Taking Stock, Or The Electrical Side Of Blogging

Very shortly, I have some graphs coming which are so delicious they make me regret breakfast. I’m not promising you’ll like them as much as I do, but sometimes, when I look at them, I am beset by a moistness of the eyes, much the same as occurs if I watch a video of a medium-sized puppy falling over in its sleep.

I’ve been collecting more bestseller data from 2014 – some of it annualised, which always tugs at my heart-strings – which might be interesting to anyone who’s ever read a book (not to overestimate their appeal or anything).

In the meantime, however, I have a couple of administrative and electrical items to tidy up: namely, some things to discuss which could in an alternate universe be misconstrued as shameless plugs, but in this universe (where I am President and Chief of Secret Police) are really public information notices.

1) I am about to sever an already tenuous grip on reality by giving a workshop on Blogging

Carousel Creates, the writer’s centre perched high in the Dublin mountains whilst somehow managing to be only 15 minutes from the city,  are hosting a blogging workshop called Blog It! on March 7th given by – well, me. Fresh from my triumphant 5-star round-the-world victory lap with go-go dancers and a full choir of corrupt politicians, having been declared Best Newcomer at the Irish blog awards last year – I will be attempting to help bloggers to identify their blogging goals and improve their blogging skills, not to mention find and grow their audiences, without cracking any jokes. I hope to fail miserably (at the joking part) and succeed wildly (at the helping part).

If you are interested in taking part and spending the day with other like-minded people, whilst taking in a magnificent and inspiring view of the capital right out to Dublin Bay, go here to book. There’s also a competition, where you could win your free place on the day by writing an idea for a blog in no more than 100 words. Entry here. Closing date Friday 20th February.

2) There’s a new book coming out which might save our nation’s youth

For anyone who was scarred by my cringeworthy piece on How To Torture A Beloved Story To Death (And Ruin Children), there is an antidote to the pain and suffering I caused you.

Grá Mo Chroí (Love Stories From Irish Myth) is written by two very talented tellers of Irish lore, Ali Isaac and Jane Dougherty, and features an ethereal telling of the Diarmuid and Gráinne myth from Gráinne’s perspective, along with several other vivid resurrections of ancient Irish tales of love and loss. It’s a lovely book, not least for its lyricism, which makes you feel like you’re listening to these stories by the fireside. It’s interesting too to see how our forebears thought of love. The viewpoints are startling, and refreshing. Rom-coms they ain’t.

The book is nicely timed for Valentine’s Day, and will be available next Wednesday, 11th February. More details here.

That’s all for today. Please join me again next time, where I will be pretending to say something amusing in a slightly less self-serving manner. Honest I will.