Well, I’m on roll after the success I had at the Ways with Words literary festival, and the offer of a public reading at my local bookstore. I’ve been feeling really positive about my scribbles after that.

That being said, I’ve now started looking at more ‘open mic’ nights and poetry competitions to enter and maybe share my work with a greater audience. As a result, I’ve entered two of my brand new scribbles in to a poetry competition to test the virtual water so to speak. So, fingers crossed – here goes nothing!

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I’m really pleased to announce that I’ve seen the cover of my dear friend, Daisy Burton’s brand new literary adventure. As I said earlier, Daisy is taking her skills in a whole new direction and has written a novel. Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to get a look at the cover art, so I’d like to share it with you guys.

If you’re on Twitter @DaisyBurton1995 is her handle Daisy Burton Twitter

As you know recently I’ve been hitting the gym hard, and the results were not really that noticeable at all, apart from every Monday morning when I would take a deep breath and with some trepidation step onto the dreaded scales, for the weekly weigh in. This was not as bad as it seemed, because I could see some results, if only small ones. I had found that I was losing about two kilograms a week, which was something.

Then tragedy struck….. the gym is closed for three weeks for a complete refurb of the equipment and new furnishings, which is much needed to be frank. This means that I can’t keep my usual routine going. I can, however, do one of two things. Firstly, I could sign up for group classes with lots of strangers, which starts my anxiety off big time – one, because I hate groups especially at the gym; two, because most of the attendees are the usual toned, good-looking-catalogue-model types who turn up in their best clothes with hair and makeup (in the girls’ cases) done to perfection. They tend to look down on us regular slobs.

The other alternative is to drive for half an hour or so and use one of the other gyms in the chain, providing, of course, that I have phoned ahead and asked them for permission to visit their centre and use the gym. It’s a very frightening thought, going to a new gym, as I’m not sure where the centre is (and I can’t go somewhere without knowing exactly where it is and what’s there), etc. As a result, I’ve been left with no option but to try exercising at home until the gym is reopened.

While I’ve been away from the gym I’ve been wondering what was happening with my weight, and with no regular weigh-in sessions, my mind has been working overtime, so I decided to weigh myself. Lo and behold, I’ve actually put back on the stone in weight I’d lost.

I mean, I’ve cut down big time on all the bad stuff – I’m only eating one (very healthy) meal a day and maybe a sandwich if I’m hungry later on. I’ve done everything I normally do except the exercise and the weight is piling back on. This has led me to wonder what’s the point if all the good work can be undone in seven days how bad will it be after the near two more weeks before the gym is open again.

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For those of you who don’t know who she is, Daisy Burton is a good friend of ours and was one of the guest poets in my last book, Scribblology V2.

Well Daisy’s back again, but not with her fresh brand of fiery poetry. This time, she’s done something completely different – her new novel is called Sensible, and it’s due for release in the near future.

“It’s 1995 and Jessica Munroe is 27.

Newly-separated, she’s always been known as Sensible Jess, but that’s all about to change.

Everything is possible for the new, reckless Jess now she’s discovered the internet. She is looking for adventure, and goes on a journey of discovery – of the world, of sex and of herself.

If only she knew just how much she’s going to face in the coming year – passion, travel and excitement are not necessarily all they’re cracked up to be…”

I’m very pleased to support this new book project by Daisy, and wish her every success with this fantastic novel.

I’ve now got myself a brand new YouTube channel now all I need is ideas and content to put on there for people to see.

This is very scary for me, as placing content on this media platform requires me to be in front of the camera, rather than hiding behind the mic with a podcast.

If you want to have a look at my YouTube channel, the link is below. YouTube Bob Christian

Why not get in touch here or e mail me at E mail me with suggestions of things you’d like to see, topics you’d like covered, etc.

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I recently wandered down to my nearest comic book store, as I hadn’t been for quite a while. Between writing new stuff, designing the look for my next new anthology and trying to revise a bunch of questions and answers for an important test, I’ve had very little time to keep up with my other, somewhat geeky, passions.

So, I decided that, as it was such a nice day, I’d head out into the sticks to my favourite little town on the edge of Dartmoor for a coffee and maybe a little graphic novel retail therapy. I wandered in and saw the member of staff on duty was not my friend, but the owner of the store, so I tried my hardest to do the whole small talk thing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not them it’s me and I am very aware of this fact. Nevertheless, I think it went smoothly and I even managed to pick up a graphic novel for the price of a caramel latte, so it was a win-win situation.

I started talking to her about my work (ie my new anthology and the attempt at podcasting) and my recent performance at the local Ways with Words literary festival, as the owner was not aware of my books, etc. She had a brainwave! The Bookseller’s Association is apparently having a poetry day in October, and she asked if I would be interested in going down for a poetry night to read some of my work. I happily said ‘yes’ as it would give me a chance to strengthen my delivery and interpersonal skills, as well as promote my latest book, Scribblology V2. I would also get the chance to try out some of my new scribbles and test the water, so to speak.

So, it’s official! I will be speaking at the poetry night at Gnash Comics, Ashburton, in October. Stay tuned for more details.

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I’ve had the cover art for my new anthology back from the graphic artist I had to design it. I’m so pleased with it I thought I’d share a small thumbnail of part of the finished article.

This next anthology won’t be out until at least April 2019 but early reviews of some of the content is very promising. You’ll have to wait and see though I promise it will be worth the wait.