Was it really 28th February the last time I posted on here? I find that hard to believe, yet the screen doesn't lie.
A lot has happened in that time. I have started to work as a volunteer for the National Trust, I have done some more invigilating work, but perhaps the biggest news is that I have temporarily left the Internet discussion site that I lauched, together with three friends in November last year. I will not go into full details as to exactly what happened, since these blogs are read by people who are still on there, and I do not wish to ruffle feathers, but suffice to say there were what is commonly known as "creative differences".
At the same time, Coran, my partner, who was acting as webmaster was unceremiously sacked after some outbursts on the admin forum which left both us quite literally realing. It was this more than anything that led to my leaving the site, as I needed to have a long hard think about what I wanted from the site and whether the direction it was and is going in is compatible with my own ideals.
It is difficult to walk away from something that I helped create, but life is change. The fact that this has now happened four times leads me to question whether I should be doing this whole forum thing at all. It seems to me that being involved in these sites as admin or a moderator leads to nothing but trouble, as the moment anyone starts to have different opinions the bitching starts, and before you know where you are words are being misconstruded and it all ends in tears. That is the nature of the beast, for the simple fact that Email and Internet forums are not a valid means of communication, but a short cut where 80 percent of communication that is non verbal is missing, so for the moment at least, I need to sit back and let the dust settle. As for my friends on there, well, if they are the true friends they claim to be then they will understand my need to do this, and still be there for me if and when the time comes to go back, if not, then I guess we will all know where we stand.
A lot has happened in that time. I have started to work as a volunteer for the National Trust, I have done some more invigilating work, but perhaps the biggest news is that I have temporarily left the Internet discussion site that I lauched, together with three friends in November last year. I will not go into full details as to exactly what happened, since these blogs are read by people who are still on there, and I do not wish to ruffle feathers, but suffice to say there were what is commonly known as "creative differences".
At the same time, Coran, my partner, who was acting as webmaster was unceremiously sacked after some outbursts on the admin forum which left both us quite literally realing. It was this more than anything that led to my leaving the site, as I needed to have a long hard think about what I wanted from the site and whether the direction it was and is going in is compatible with my own ideals.
It is difficult to walk away from something that I helped create, but life is change. The fact that this has now happened four times leads me to question whether I should be doing this whole forum thing at all. It seems to me that being involved in these sites as admin or a moderator leads to nothing but trouble, as the moment anyone starts to have different opinions the bitching starts, and before you know where you are words are being misconstruded and it all ends in tears. That is the nature of the beast, for the simple fact that Email and Internet forums are not a valid means of communication, but a short cut where 80 percent of communication that is non verbal is missing, so for the moment at least, I need to sit back and let the dust settle. As for my friends on there, well, if they are the true friends they claim to be then they will understand my need to do this, and still be there for me if and when the time comes to go back, if not, then I guess we will all know where we stand.
On the writing front, I have been busy, or rather, Coran has been busy redesigning the book cover. I have made a lot of changes to my website and added several new articles, plus a press and publicity page and also a page asking people to vote for which cover they like best, the old white one, or the new orange one which Coran has designed. Most people so far seem to prefer the new one, but some have said that the figures need to be changed to look more realistic, so it may be back to the drawing board to ask my original designer, Sandra, to redo them. One person also suggested that I change the cross to an ankh, as he said that the cross represents death but the ankh represents life. There is much to think about before I make the final decision. I would like to have it done before the Foyles book signing, which looks if it will be put back to some time in May.
The other thing that has happened is that I had a call from the organiser of the local WI (Womens Institute) to say that my name has been added to a list of people interested in auditioning to become one of their approved speakers. So, continue to watch this space ...
The other thing that has happened is that I had a call from the organiser of the local WI (Womens Institute) to say that my name has been added to a list of people interested in auditioning to become one of their approved speakers. So, continue to watch this space ...
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