May-be I'm Back #amwriting #Authors4ALSA #ThinkBlue4ALSA

And here we are with May almost over. Wowzers. I can't believe how quick it's gone, and there's a few important things to mention before the end.

Final days for Authors For ALSA

May marked our Authors Supporting ALSA month, including two of my co-bloggers here at Spacefreighters - Laurie and Greta - and the Blue Cover Brigade. But May is drawing to an end, which means you don't have long left to help support the ALS Association by picking up on of the beautiful blue cover books from Authors Supporting ALSA!

Looking for Blue skies and smooth sailing to cure ALS

The skies are Blue,

Our books are too.
​We're fighting ALS

with some help from YOU! ​

Twelve enthusiastic sci-fi romance and paranormal romance authors. Fifteen fantastic blue covered books. One month to help support an outstanding organization.

From May 1-31, 2018 these authors will donate a minimum of 25% of their sales of these books to the ALS Association, an organization dedicated to providing ALS patients and their families with a multitude of different types of assistance, and continuing research to find a cure for this deadly disease. 

See all the books here: http://www.leakirk.com/supporting-als.html

Already got Keir? Don't panic. I've decided to add any sales from any of my other blue cover books as well (but not The Bones of the Sea as that's a free book so there are no royalties to donate). 

Already got those too? You can always go to the Blue Cover Page on the ALSA site and make a donation direct here: http://webgw.alsa.org/site/TR/Endurance/GoldenWest?team_id=367681&pg=team&fr_id=12950
ALSA Twitter: https://twitter.com/napaALSride
ALSA Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/RidetoDefeatALS/?hc_location=group

Now, I understand things can be tight so there is still another free way you can help us by sharing this post anywhere on social media. All it will cost is a few seconds of your time, and it could make all the difference.

However you choose to do it, thank you so much for your support!

Going Solo: A Mini Review

I'm not going to post spoilers and I'm going to keep it brief. I can't say I was all that onboard with the idea of the film - I'm not a fan of the character, and my leaning is much more towards the Jedi and the Skywalker family. However, I loved Rogue One and I went into Solo trying to view it as another chapter in the Star Wars universe rather than who it was about, and elements of the trailers looked interesting. But while I liked the film, I didn't love it and I felt it was rather shallow and a little on the dull side overall. It could have been so much more. My favourite bit was the train heist and the first appearance of Chewbacca, with the finale my least favourite and falling flat. Oh, well.

Writing Update

Don't freak out but...I've been writing. Oh, yes. I've been working on a side story in my main scifi romance series, a *missing* novella my editor thought should take place before book three. I've also done some tweaks on a Christmas story for Keir and Quin that I gave away as a limited edition freebie in the last two years, but that I'd now like to get edited and with some proper artwork for an official release, AND I've pulled out my SF mystery novella in the hope of finishing it. No, I still can't just work on a single project...

Chick Update

The babies will be three weeks old tomorrow, and they're at the scruffy stage as the last of their feathers start to grow through. They only really have chick fluff left on their heads now, but I'm still none the wiser on gender. By now my Pekins had shown signs of gender, but not my d'uccles! Little teases. 

Countdown to #NorCon #cosplay

Nor-con is fast approaching - this coming weekend in fact, though we're only going on the Sunday - and one wall plus various corners of my front room currently look like a costume department.

For 13yo's Witch-king, I still need to find a way to attach the newly completed scabbard to his belt - the sword and rather terrifying flail were both built by my husband after he took on the non-fabric sections of the cosplay leaving me free to tackle modifying the cloak and making the sword belt. I've given up with making the gauntlets now.

I've also still got youngest's Mark II Luigi to finish as he outgrew the original. Eep.
In the meantime, I thought I'd take my Anakin cosplay up a notch with a wig, being as I didn't get time to make myself a new cosplay this year. But I think I'll have to stick with my blond spikes and padawan braid...

Hubs is actually dressing up too this year but I won't tell you as who. I'll post pictures after the con and maybe offer a little prize for the first person to get it. :P


Status Update
Unexpected is getting some final tweaks. Although it's scheduled for release as part of an anthology, the thought of not releasing a new title this year is making me twitchy. I haven't gone a year without publishing something new since 2011! So I may do a limited time run of it this month just because..


Chook Update
Fizzgig is finally regrowing her feathers, thought she's still showing a lot of blue pins rather than brown feathers. Here are my girls enjoying the very nice sunshine on my patio just moments ago (I'm also enjoying the sun as I type this, coffee in hand and back door open. I may have to take my hoodie off!

Chick Update
Marvel and Firefly are now a month old and adorably scruffy as they shed the last of their fluff for much needed feathers. This is probably our last chick adventure - we've discussed buying one day old sexed chicks and placing them under expert mama Effie but this relies on some being available at the right time ie when she's broody. Timing is everything. It's more likely we'll buy young hens in the spring once our new coop and run are done and egg laying season is upon us, and possibly a different breed from our usual Pekins.

A Faster Than Light Update #chooks #books #cosplay

This is Pippa Jay reporting for duty...


Some of you may have noted my absence from social media despite the end of the summer holidays. Some personal issues plus my new job (even though it's only a couple of shifts a week), the extra time and effort I've had to devote to the chooks, and a general despondency (probably a touch of SAD as the weather took a very definite autumnal turn just as the monsters went back to school after a very hectic and occasionally stressful last two weeks) led me to deactivate my Facebook account temporarily (maybe) and to avoid my traditional venue to chat on Twitter. While the scary health issues have been resolved, I'm still finding social media too 'noisy'.
But I know many of you have loved the chook updates and some were super concerned about the first batch of chicks that you've followed along from the arrival of the eggs to their early adulthood, especially as it turned out they were all male, throwing their future into doubt.
I'm happy to say that this weekend, my five beautiful boys went to a new (if possibly temporary) home on a ten acre site with assorted other fluffy and feathered friends. Potentially temporary because the new owner will continue to try finding even better forever homes but the boys will always have a place with him if not. It would be nice if they could end up with some hens of their own somewhere. I'm following them still so will let you know if they move on elsewhere.

Marvel and Firefly are now coming up to four weeks old and have been happy to move into the newly vacated nursery coop now my boys have gone. Just in time as they were starting to flutter out of their enclosure in our summer house! Unfortunately it looks like Marvel is a cockerel - after the last batch we know a bit more of what to look for. He's a fraction bigger than Firefly, has a more pronounced comb emerging, and is bullying his sibling. It's especially heartbreaking after almost losing him to hatching issues and bringing him back from the edge, but that's the reality of animal ownership. At least now we have somewhere we know is a good place to take him.

Plans are afoot for us to demolish our current set up of two wooden coops and run in preference for a single larger plastic coop (the wooden ones are prone to red mite infestations, and these little buggers suck blood and can seriously harm the health of chickens) with a larger run. This will improve the chooks' health, and give them better security and more space, as well as making life easier for us. The run will be a walk in version - at the moment we have to crawl around in the current run as it's only three foot in height. We'll also have a better view of the chickens from the house to keep an eye on them. This will happen over the winter, and we hope to buy a couple of new hens, possibly of a different bantam breed , as our hatching adventures have only given us one hen out of 12 eggs!
Our older girls have now stopped laying and stopped being broody ready for winter. It looks as though Kyru - our second oldest at three years - may have reached the end of her egg laying years like Scoop (now five and eggless for the past two). They're still our pets though, but this is why we need some new blood - Pitch, Effie and Fizzgig may well stop laying after the next season if two years productivity is typical for the breed. The girls are also moulting but my poor Fizzgig apparently decided to do it en masse and spent a few days horribly half naked. She currently looks like a cyborg chicken - the blue pins that will become new feathers look scarily like circuitry! But I'm happy to see the new growth - I was on the verge of making her a jumper to keep her warm. Apologies for the shaky photos - she's a fidget and won't keep still for a second!

Nor-Con is in less than two weeks though my post on that will be slightly delayed due to the release of Pets in Space 2 featuring crew member Laurie (check out her recent posts for more info on that). Currently I'm rushing to remake youngest's Luigi cosplay because he's outgrown the previous one (damn growth spurts!), while my newly turned 13yo (yes, I now have TWO teens in the house and boy do I know it) still needs a belt and scabbard for his Witch-king. Must get back to it. Meanwhile, Unexpected is still with the proofreader with no news on a release date as yet.
Transmission ends...

The Marks Hall Sculpture Trail #art #inspiration #fantasy #scifi

During the holidays, a local stately home and garden ran an extra exhibition - a sculpture trail with more than 300 pieces from 59 national and international sculptures set in their extensive grounds. A couple of friends had already posted some pictures from the trail - a mirrored portal which immediately got my attention - so we decided to give it a go. It would take me weeks to post all the images, so instead I've hand-picked a few with a scifi theme/feel to them and a few of my absolute favourites. Warning: some nudity.

Not a sculpture but a real life dragonfly

First of two sculptures called Serenity.

Greer - Guardian Angel

My monsters re-enact a scene from Primeval - running for the portal home!

One of a pair of Portal sculptures.

Abstract torso

another abstract torso

another Portal

If you prefer fantasy to scifi, a gateway in wood

and a hanging chair.

Nebula I

Nebula II

Fracture

The Three Graces

Fusion

Not a sculpture, but Marks Hall's Australia zone, planted up with appropriate
trees and grasses. Really felt like we'd stepped out of the UK!

The Family Group

Pollen (large) and Pollen (small)

Sputnik

another Serenity

Pollen Bomb

Either Or

Ribbon

Ammonite Outside

Reminds me of an episode of Doctor Who - The Keeper of Traken

Another Doctor Who-esque piece - The Face of Evil

And by the last few, I've not been able to memorize the names. Sorry! I hope you might find some story inspiration in amongst those.

Chook Update
I've been trying to find new forever homes for our five boys, now two months old. Unfortunately our eldest - Bailey - started crowing at the weekend (some three months before they're supposed to) so they needed to go asap before he really found his voice and/or his brothers got the idea too. I was hoping to find them homes as pets but they'll probably go to a generic sanctuary instead. Unfortunately the sanctuary requires a £20 donation per bird, so at the moment I'm only able to rehome two of them to there. I also removed Mama Effie and returned her to her adult sisters. I felt bad but both babies and mama don't seem too upset about it. Here's Effie and her boys enjoying a final family dust bath together.

As for the new chicks... Sadly egg number three failed to hatch despite the chick being fully developed. Marvel and Firefly are now two weeks old and testing their wings. We know they aren't frizzles but they're definitely a feisty little pair, having not been handled as much as the previous babies.

Marvel (left) and Firefly (right)

And a little video of Mama Pitch with the new babies.