A focus on...

I have decided that this blog space will be used for discussions around what I do for a living, not my books, for which I have a new site http://darkdomains.wordpress.com Anyone interested in fantasy or sci fi, then that's the site for them.

Training course on 24th March in Cardiff

I have decided to use this blog to talk about and publicise the work I do in various organisations. This includes training and consultancy, and this month I will be delivering a training course for lawyers in their first 3 years of practice, aimed at helping them understand their role and developing skills for effective fee earning. All lawyers are welcome, even those who may have more than this amount of experience. Supervisors may also find this course useful. To find out more or book a place, email our course co-ordinator Amanda Jones on 07725 810326. The course takes place in Cardiff on the 24th of March.

Daftest idea of all time?

I never really intended to ue my blog for political statements, and that's not reallywhat I want to do now, but I came across the daftest idea ever created by a government today. We are now being told that the government proposes to cut speed limits to force us to conserve fuel, which is at a record high price. What absolute tosh! It is at an all time high because fuel duty is at an all time high. Seems simple cause and effect to me.
I wish this idea had been out when I wrote my first novel An Agent For Change. It definately would have featured in the humour section.

Right Brain Creativity

Got involved with an interesting theme from a Linked In writer's group about creativity. The question being asked was whether you planned your book story, or you "flew by the seat of your pants" and made it up as you went along. Well, for Boundary Limit, my last novel, I used a mind map, and the story very nearly wrote itself. I'm working on something new now, and I haven't used a mind map. I made reasonable progress for 130 pages, but now am struggling. Mind maps to the rescue? We'll see.
One thing is for sure, whenever I've used them, mind maps have hepled me, so I'd encourage anyone wrestling with a creative issue made up of more than one part then this is definately something to try. After a week of pure "left brain"designing a Six Sigma green belt course, a session of creativity would be a welcome interlude.

Guest Interview

I have had a guest interview about my experiences with the Harper Collings Authonomy website published on a blog managed by Cathryn Isakson, an Australian lady who also writes. Worth visiting her blog as she has a lot of interesting people giving guest interviews. Her blog is at;

http://novelexpectations.wordpress.com/

My interview gives my perspective of the pros and cons of the authonomy website, so if you are considering you own material on that, its worth a look.

What to do on a Sunday...

Not a lot actually. Wales lost to England on Friday in the Rugby, so no celebrations there. I spent most of the day surfing the net and joining some discussion forums for writers. They were actually quite good, with some good sound advice from right across the world. Talked to a really helpful lady down in Australia. There are so many people out there all with the same dream, to be well known published authors.

Death or Glory

Actually this title is the one I'm using for an article I'm writing for Legal Firms on the CPM21 website www.cpm21.co.uk
It's about the threats and opportunities facing high street legal practices from October 0f 2011. I won't talk about it here. Instead, let me tell you about the Marriot hotel in Swansea. They have clearly never heard of customer value, and the customer experience. They have introduced a new system where you have to log your vehicle registration into their system or you get an automatic fine through the post. I got one for £90 when I was visiting them legitamately for a business meeting that I attend every Friday. When I phoned them, they waived the fee, but told me that the system was there to stay. End of. The problem is that the meeting I attend is at 06:00am and I'm pretty much not awake at that time, and logging into a stupid system is the last thing on my mind. Have to say sooner I stop using that hotel the better.
As with a lot of the businesses I work with, they've introduced a new system without assessing the impact of it on their customers. They will learn when people vote with their feet.