Category: Latest News

Ok… well, it’s been a frenetic and exciting couple of weeks with me – hence – a shortage of blog posts.  For those keeping up with me on twitter – then that doesn’t matter.  For those who just keep up with the blog… well, here’s a summary:

Several new authors on Red Herring Games have kept me busy on the admin side of the business this July, proofing, formatting and getting new games live.  (Two new ones are due later this week – an allo allo spoof – Stiffen Very carefully by Michelle Crowther and The Mexican Mayan Mystery by yours truly.)

We’ve also been getting regular customisations to do, several event bookings (including two hen parties which have already happened in July, one in Derby at the Cathedral Quarter – and one in Grimsby at the Humber Royal) and added to that we’re in the middle of applications for our new apprentice due to start in September and franchising the business (yes – can you believe it – barely four years in and we’re franchising!).

Social Media Marketing for RHG has also been keeping me busy… ok ok… it’s an excuse to get totally distracted by Twitter, but it’s better then getting distracted by ebay – at least Twitter doesn’t cost me anything!

Anyway, as you can imagine Red Herring Games has been keeping me very busy… but that’s work, and enough of apologies!

What else is afoot (as Holmes would say).  Well, Curtain Up! are knee deep in rehearsals and (and dead bodies) for The Sound of Murder!   – (that’s the problem with producing a murder mystery by yours truly, the body count is usually high).  I received delivery of my official T-Shirt today logo’d with the art work.  (So now I have really been there, done that and got the T-shirt!)  Notice please the “Written by…” Needless to say I am VERY excited about it all.  If you want any tickets – the details are here: Curtain Up Productions: The Sound of Murder!

The kids are on the school holidays so we’ve been jet setting off here and there every week.  Chester Zoo was the most recent day trip of this week.

The baby elephants had to be the highlight of the day!  Everyone say ah!

Next week it’s the turn of the National Train Museum in York (YET AGAIN! – the problem of having an avid young train fanatic in the family) and if all goes to plan, it’ll be off to Robin Hoods bay to hammer out some fossils and thus contribute to the eroding cliffsides.  (A hobby of mine when I’m not putting pen to paper – or should I say, finger to key board?)

The BBC are running their Alfred Bradley award again this year for Northern Writers – and I’m ever hopeful I’ll get a pitch in before the deadline of the 15th September.  This time around it’s a finished script in any genre and a pitch they’re looking for.  Pitches are harder to write then  the actual scripts I find, so that’ll probably take me more time then honing Chasing Thunder, which is the screenplay I’m going to submit as my supporting piece this time around (they didn’t think much to Deep Rising it seems at the Writersroom, so no point going there again.  Shame.  I loved that one – all Krakan Wakes kind of feel.)

For other writers reading this blog – there are a host of great competitions and opportunities out on the BBC writersroom at the moment and I’d seriously give them a look.  They host some of the best competitions out there for new writers, and the roadshows they run from time to time are well worth going to as well.

Anyway – that’s me.  I was long overdue for an update, but if I’m going to get anything acheived in August, I guess it’s less time on the blog and more time on the grindstone.

If you think Linked In is one of those “social media” things that gets you nowhere, then think again.

I used to think the same – but then I went on some training and found out how useful it can be!  So… here are my insights.

1) Get your profile complete.  Get a good head shot and ensure you include your contact details, what your business does (not necessarily your job title) in the “professional headline” section.  If people don’t know who you are and what you do they aren’t going to connect to you.

2) I know it says only “follow people you know” – but the benefit of linked in is that you can ask to link with people you don’t know at all.  So do a people search.  Find the contacts you want to connect with and ask them directly if you can!  You can either do this the “correct” way and asked to be introduced… or, you can do it sneakily and say you’re their “friend” and simply add some information in the contact request to say why you’d like to connect.  As most folk are looking to expand their network – so most are happy to connect with you.  Make sure you connect with everyone else who asks and take time to see who they know when you have.  They might know someone  you want to speak to!

3) Follow up your new connections with an email intro.  This doesn’t have to be long, and can be something simple like “Thank you for connecting with me on linked In.  Do let me know if there is anything I can do for you or if I can help you make a connection to anyone else.”

4) When you get to the connections you want to have – then email them and ask them if you are OK to get in touch / send them some information about yourself.  (This is good for businesses – not necessarily for writers.  It works for me in business as I have a brochure I can send people.  It probably won’t work for writers trying to break into the market… but I suppose it depends on which connections you make!)

5) Finally for my fellow BNIers… listen out in the meeting for who people want to connect with and go back from the meeting and plug those names into LinkedIn.  You may have a connection to them, or may be able to get one.  When you have – then introduce your fellow BNI person and see if you can get that referral for them.

 

Ok – I freely admit it – writing a muscial was never something I even remotely thought about when I started out writing! But, well, there’s nothing like a challenge!

This week has seen me finish what might be the last (but probably isn’t) draft of the musical murder mystery for my local operatic society. They’re in the middle of getting a director and it all looks set to take to the stage in Grimsby this autumn!

I must admit, I’m excited! This is a “big” thing, even for me! I may look like a sucessful writer, and I suppose I am in my own field, but having something I’ve written go on stage is still going to be thrilling, even if it is only in Grimsby!

Still, what I expect everyone wants to know is how do you end up getting a break like this?

Well, like in everything, it’s who you know. (yeah, it comes down to networking again – see post below).

A few years ago I was casting for my first murder mystery event locally. I needed some cast and that was how I met two very nice women from the local operatic society. I’ve kept in touch with them both, either through regular meetings when they act for me, or by me trying to find them contacts of their own (as one is trying to break into the professional acting arena and I do sometimes come into contact with people useful for her to meet.) This regular contact and mutual support has led to them asking me if I’d be interested in writing the society a muscial!

Thankfully I don’t have to come up with the music. Instead they’ve given me a list of songs which could be worked into a plot. I’ve ammended a few lyrics and voila. Our very first combined effort.

The question is… what to call it?? That’s still undecided!

Hard to believe it’s March already! Where did the time go!

Fortunately I went to “using social media” training last night, which has prompted me to get back to the blog! (Long time no see!)

New, New Year’s resolution is therefore to blog more regularly!

Still… if it’s any excuse there’s been a lot going on recently, for example… the charity murder mystery hosted in the middle of March for the M.S. Society and 24+1.

I’ve also completed several new games one of which was “Riddle at the Racecourse” a custom written game for Doncaster Racecourse which ran on the 25th March and which is now available on Red Herring Games.

Added to that I’ve written another customer order now known as “Greased” on Red Herring Games – a clue based game.

Those who keep up with the BBC writers room, know that they had a competition running in February called “laughing stock” which I also submitted a piece to – and was duly rejected (again). Oh, the life and times of a writer, it’s all rejection letters and polite “not for me”s.

Anyway, added to all the game writing for Red Herring Games, I’ve also been helping other new authors break into the murder mystery writing genre. Not an easy challenge for them (or for me, as it’s quite time consuming to proof work! Sometimes as much as 3-4 hours for each piece, and usually with nothing to show for it at the end but a lot of comments boxes!) Still, it looks as though April will see the first fruits of three month’s of labour for many of the authors – the editor has been swamped recently and I’ve been dreading the formatting work coming through as until I get an admin person here it’s me, me and me that does it all! Eeek!

Anyway – Social Media training, sort of explained how to use blogs to best effect… so let’s see if I get this right over the next few weeks. Apparently they are supposed to be useful, informative but have a personal stand point too. So far, I don’t think my blog is any of those three things… so lets see how I do over the next few months!

If there is anything you want to know about writing games – fire me questions and I’ll see what I can answer!

Whilst walking my daughter and her friend to Rainbows the other night I heard a great conversation between the pair of them.

I: We’ve had our concert today.
E:Ours is tomorrow.
I: Ours was “the first Christmas”. What’s your concert? “The Second Christmas?”

Well, it made me giggle.

And I suppose it lends itself to creative exploration at some point…

What is it about the creative mind? So far I’ve been SO busy I’ve not had time to stop and think about anything… and then the snow hit! Whoosh… things suddenly calm down with a bang (or should I say soft waft) and rather than my brain relaxing, it starts thinking about new screenplay ideas, new books, new murder mysteries…

Not to mention I’ve had a dream I can remember every night for a week. Yesterday the world was ending, we were all stuck in a tower block in Aberdeen watching a tidal wave come in and I was panicking that my husband wouldn’t make it back from Banchory Devnick secondary school (of all places, he only went there for an afternoon visit!) Last night I was dodging Mormons around the local park, trying to avoid them loaning me a car in case it had repercussions…

Needless to say my brain is obviously filled with weird junk!

Anyway… suddenly the creative juices are flowing again and what happens? There just isn’t enough time to get it all on paper!

And, while I’m having a rant… why is it, every year, you TEST the fairy lights, they all work, you put them up, you turn them on and NOTHING. After an evening replacing every bulb in 200 on the string around the top of the ceiling to try and find the faulty one, and trying to find the faulty bulb on the 200 Christmas tree lights which are only lit every second bulb, only to remove one and have the whole string plunge into darkness we decided to head off to B&Q; and buy some LED lights and replace the whole lot! Needless to say our bin now has 3 sets of faulty fairy lights in it. Goodluck to anyone who decides to do a bin raid and steal them.

Next year, as you can’t replace the LED bulbs, if the string doesn’t work – its a replace the whole string job rather than spending 2 hours up a ladder or reaching through pine needles to extract a bulb.

Anyway – today, would have been a good day to write, but as it happens it’s Christmas time so I’ve been sorting out the round robin instead. (Yes I know… everyone hates them, nobody reads them, but EVERYBODY expects them!)

Still, maybe I can get back to that elusive book / screenplay over Christmas between mince pie making…

Obviously the business must cycle on a monthly basis, as here we are, basically a month on, and I finally have time to update the blog!

Since last visit we’ve hosted the birthday party for my daughter. “A Mediaeval Mystery” – her request – which she and her friends thoroughly enjoyed.

See castle cake (looking slightly windswept) below:

The house extension rumbles on… but it’s so close to being finished now… just the floor to go. Anyone would think we’d added 8 rooms or something…the length of time it’s taken, but in reality it’s only about 3 foot extra onto the dining room and knocking out the kitchen wall. The problem has been caused by the original constructors of our house in 1901… no lintels…no mortar between the bricks… no damp-proof membrane under the floor. All of which complicated what would otherwise have been a very simple process. Still… the builders have done us proud and we’re in the end stages now and the house (against all the odds) hasn’t fallen down! Phew!

I’ve got a new nephew over in the States. Oliver William. Very Cute baby photos – I’m keeping up to date on facebook.

Red Herring Games has gone totally berzerk with orders (which is expected at this time of year) and all writing has had to take a back seat while we’re getting orders sent to customers across the globe. I’m beginning to wish I had one of those huge pin board maps so I can put pins in whenever I send an order to an area, just to see where they all end up. But it’s probably too late for that now…. But… I still haven’t sent one to Tristan DaCuna yet – so if anyone knows anyone there who wants a murder mystery party it’ll make my day! 🙂

Things are gearing up slowly for the Charity event on the 11th March. Will post more details shortly… keep your eyes pealed…

Otherwise it’s just the steady churning of the printer and the rapidly cooling temperatures in Grimsby to contend with.

Fortunately I can think while I pack… so I’ve got LOADS of ideas for new screenplays, books and murder mysteries. It’s just having the time to do them!

OK yes… obviously one per week was a hard target to meet given that it’s now October the 23rd and I’ve not been on here for nearly a month!

However, all games have been edited and formatted, I’ve proofed several new authors work (the first of which is now live on site – well done Lissa) and all the current crop of new games are now listed on Red Herring Games!

Last night was the first outing of “Last Will and Testament” at an event locally, and it went down a storm. The next scheduled event is for a team building day on the 3rd November, and I’ve got a fair amount of reformatting to do on a game to make it suitable for that occaision. So that’s this weeks project.

Oh, and my darling daughter has decided (at nearly age 6) that she wants a “mystery birthday party Mummy” – I should have seen that coming I suppose! I’ve pursuaded her out of dead bodies… and managed to talk her into using one of the children’s games I wrote back in 2008 – so for her birthday (or rather a few days before) we’re hunting the illusive vanishing dragon of castle clue. Unfortunately this means she’s asked for a repeat of this cake:

Which took me a good day to make in 2008 and was one I was hoping I’d NEVER have to repeat! Botheration! I did try and talk her into a dragon cake (an easy design she had for her 2nd birthday when she couldn’t ask me for anything…) but no…

Oh for the days when she couldn’t talk! Things were so much easier back then…

Anyway – half term will be spent making up the props we need for this birthday extravaganza as it’s going to be hosted on the 13th November, which isn’t that far off.

Added to that it’s my 10 minutes at BNI on the 3rd, and I’ve got to plan for that too…

Meanwhile the house is still upside down, and after 2 and a bit weeks with no cooker, I’m hoping that I’ll have a working kitchen very soon… hopefully by the 6th as we’re hosting “Montague Viper’s: Death of Mr Big Nose” that day. Which reminds me, I still need to get the invitations out…

Er… it’s been a while since I posted anything on my blog. Why? Because, quite frankly I’ve been busy!

Yes I know, both the kids are now at school and I should have 3 hours more per day, but to be quite honest, those hours seem to vanish like dry ice on a hot day, without even a bit of atmospheric smoke to show where they’ve been!

Why… well, it’s start of the Christmas season (yes I know, it’s only September… but for some people it DOES start this early and I’ve already had sales on the website for Christmas and New Year games!). In a desperate bid to meet the needs of the customers I’ve had to write two new Christmas murder mystery games, one of which is now on site (a fawlty towers themed single room game called A Criminal Christmas Caper) and the other is with the editors (The Brandy Butter Murders – single room clue based game), and before that there was the Monty Python themed mystery to complete – and I might add, draw a picture for, as you just can’t find exactly the right thing in the royalty free images (given that it’s the first time I’ve had the watercolours out for 5 years it’s not that bad… see below).

And in between that I’ve been mentoring a new author, answering a barrage of customer queries, sending out brochures and having meetings with various hotels, as well as making bookings, organising cast and sorting out all the rehearsals!

And then there’s the print on demand orders, the ebay shop sales, the new products to list, the postage and packaging (and several trips on the push bike to the post office as the crime scene scarves and deluxe kits won’t fit in the letter box at Tescos) ordering up new stock ready for christmas (yes, it’s that word again)…walking the dog, feeding the kids, keeping on top of the washing and ironing, swimming and dancing (that’s the kids not me), and all the business meetings and socialising, it’s been a busier month then ever!

Added into all that, I’ve just had my first stab at a murder mystery screenplay which has just today been printed out to be sent to the BBC writersroom for their usual rejection letter.

And I still haven’t mentioned the extension… At home things are in upheaval as various walls come out and new walls go up!

Anyway – that’s it for excuses. I will TRY to blog at least once a week… and of course I’ll let you know the minute my usual rejection letter comes through.