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
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Monday, 26 September 2016
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.
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.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
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.
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.
Saturday, 11 June 2016
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
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
Monday, 23 May 2016
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
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
Thursday, 12 May 2016
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 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.
Monday, 2 May 2016
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/
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/
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