO said…
Go, you!! Awesomesauce! You've been super busy and productive. And we always understand when blog visits go down. It's expected. :D
Jocelyn Rish said…
Mmm... beer! I had a crème brûlée beer a few weeks ago that just about changed my life it was so good. All your crafts look so cute - I wish I was more crafty!
Jeff Hargett said…
Always good to see fundraisers for worthy causes. You are a busy little beaver, aren't you? Good luck on your WRiTE Club submission!
Hi Deniz .. as Glynis says your fundraising efforts are amazing .. and you're writing, reading and storing ideas for the future ..

Then that beer - looks a fun time ..and obviously tasty very creamy yummy!

Cheers Hilary
Talli Roland said…
You've been busy! Yay for beer and beer fests!
Old Kitty said…
Oh wow!! Look at you at your lovely stall with all your fab stuff!! I am so not surprised the lip gloss was the big seller!!! I went to Boots here (sells make up stuff) and they looked at me as if I spoke gibberish when I asked for lip gloss!!! LOL!!!

Awww poor Beast!!! How could Beauty look at another! Oh dear!! Take care
x
Anonymous said…
Holy cow you've been busy! Cool when characters (fictional and flesh&blood) run into each other.
Nas said…
Oh, my! So many things Deniz!

Great that you had a good time!
Anonymous said…
How do you find time to do all this? The craft fair looks fun. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but that looks like a cool event.

Happy writing. :)
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks so much everyone! I wish you all could have been at these festivals with me :-)

I hope the author-ly books stall went well, M!
I love the pictures of you. What pretty items for sale!
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Theresa :-)