Run Up to Paisley's Comic Con

Well, Paisley's comic con is only about a month away now and I'm getting there with making sure that I'm ready. I already have most of my books in, ready to be sold. I'm just waiting for copies of The Dance Macabre to be delivered. I will have to organise to get some promotional material, including some things to do some pre-publication promotion for Ravensrise, the first book in my Ravens Trilogy.
As part of comic con this year, those who are in the Creativity Hub, have been asked to do some activities for those who are coming to comic con. They want an emphasis on encouraging people to read. What I'm going to do, is have a note book, where people can write a paragraph, as a continuation of what has been written before, creating a novel out of a collective creativity. I will also have a box that will be filled with story prompts. People will be able to pick one, take it away with them, and start writing. I've told the guys running Paisley's comic con that this is what I'm planning for my activities and they seem really happy with it. It will mean that I'll be able to do them, without leaving my stall.
It is going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be on the 14th April, in Paisley's town hall. Come along and enjoy yourselves. Cosplay and make a day of it.

Events 2018

I have some good news.
I was recently told that I have a table at Paisley's second comic con. It will be taking place on the 14th April, in Paisley's town hall. I'll be in the Creator's Hub. I'll be selling copies of my books, as well as carrying out activities for those who are attending the comic con.
I am really looking forward to taking part in this, especially after how good last year's comic con was. There were so many there who were cosplaying, and it was brilliant to see all of the other creatives who were selling there wares.
I do hope that Paisley's comic con gets bigger and better with every passing year. It is events like this that are getting Paisley back into the public awareness, for all of the good reasons.

I'm still hoping that I will be able to run my own event as part of the Southside Fringe in Glasgow. If everything goes to plan, I will be able to hold my event, I'll be able to use it carry out some pre-publication promotion of Ravensrise, the first novel in my Ravensrise Trilogy. I just need to organise a venue, where I'll be able to hold the event.

New Year

Well, that's the start of 2018.
I have to admit, I had hoped that I would have achieved a lot more in 2017 as a writer. Things were quiet on the publishing front, and I haven't managed to go full time yet, but I have been working away on my fantasy trilogy. Book 1is more or less ready to go to my editor, and the very rough first draft of Book 3 is sitting, waiting to be kicked into shape.
I had written the rough first draft of Book 2 in 2016, for NaNoWriMo, but as I am an eejit, I managed to save over the file. That saw me lose everything that I had written. I have started to rewrite it. Hopefully, I will get it down as soon as possible. I am planning on having Book 1 in 2018. If everything goes to plan, Book 2 will be published six months after that.
I am also planning on organising an event for the Southside Fringe in Glasgow. I will be using it to do some pre-publication promotion for my novel. I have also applied to take part in Paisley's second Comic Con. So, it looks like 2018 is going to be a busy year.

City of Culture

As some of you will have known, Paisley had bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021. Unfortunately, the town didn't win the title. I have to admit, there were many of those working in the creative industries, who call the town home, who were really disappointed, but it's not the end of the world. There is still so much more going on in the town, and we have come this far, so we cannot allow ourselves to stop now.
The bid certainly has had positive effect on the town. Lisa Kowalski, who is a Paisley based singer-songwriter, had her first music video funded by those running the bid. Those running Clockoderik Press also received funding in order to get the ball rolling with them. There are a number of open mic events that take place within the town, some of which also give opportunities to writers to read their work. I will be continuing to work on my fantasy trilogy, which I will be independently publishing. Hopefully, I will be selling it through local retails, as well as on Amazon.
I have heard rumours that there will be other events in the pipeline, which will build on what has been achieved so far. So, to quote Benjamin Disraeli - "Keep an eye on Paisley."

The Ravensrise Trilogy

My current work in progress in the Ravensrise Trilogy. It's a fantasy and the premise is that there is a war on magic, with the four main characters fighting on the side of magic. Book 1 of the trilogy is currently with beta readers. I've had some feed back and people seem to be enjoying it. I am looking forward to getting it all back and finishing with that part of the process.
Then it's going to be sent off to my editor and we will have to see what she has to say about what I've written. Once that part of the process is finished, I will be one step closer to getting it published, which I will be doing independently. I will be getting some lovely cover art created for it. Even though I am a lot closer to publishing Book 1, there is still a lot of work to do, especially as I am hoping to have it published at th end of this year, or the start of next.
I am planning on taking part in a number of events in order to promote Book 1, once its published, including Paisley's Comic Con and the Southside Fringe.  I have been working on Book 2 of the trilogy. I have nearly finished writing the story, so, once Book 1 has been finished and published, I will sit down and start the process again. So, I have been keeping myself busy.

Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697

For the past two months, I have been selling copies of my books in the Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697's unit in the Paisley Centre. As well as focusing on the history of the Paisley witches, the RWH, is a group that aims to help and promote local people who work in the creative industries.
So far, the books that I am selling with them is Goddess of the Night, The Winter Queen, King and the Spider and The Weaver Poet.
The Weaver Poet, my Robert Tannahill collection, is selling well. I am working on getting copies of my other books, which I will be using to stock my wee spot in the shop. That will include my collection of poems by Alexander Wilson - Lines Written on a Summer Evening, as well as my collection of short stories and flash fiction called The Dance Macabre.
So, if you're in the Paisley area, keep an eye out.

The Weave Festival

I am going to be holding an event on the 1st July in Abbey Books, on Well Street, Paisley. It will be starting at 2pm. It is going to be part of the Weave Festival. For the event, I am going to be reading some of my work. I will also be bringing copies of my books along with me, if anyone is interested in buying themselves a copy.
I will also be taking part in an event in the Paisley Arts Centre. They are holding a music event as part of the Weave Festival, and during the musical acts, they have organised for local writers to read their work. I think that the event will be starting at 12 pm, and I will be there until about 1.30 pm. It is going to be a busy day, but I am hoping that it will give my work some more exposure.
So, if anyone is interested in coming along to either the event at the Arts Centre, or Abbey Books, come on.

A Busy Year

So far, 2017 has been a busy year.

The comic con in Paisley proved to be a success. Over 2,000 people came through the door. I managed to make a few sales, and spoke to plenty of people. It was great seeing so many people at the event, enjoying themselves, especially the cosplayers. I have heard talk that there are plans that they will be holding the cosplay again in 2018. I am planning on being at it next year.

The other night, I also took part in an open mic event for the Southside Fringe, in Glasgow. There was myself and a few other local writers performing at it, all of us reading our own work. There was a brilliant turn out, and such a high standard of work. So, a big thank you to the Southside Fringe for enviting me to take part in the open mic.

I am also going to be organising an event for the Weave Festival, in Paisley. It is going to involve Sma' Shot Day, a celebration of Paisley's weaving and radical heritage. I am in the process of writing a collection of flash fiction, celebrating Paisley, its history, and heritage. That will be taking place on the weekend on the 1st and 2nd July. 

I also have to finishing writing, reviewing and editing my novel, Ravensrise. It is the first book in a fantasy trilogy. I am hoping to have it finished and ready for the end of this year. So, I do have a lot of work ahead of me this year.

Wish me luck.

Paisley's Comic Con - Update

Well, it is less than a month until Paisley, Scotland, will be holding it's first ever comic con. It will be taking place on the 8th April in the Town Hall. There are going to be different stalls and events taking place, throught the day. There are going to be comic book artists, writers and other creative people taking part. It is a ticketed event, but the prices are more than reasonable. If I'm not mistaken, it's £2 for a concession, £4 for an adult, and £10 for a family of four.
I will be trading at this, selling copies of the books that I've independently published. I will also be promoting Nordland Publishing. Everything else is in place, ready for the biggest event that I've ever taken part in. I am nervous and really excited.Hopefully there will be an amazing turn out.
I will be taking plenty of photos, as well as some videos. This will definitly be a brilliant day to record. I am also looking into taking part in other events. 
So, if you are in the Paisley are, why not come along to the town's comic con?

Happy New Year

Happy new year everyone. I am hoping that 2017 is going to be a good year. I have many things that I'm going to be working on. I am looking forward to Paisley's Comic Con. I am also working on Ravensrise, a fantasy trilogy, involving magic. I will also be releasing more videos on my YouTube page. So, keep your eyes peeled over 2017.

Paisley's Comic Con - 8th April, 2017

Well, I have some big news.
I have been given a traders table at the first ever comic con in Paisley, Scotland. It will be taking place on the 8th April, 2017, in Paisley's town hall. I will be selling copies of my books at the event. Even though the event is taking place in April next year, I am already starting to work on getting in the stock that I will be needing for the event. So, I have set up a GoFundMe campaign in order to help raise the cash that I will be needing for the event.

https://www.gofundme.com/trading-at-paisleys-comic-con

I have to admit, I am both excited and nervous about taking part in something like this. This will be biggest event that I will have ever taken part in. As well as getting in copies of my books, I am also planning on getting in business cards and having wee goodie bags for anyone who buys any of my books. There is going to be a lot of planning, but an event like this will hopefully get the word out about my work.
I do hope that there will be a good turn out for the comic con and will bring a lot of people into Paisley. So, any of you comic book lovers, put the date in your diary and come along. 

Patreon

I have set up a Patreon page for myself. I only came across them recently, through a friend of mine, who is also a writer. He set one up for himself, two months ago. For those who have never heard of Patreon, it is a form of crowd funding, wit people pledging to be patrons for writers and artists. People can pledge different amounts, and do so on a regular basis. I know that there are people who don't like the idea of crowd funding, I am willing to give it at least a try.

I will be using any money that is pledged through Patreon to get my work into some of the independent retailers that are close to where I live. As with many writers and artists, getting my work sold in as many places as possible does prove difficult, due to money constraints. So, I am hoping that using Patreon will help with that, and will allow me to get my work out into as any retailers as possible. 

With the cutting back on fundings for the arts, sites like Patreon could be important, not just for individuals like myself, but also for larger scale projects. If you are interested in being a patron for myself, or anyone else, or you are interesting in funding your own project, definitly look in to Patreon.


https://www.patreon.com/clairecaseywriter

Paisley2021 - City of Culture Bid

This might be something that some of you have heard about, in the news, or online. Paisley is bidding to become UK City of Culture in 2021. Yes, Paisley is a town, rather than a city, but the title is open to large towns, which Paisleys is. I know that there are also people out there who have poured scorn on Paisley even going for this, claiming that there is nothing in the town, that it is essentially a shithole that has nothing going for it. Looking at it sort of defeats the purpose, as the title is often given to towns and cities that aren't perfect, but show promise.
Paisley is going up against Perth. Perth is somewhere else that I love dearly. If they had been going up against anyone else, I would have wanted Perth to win, but this time, I definitly want Paisley to walk away with the title.
I remember when Glasgow was awarded City of Culture status in 1991, the town was more than just rough around the edges, but having City of Culture status worked wonders for the city. That is what is being hoped will happen with Paisley. It is hoped that it will attract more investment and visitors. Because of the bid, it has been announced that about £50million is going to be spent on the town's museum and art gallery, which will see the town's Central Library moving to a location on the High Street.
As well as Paisley being home to the Spree Festival and Sma' Shot Day, over the past year, I have noticed an increase in cultural events in the town. Local cafes and pubs are holding open mic events, which have seen musicians, artists and poets/writers presenting their work. In October this year, there is even going to be another festival running alongside the Spree Festival. It is called the Spree for All, or simply, the Paisley Fringe. This will see musical and literary events taking place throughout the town, in a number of different venues.
I will be taking part in one, in the Library Bar and Kitchen on Causeyside Street, on the 17th October. It will be starting at 8pm and I will be launching my new poetry collection, The Winter Queen at that event. Paisley is a creative town and there is definitly a buzz about the town at the moment.
Recently, there has been a public art event in the town, called the Pride of Paisley. This involved a number of painted fibre glass lions being placed all over the town, from the Cross, to outside the Abbey, town hall and museum and art gallery. The reason why there were all of these lions all over Paisley, is because there is an old stuffed lion on display in the museum. He's called Buddy the Lion and he is something that everyone from Paisley remembers, from when they visited the museum as a child.
Even some of the shops had small versions of the lions in their shops. I have seen a number of people stopping to take photographs and actually going on the trail, in order to find them all. The run for this event has come to an end and the lions have all been removed, but they are going to be auctioned off to the highest bidders.
As a local writer, I am proud to pin my flag to the mast and say that I support Paisley's bid to become City of Culture in 2021.

Lines Written on a Summer Evening - A Collection of Poems by Alexander Wilson

I will soon be publishing a collection of poems by Alexander Wilson. He was a weaver, ornithologist and poet from Paisley. He was born in 1766, so he was contemporary with Robert Burns and Robert Tannahill. Even though he only recieved five years of formal education, Wilson had a strong love for poetry. Some of his poetry was satirical, focusing on the owners of Paisley's mills, and high lighting the conditions that were faced by those working in the mills. This led to Wilson being arrested.

Before he was put in jail, he was forced to publically burn some of his work. After he was released from prison, he emmigrated to America, taking one of his nephews with him. There weren't many oppertunities for weavers in America, which forced Wilson to look for work elsewhere. He ended up taking up teaching possitions in the Philadelphia area.

It was during this time that he developed his interest in ornithology. This saw Wilson travelling through what existed of the USA at that time, recording what birds he came across, and illistrating them as he went. This work was what became the book, American Ornithology, which stretched to nine volumes. Unfortunatly, Wilson died in 1813, a year before the last volume of Armerican Ornithlogy was published. Because of the work that Wilson carried out, he became known as the Father of American Ornithology. After his death, he was buried in the Goria Dei cemetary in Philidelphia.

The collection that I will be publishing, will featuring his poems and it will be available to buy from Amazon. I am also looking into finding outlets in Paisley, where copies of the collection will be available from.The photo at the bottom of this blog is going to be the front cover of the collection, and it features one of Wilson's illistration from American Ornithology. The slight mistakes on the back cover have been fixed and it is nearly ready to go. I am hoping that it will be getting published soon.

The Northern Queen by Kelly Evans

This is a novel by a very good friend of mine, Kelly Evans. It is set in 1002 AD, a time when Vikings and Anglo-Saxons were struggling for power and control. It begins with the St Brice's Day Massacre, which saw countless Danes being murdered. This leads to war between the Danes and the Anglo-Saxons. Two woman stand at the heart of the struggle. Both are strong and determined to achieve what they want. Love, ambition and revene wrapped up in an epic struggle for justice.

I love the style of this novel. I would recommend this to anyone who loves history, espeically when it comes to the Vikings. Politics, history, intrigue and war. Definitly worth the read. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Northern-Queen-Kelly-Evans/dp/8283310054/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465678322&sr=1-1&keywords=kelly+evans

The Weaver Poet - Robert Tannahill

It is official, I have just self published a copy of songs and poems by Robert Tannahill. He may not be as famous as Robert Burns, Tannahill is still remembered in his hometown of Paisley. His home still stands on Queen Street in the town, close to the Gallow Green. There is a pub standing on Neilston Road, which is named after Tannahill and a statue of him stands in the Abbey Close.

Despite a deformity to his right leg, and having a weak constitution, he still worked as a weaver, which was a physically demanding job. He had a small desk attached to his weaver's loom, so that he could write down his songs and his poems, all while he weaved. Despite his deformed right leg, which was shorter than his left, he still went off on long walks to the Gleniffer Braes. The influence of these walks can be found in his work, including The Braes o' Gleniffer. 

After the success of his first published collection, Tannahill tried to have another published, only for it to be rejected. It was at this time that his friends began to worry about him. One night, after being out with friends, he disappeared from his family home. After a search of the local area, Tannahill's coat and pocket watch were found, placed next to the culvert for the local canal. He had commited suicide. He was only 36.

The reason why I published this collection, was that I had been talking to one of my friends about Tannahill. My friend had never heard of him, so had searched for Tannahill, only to find that most collections of his work are faximilies and cost £15 upwards. With the Paisley 2021, City of Culture bid, I thought that it was time for a reasonably priced edition to be made available. I believe that Tannahill and his work should be better known than they are, which only encouraged me more to publish this collection

Even though the book has only been available a short while, an interest has already been shown in it. It is available on Amazon (UK, USA and Europe). I have attached a link to the book in this blog.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weaver-Poet-Songs-Robert-Tannahill/dp/1533394318/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1463992919&sr=1-1&keywords=the+weaver+poet+robert+tannahill

Writer's Edge - A Warning to Other Writers

Just over four years ago, I started to write my Aesir Saga. About a year and five months ago, I signed a contract to have it published with Writer's Edge, who are based in Michigan. I thought that I was being savvy by getting advice and getting a laywer to check the contract for me. Only when the lawyer gave the thumbs up, did I sign it. Once the contract was signed, everything was sent off to Writer's Edge. That was when things started to go wrong.

All three of my manuscripts were sent back to me, with suggested changes, which I started to work on. Chad, who owns and runs Writer's Edge had said in an email, that if I had any questions, that I was to email him. I did have a question about the deadline. I wanted to make sure when he wanted me to send my work back to him, with the changes made. So, I emailed him, asking him when the deadline was. Some days passed, without an answer to my email, so I emailed him back. Same thing happened, so I emailed him again. Finally, Chad answered, saying that there was no deadline and that I was to take my time. That rang alarm bells. I do not know of any publisher who does not give a deadline for work to be sent back. It can sometimes be flexiable, but there is still something there, giving writers an aim to work towards.

As I was starting to have my doubts, I asked some other people I knew, to have a look at the contract. One of them just happens to be a lawyer. The other friend I showed it to, runs his own publishing company. Both of them felt that there was something not quite right with the contract. It was almost as if it had been a contract template that had been downloaded from the internet and tweeked to suit the specific purposes of Writer's Edge, rather than something that had been writtten by a lawyer.

For about a year, I have been working on the Series, but I haven't heard a peep out of Writer's Edge. There has been no emails to check on how I am doing, or to see where about I am in the process. At the start of this week, I decided to take things into my own hands. I want to see the Aesir Series published, but if I keep playing by the rules set down by Writer's Edge, I would be tied into the contract until August, 2019, at the earliest, and October 2019, at the latest. In the contract, it states that is when I can contact Writer's Edge and contract the contract, which runs for five years. If I don't, it will be renewed for another year. That would mean that I would be tied into a contract that I don't see going anywhere, for another four years.

Even if I did play by their rules and continued with the contract, I cannot see my work getting published by Writer's Edge, as it has been noticed that they haven't published any work for 13 months. It has also been noticed that on the New Releases part of the Writer's Edge website, books that were published in 2013 are still featured. That doesn't fill me with a sense of confidence.

On Tuesday, 10th May, 2016, I sent Writer's Edge an email, and said that I was cancelling the contract, as I was not able to continue with the project. I also said that I will be expecting to hear from them, within the next week. I have been checking my emails every day since, just in case I miss anything. So far, I have heard nothing. I know that only a few days have passed, but in a case like this, when someone has said that they will be cancelling a contract, you deal with it asap. It is also not the first time that Chad has not replied to my emails.

So, my warning to other writers, is to avoid Writer's Edge, whose website is - www.writersedgepublishing.com. They do not come across as the most professional of publishers. They offer no support to their writers. The fact that they do not answer their emails, has felt as if I couldn't even ask them for advice. Having looked at some of the work that they have published, and it is not of a great standard. With something like the Aesir Series, which is so close to my heart, and which I want to see published and doing well, I do not think that it would be achieved by working with someone like Writer's Edge.

I will keep you all posted and hopefully, I will have good news, and that the Aesir Saga will be getting published.

All Write Ardrossan's Book Festival - 27th May, 2016

I am happy to announce that I will be taking part in the All Write Book Festival in Ardrossan on the 27th May, 2016. I have a five minute slot, were I will be reading from my short story, Between Two Worlds, which was featured in the Northlore Series: Volume 1 (Folklore). This is the first literary festival that I have ever taken part in, so I am neverous, but I am also looking forward to taking part in the event.

I have also managed to order in copies of both Goddess of the Night and King and the Spider, and I will be bringing them along with me to the festival. They will be available for sale, while I am there. I wasn't able to buy any copies of the Northlore Series: Volume 1 (Folklore), but I will be doing what I can to promote it. I have also been contacting those who run other literary festivals in Scotland in the hope that I will be able to take part in such events next year.

For anyone who is interested in coming along to the All Write Festival, all of the details can be found on the events Facebook page -

https://www.facebook.com/events/1541510856145075/

King and the Spider - An Anthology

I have just published my second anthology, called King and the Spider. It is a collection of short stories and poems, with topics ranging from Norse mythology, to snow days and a retelling of the selkie myth.  I had been planning on having two seperate collections, one of just poems and one of just short stories. The only problem was, I was running out of steam and I didn't have enough material for two seperate collections, so I simply created one collection.

It is available on Amazon, as well as on CreateSpace. This is the second piece of my work that I have self published through CreateSpace. At the moment, I am planning on continuing to go through CreateSpace when it comes to self publishing my work. I will also be buying a few copies, which I will be selling at open mic events in Paisley.

I did get a lot of help from one of my friends, when it came to formatting the collection, as it wasn't sitting right, when I was uploading it to the website. It does look a lot better now and I am hoping that what he showed me, in relation to the "interior design" of a book, will help me in the future.

Now, I will just have to focus on my other work and make sure that it is all up to stratch.

Barrhead News Interview

Yesterday, I was interviewed by the Barrhead News. The interview went well and we focused on me working with Nordland Publishing as part of the Northlore Series, my poetry collection, Goddess of the Night and my new collection, King and the Spider. Unfortunatly, my copy of King and the Spider hasn't come through yet, so I wasn't able to bring it along to the interview. I did bring along copies of Northlore: Volume 1 and Goddess of the Night. I did mention that I am hoping that Northlore: Volume 2 will be published this year.

The Barrhead News was interested in my work, due to the fact that I am originally from Neilston, which is only a few miles from Barrhead. They are also interested in the novel that I am working on and which I am planning on setting in Neilston. From the interview yesterday, they were interested in talking to me again, when I have published it.

I also want to thank the good people at the Paisley Abbey for allowing us to take some photographs within the Abbey, which will be used in the article. I will definitly let you all know when the article has been published. Hopefully it will be in the paper some time this week.