Better late than never...

So I missed last weeks post because I was at the Singapore GP (which was amazing, by the way). Did I know what was going on? No, not really. But it was fun never the less. Check out the amazing view I had:

The last two weeks, were strangely very quiet for Squidgy Face Books as the day job seriously got in the way (party pooper!). However, I did have a great skype with Sarah Ray who showed me some of her illustrations to date, some of which are TRULY awesome. Here is a sneak peak at one of my favourites, what do you think?

I have also realised that there is no way I’m going to be able to convert the book into an epub document (to launch on iTunes and the like) because it is far too technical for me, and I can’t seem to get the sizing right. Luckily I found a very nice man named Albert who will do it for me in Singapore for a small price.

Every week I buy/loan a couple of colourful children’s books to get some inspiration, mainly stuff by Oliver Jeffers who I seriously love at the moment, but I do like to mix things up. A few weeks ago, I found this lovely book 'Happy' by Mies Van Hout on a post by designmom.com – I ordered it on Amazon and now have to wait until THE END OF OCTOBER before it arrives here... apparently they are taping it to a tortoise which is why it’s taking so very long to arrive.

I have also hit over 6,000 +1s on Google + which is just incredible and slightly overwhelming. One of my posts this week literally went viral with over 728 +1s in under 12 hours, which is amazing! It was this very picture below. Sadly, my following posts didn’t do as well, but the amount of support I’ve had from so many lovely people so far has been truly amazing!!

So… sorry for the slightly yawnsville (boring) blog post. Next week looks like it’s going to be pretty crazy for Squidgy Face Books, so hopefully I can entertain you more with publishing fun and frolics.

Love xxxx

Fuzzy bumble bees (not wasps, no one likes wasps)

This week has been super productive for Squidgy Face Books.. firstly, we reached 100 fans on facebook, wahaaaay! And, to celebrate, I spent 45 minutes creating this rather snazzy video on Powerpoint (watch out Steven Spielburg!). I've included the link here because the video is saved on another computer, so i'll upload the proper one tomorrow:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100898235765735&set=vb.205815892913744&type=2&theater


I've also nearly finished what I think will be my second children's book, it's about a pretty awesome bumblee bee. I won't ruin the surprise yet, but he's fuzzy, greedy and looooves his honey. And, as always, my inspiration always starts with a few hours spent on Pinterest, finding interesting bumbleey bee things like this:

I would much rather write about bees than wasps, because to be honest, bees are quite nice and would only sting when provoked. Unlike wasps who like stinging everyone because they can. I will never forget when I was 11 and the ice cream man gave me a free cone (because I was his best customer) and it was literally drizzled with the good stuff.. strawberry sauce, flake, sprinkles - the works. And who came along uninvited? A wasp. So I dropped it. And when I asked for another one, they didn't believe me because they thought i'd already eaten it in about 30 seconds (which, on reflection, I don't blame them for - it had been done before). So that is why my book is about a lovely fluffy bumblee and not a wasp, because no one likes wasps.

Perhaps, most excitingly, I discovered one of my favouritest books of all time. Karen and the Lost Kitten. Aaaaahhh!! This is a classic. An amazing book with finger puppets = marvellous.

Anyway, I digress. All of my ebook accounts have also been set up with Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo Books and Amazon. Hoo-ray. I'd be interested to know where you (if anyone is actually reading this) buy your books online - do tell, do tell. 

And to finish off another blog post, here is an inspirational quote for you all - one of my personal faves (and recently pinned, of course).

Starting out..

After years of dreeeeeaming and make believing about being a WORLD famous children's book author, about gazing out of my beautiful study, into the deep blue sea (I live on the beach in this fantasy) as I while away the hours writing with a quill and a notebook (I am quite old fashioned), it dawned on me that unless I actually DID anything, it was never going to happen.

So, I decided to do something about it... yes, that's right, and I'm going to go it alone (and by alone, I mean with the help of my very wonderful family, friends, and lots of other i've discovered along the way).

I have made the commitment, that by the end of this year, I will have released my VERY first children’s story.

*Silent squeal*

It’s really quite exciting and terrifying at the same time – some days I literally can’t sleep whilst other moments I’m petrified that I will literally sell no books, and everyone will know what a rubbish writer I am. To avoid moments like these, I’ve spent many a time trawling through the best of Google+ and Pinterest to find inspiring, motivational quotes like these…

My personal favourite, and most relevant one, is probably this one:

So what have I achieved so far? I hear you ask. Inquisitive aren’t you… well, this year, I have:

Got my very own US Tax ID (which I need to sell stuff on the likes of iTunes etc), which forced me to endure HOURS waiting at the US embassy to collect a tax ID and even more HOURS calling them followed by the emotional turmoil when I discovered my tax ID was rejected as I hadn't included all the information. DISASTER. Thankfully, it’s sorted now.

Found an AMAZING illustrator, Sarah Ray, who will be bringing to life my very first book. She is a very talented and hilarious author who draws very silly things and is a perfect match for my equally silly stories. She has ALREADY created a rather fabulous logo for me. Cute, isn't it?

I have also spent what seems like the last month of my life on social media in an attempt to grow a fan base.. nearly 3,000 on Google + (wahaaay) and a mere 96 on facebook.. Hopefully next time I write I will have reached the 100 mark.

So, that’s pretty good if you ask me, and I commit to writing on the b-e-a-uuuutfil blog once a week to share with you wonderful readers my progress so far, and, at the very least, act as a diary so one day I can reminisce as I sit looking out at the sea in my beautiful writer’s study, at all the things I’ve achieved.

Toodleloo for now!!

Oh, and if you’d like to be see my fantastic Google + and Facebook pages, please do. I've conveniently included the hyperlinks above... and here too...

And here...

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