Monday, March 03, 2014

The Road Slacks Ever Onwards

Having survived the intricacies of our shortest month, I now have a list of story ideas up on my wall. 

I haven't written anything, but one cannot rush such things. 

So, to cover my proverbial, here's some pictures.


Spring shoots lead to a distant church in the Village of Old Warden, Bedfordshire. Aren't those typically moody Sunday skies?


The church itself, at the top of the hill. Saint Leonards! Edmund would be glad to see it!


I don't know what to make of this, other than it caught my eye as I went past. Stand to attention when an officer is addressing you!


A distant stately home, next to what was - just a few days ago - a wide and unplanned river.


Some kind of tall grass by a river in spate. Looks like The Wizard Of Oz's Kansas, somehow.


The British countryside is littered with Public Footpaths. They have to signpost them, so ramblers don't wander off track and get shot for trespassing. True story. 


A leaf? No. A fossil? No. An old, crazed earthenware pot. I'm told the correct name for this pattern is "craquelure"; that was a new one on me. Groovy.


An arrangement of dried flowers made by my mother.


I believe this is what old-timers call "a field". Alistair will agree, I'm sure.


A family of teazles wait for the rain to arrive from the horizon.


A good-old-fashioned rural postbox. It looks quite chipper under those clouds.


A church in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. Very pointy. Those clouds followed me all day.

Thanks for making time to check these out. 


Indigo

This blog entry is protected by copyright © Indigo Roth, 2009-2014
All photos are © Indigo Roth, 2014

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Crash Bang Wallop What A Pizza

Did I say pizza? I meant "picture".

I've been away, but I have a note from my mum.

I took a few photos today on a drive round neighbouring Bedfordshire to cover my indolence.


There's still a lot of standing water in the fields, tho Bedfordshire received hardly any compared to some of the western counties. So many are flooded, with no sign of it easing. 


It seems to be Spring, even tho my friends in the States are still up to their noses in snow.


These lads are popping up everywhere.


The view upwards from Dunstable Downs. Must be nice to be up there looking down, too.


There were lots of these "sit down parachutes" being flown. Launched from the ground on an up-gust, they looked pretty amazing.


Not a glamorous subject material, your average fence post. But hey, this one was pretty cool.


It's a boat in a field. Yes, it defies deconstruction. It involved a twenty mile round-trip after I saw this at high speed from the car, and a small amount of harmless trespass, but I had to get this shot.

Thanks for your patience.

New tales soon!

Indigo

This blog entry is protected by copyright © Indigo Roth, 2009-2014
All photos are © Indigo Roth, 2014

Sunday, December 15, 2013

The Really Hard Work Starts Here

I like Sunday mornings.

I'm sitting in my front room with a pot of tea and some quiet music. Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, an old favourite. It weaves a wonderful tale of the sea as I pour the tea carefully into the room-temperature milk in my cup. The aroma is wonderful.

Outside, it's cold and grey, but the fire is on, and I'm browning some toast in the grate.

My sigh is deep, heartfelt, and well-deserved.

It's been a busy week. I've been publishing a book, both as a paperback and an electronic book. The preparation has taken months, but things have intensified in the final stages.

But finally, I got to click the button and my first book was out there.

A quiet knock at the door is unexpected, and I half-mumble, half-shout a welcome, more in surprise than anything.

The door glides in, and a short black-and-white figure smiles around it. It's Dantoo, Yavin the badger's young niece. She steps into the room with a grin, looking very pretty in a warm-looking orange corduroy dress with blue frills. A matching blue bow sits on the line between a black and a white stripe on the top of her head.

She's holding something behind her back, and seems pleased about it, excited even.

Hello Dantoo, I say, smiling, what's that you've got there?

The young girlcub steps forward and produces a book from behind her back. She hands it to me shyly. I turn it round, and laugh as I see the title.

It's called Testament: Funny Badgers, by Indigo Roth.

It's my book.


I'm surprised, as my own copies haven't arrived yet. These badgers, they're very well connected.

Dantoo beams and points at a tiny picture of herself on the cover; she's clearly a little giddy to be one of the funny badgers. Her brother Hoth is also on the front, and his twin Sollust is on the back. They all look pretty adorable.

Hey, this is the very first copy! I say.

Before I can say another word, the pen is in her hand, and she is offering it to me; she wants her book signed. I notice the felt-tipped pen is pink.

This is unfamiliar territory for me. Book signings? Perhaps there's more of these to come. I'd like to get used to it, certainly.

I open the book and think for a moment. And then I write.

For Dantoo. This is the very first book I've ever signed. I hope you'll treasure it as much as I do this moment. And I hope you enjoy the book! Love, Indigo x

I hand it back. She regards the inscription and rushes forward for a hug.

I like Sunday mornings.

They're full of surprises.



You may have noticed that I've been absent for a while.

The good news is my book is out there, both on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle as an eBook. Go to any of the regional Amazon sites and look up Testament Funny Badgers and out it will pop.

And there's good news for Kindle owners and owners of Amazon Kindle applications on various platforms: Until Thursday 19th December, the full book is available FOR FREE on Kindle.

Go there, download it, it's yours forever.

I'd be giddy if you give it a go, and positively delirious if you'd rate, review and share the good news with friends. To be honest, as a self-publisher looking to get a literary agent, my book won’t exist without these.

I'm a surprisingly shy guy, and loathed to ask for help, but today I will; your input might make a short-lived oddity into a well-loved oddity.

I think you might have a lot of fun into the bargain. 

And I never forget a kindness =)

There's more information over here on the website for Red Angel Publishing, the imprint I've created to handle this book, and others.


Thank you, one and all, for getting me this far.

The really hard work starts here.


Indigo

This blog entry is protected by copyright © Indigo Roth, 2009-2013
All photos are © Indigo Roth, 2009-2013


Art Prints

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Poised To Spring

The site is down for a while, while I do some Admin.

Admin includes publishing on Amazon and Kindle!

Please bear with me, it won't be for long!

Indigo

Sunday, November 17, 2013

This I Have Achieved

Well, all good things come to an end.

Since late November last year, I've been a man of leisure.

I was fortunate enough to have the resources at my disposal so that I did not need to work for a whole year. I elected to make the most of this, and set out to write my first book.

This I have achieved.

I've finished writing TESTAMENT: FUNNY BADGERS. It runs to around 250 pages of dense type, culled from the pages of this blog, with some rework. A DIRECTOR'S CUT, iy you will. The format is unusual, to say the least.

It was quite a relief to close the final chapter. And, once the final third of it comes back from my editor, it will be available as a physical book on Amazon in short order. Yes, a shiny book of my very own.

Soon after that, as an e-book on various platforms.

Maybe even an audio book. Hey, I like audio books. Unabridged, natch.

I'm rather excited by the prospect.

Of course, other changes are also in the air. Now my time is up, I'm about to return to the corporate work, and will be doing some contract work 'til Christmas. Yes, 9-5 work. Well-paid work, but a change of routine.

There will be less napping, for a start.

I start tomorrow. Monday 18 November.

My birthday.

Yes, the timing sucks. But hey, since I'm returning to my most recent employer, at least I get to hang out with friends. Not you mad lot, sadly; that will have to wait til later in the day, but I'll look forward to it.

Right, bedtime is not a million miles away.

I'll leave you with an upbeat thought. I'll be initially self publishing TESTAMENT: FUNNY BADGERS, with the intention of finding an agent and a book deal. Until I achieve that, I wanted to use my own publishing house. So, after some thought and effort, I give you RED ANGEL PUBLISHING.


I've registered the domain name, but I've done nothing with it as yet. Soon.

Oh, and I hope you like the redesign of this blog.

It's been a great year, and you've all been part of it.

Thank you for your support and kind words.

As ever, you made a difference.


Indigo

This blog entry is protected by copyright © Indigo Roth, 2009-2013
All photos are © Indigo Roth, 2009-2013


Art Prints

Monday, November 11, 2013

Perhaps Somewhat Subjective

All photos are © Indigo Roth, 2013


Okay, after the creative outpouring of the cuttlefish, here's a change of pace.

Encouraged by your good selves and your feedback, I've created a photography calendar for 2014. 


I think it's pretty spiffy, but my opinion is, perhaps, somewhat subjective. I've sold quite a few already tho (a nice surprise), which may be a more reliable indicator.

And as my good friend Jayne Martin would say, it's SUITABLE FOR GIVING. Christmas? Birthdays? Just-because-you-can? (which is always my favourite reason)

You can check it out on Zazzle by clicking this link should you feel so moved.

As a total aside, I did think about adding in THIS picture instead of January's current one, but I didn't think the red worked well when the calendar is primarily blue/cloud-themed. Comments and disagreements about this are welcome, nay encouraged!


Ooooh, maybe there's time to make a red-themed calendar, too?


Hmmm, that's all I got for now.

*wanders off to find an English bus, phone box and post box in the same shot*

Thanks for bearing with me throughout The Cephalopocalypse; I'm very proud of the final product, and I hope it was worth the wait.


Indigo

This blog entry is protected by copyright © Indigo Roth, 2009-2013
All photos are © Indigo Roth, 2009-2013


Art Prints

Sunday, November 03, 2013

* Broken Glass Rising - Part Three

This blog entry has been removed, revised and included in the romping sci-fi epic TESTAMENT: FUNNY BADGERS by Indigo Roth, Red Angel Publishing, 2013.

Its reference in the book is CUTTLEFISH 16-19

Paperback and Kindle:
Amazon USAAmazon UKAmazon CanadaAmazon FRAmazon DEAmazon ESAmazon ITAmazon JPAmazon India

Kindle only:
Amazon BrazilAmazon MexicoAmazon Australia


This blog entry is protected by copyright © Indigo Roth, 2009-2014