Happiness wine and the joy of spontaneous poetry

It's not often that I venture forth from the house after I get back from work. This evening was an exception - my summer shoes are officially d.e.a.d, having a great big hole in each sole that I can fit my hand through, so I mounted a short expedition to a popular brand-name supermarket to pick up a cheap replacement pair.

On a seemingly unrelated note, I had a glass of wine with dinner. Everyone tells me that I get giggly when I'm tipsy, but it took this expedition to really drive home the cheerfulness that comes over me after a nice glass of Pinot Grigio.

The evening was lovely. The air was cool, the rain had passed, and the sun was hidden by just enough fluffy cloud to keep it shining in my eyes as I walked. The people on the bus seemed happy and sociable. The drivers in the well-known brand supermarket were friendly and let me cross at the crossing (this is a first - I was surprised). And as I walked, I looked up and saw this.

You can't tell from this photo, but that *tiny* black dot in the centre is a balloon, forlornly drifting through the London skies. I smiled when I saw it, I sympathised with its lonely journey, and then, for no reason other than wine, I wrote a little haiku about the thoughts that went through my head watching it go by. A haiku that is on the cutting edge of current events. This one speaks to me. It's a little frightening.

*Ahem*

Black balloon floats by.

I grab my phone and chase it.

But it's not Gastly.

And on a final note, I may be playing Pokemon. We can debate what counts as 'too much' Pokemon, and we can throw around words like 'turn that damn game off', 'do some work', or 'get out of my back garden', but what would we gain from that? Let's all just be happy that I'm happy. And let's all drink wine.

OUT NOW - Title Not Included

I'm definitely on the late side with this, but injuries have suspended play for a little while. Better late than never, then, I present to you...

Title Not Included: An Ensemble of Short Stories, available on Kindle (UK and US) and in paperback (UK and US). The versions are, unfortunately, not linked on Amazon due to things and stuff (in fact, I'm not rightly sure why they're not linked, but I'm going to put it down to technical issues and move on), but the links above should take you to the relevant pages.

Contributors include Lauren K. Nixon, G. Burton, Jessica Grace Coleman, H.R.H Allen, Hannah Burns, Philip Lickley, Cynthia Holt, and Liz Hearson, as well as myself. Follow through to their websites/blogs for a look at what these guys are up to.

While you're clicking on links, take a quick gander at my Goodreads author page here. I'm new to Goodreads, so I'm slowly figuring out all the things you can do as an author there, but it looks pretty exciting so far. And if you're into that sort of thing, you can also add Title Not Included to your 'to read' list. If you've already read it, a review or two wouldn't hurt, although if you are that way inclined I'd humbly ask if you could add the review on the Amazon paperback page as a first stop, since numbers of reviews seem to count for something (I didn't deal with the publishing side, so I don't quite understand what) and we're at risk of splitting reviews between the different book formats. Even if you don't write anything, click on the little stars and give us a mark out of 5. We're in the market for as many little stars as we can get.


That'll do for the publicity push. If you missed it, check out my previous post with an excerpt from the book, and then head on over to Amazon to buy yourself a copy. I will personally guarantee* you won't regret it.

*Personal guarantee worthless. Never trust an author.