Some amaryllis with lilies overcrowding them from behind. First come frescias peeking through the slats, then the amaryllis (on their way out now,) and lastly the lilies...

I've now made the last bench for the Artisan Square. Well, the last one isn't quite so much as a bench, as the function of bench expressed in holey cubes...

Bench number one, which we have seen before:





Bench number two, diagonal view






Bench number two, full frontal:





Bench number three:





Bench number three, centre cube:





Detail of a hole or two:





I also hand carved a Tai Chi wooden practise sword.




That's all folks!

I haven't had time for much writing or even reading. Instead I've been getting to know a new partner and making wooden things.





A bench - the first of three, commissioned for the Artisan Square on market days. I'll be making the next two over the coming weeks.



My market stall lurks in the backround. You can see my mother on a stepladder.



A tray I made for a friend. The design is carved out of the background with a Dremel, and filled with black woodfiller, then sanded smooth. The colours are layers of varnish stain.



I make several of these a week.




And several trillion of these...

In March people begin to think about their gardens, so it is often our best month (after August, of course, height of tourist season.) I'm working hard just to keep on top of the stock we sell weekly. When things slow down as they inevitably do in May, I'll think about having me a wee break. :)

Do you know how many deep and fascinating blog posts I think of while I'm in the carpentry? Ooooh, studies of grief, ideas about language, revelations about writing, posts about how ridiculous my cats are, about dreaming I met God (who was Jose Luis Zapatero, ex PM of Spain...)

And they all disappear into smoke whenever I sit down at the keyboard. I have writing and critting and playing of Skyrim to do...

If I was constantly connected, could access the net using eyeblinks and subvocalised commands, I could multi-task with the best of 'em. I'm sure the quality of my products would deteriorate, and I would probably go mad, but it seems very attractive at the mo. Ah, well. Earmuffs on, goggles and ipod, too. Off to earn my keep. We sold incredibly well yesterday at the market, so no day off for me this week. Got to train a new employee as I had to sack the last one when he didn't turn up or phone to let me know three times in a row... Ahh, here's the new one now... Must go.

Almost two years ago, I sold "Continuity," - one of my favourite stories - about an astronaut (who weighs over 200 tonnes) and her gender confused allies in a perpetual war with the ship's AI.

At last, Anywhere But Earth, 700+ pages of juicy sci-fi goodness has just been released in both hard copy and ebook formats.

"Award winning independent Australian press coeur de lion publishing presents twenty-nine all new science fiction stories of humanity’s adventures out there, anywhere but Earth, featuring original works by Margo Lanagan, Sean McMullen, Richard Harland, and Kim Westwood among a galaxy of new and established speculative fiction authors... "

If you want a copy or ten, pop over here and check it out. :)

http://keithstevenson.com/CDLblog/online-store/

I get a lot of random spam in my LJ comments. What's the point? Has anyone ever, ever, ever clicked a link a spammer has left in a comment?

But I've decided not to delete any spam posted in THIS post, just to see what builds up. If you comment here and are legit, I'll probably delete it. ;)

In other news, random bursts of creativity have resulted in a sculpture and a lot of words. I'll try to post about them soon.

Meanwhile, spam away.

Well, the dates (if not the title, hmmm) of the first Surf 'n Lava Writer's Retreat are now finalised. From the 6th - 20th November, my house and environs are open to writers who want to come along and knuckle down. Tom Crosshill will make an appearance for a week, and there have been rumours that a certain were-feline may deign to pass through for a weekend or two. Hope so.

Seriously, if you want to visit the isles, this is your chance. There is an apartment next door to which my wifi reaches, and which could be rented out for less than commercial rates. Or there are my guest beds, if the aforementioned writers are not occupying them.

As Aliette pointed out - I needn't rely on my charm to persuade people to come. There's always this...

Now I’m plan­ning to do nanow­rimo and get a 50K novella under my belt. It so hap­pens that my mother hopes to go to India to do some kind of course for a cou­ple of weeks in Novem­ber, so the house will be empty. I think I’ll need a break from work then, so am plan­ning to take two weeks off and write.



This is just on the off-chance, but I’ll have two spare rooms, and wire­less inter­net. Does any­one want to come over for a writ­ing retreatish kind of thing? The sea is twenty min­utes away, the food is fresh, the coun­try­side is astound­ing and odd, the ameni­ties are BASIC but cozy enough. Or there are apart­ments and hotels nearby.



I doubt that any­one has time or money to travel so far, but the offer is there. :)



Oh, and there is red wine. :) Or white – made just down the road… :)

Every Thursday and Sunday I host the Liberty Hall Writers hangouts, at 8pm GMT+1.


The Thursday hangout is open to all. We chat for fifteen minutes, write for 45, then repeat. The Sunday hangout is for Liberty Hall members and may be geared towards the Flash Challenge if anyone wishes. This means writing solidly for 90 minutes, no chat until after.


Any member of Liberty Hall can host an LH hangout whenever they are writing if they want. Contact me if you don't know how.


Wouldn't it be cool if there were enough members writing to keep an LH hangout going 24/7?