📚WHAT A YEAR!!!📚

Where have the last 12 months gone?

In September 2023 I launched my book, ‘I don’t talk to dead bodies’, and since then life has been a bit of a blur.

There have been promotional opportunities on radio, podcasts and in newspapers, talks in libraries and colleges, winning a gold medal in The Global Book Awards and even a publisher in Taiwan wanting the rights to publish my book in Chinese, but cruise line enrichment lecturing was always my goal.

Book sales have been healthy in paperback, audiobooks, and eBooks. I travelled to Antarctica on holiday at the beginning of 2023 and made a life changing connection with a member of staff, who thought my book and art would be of interest to passengers.

Shortly after, he made the introduction to the man at Silversea who books lecturers, and a few weeks later I was off lecturing on a 5-star cruise in Japan. More recently I have been on a cruise from Alaska to Japan.

I celebrated my book’s first birthday on board, where I was both lecturing and delivering pointillism art workshops. Fingers crossed for some more working cruise opportunities.

Rhona x

📚BOOK LAUNCH, DOGS AND GLASS… NEVER DULL HERE AT RHONA MORRISON ART !!!🐕

These last few months have been hectic! September brought the long-awaited book launch.

My editor Bev Glick flew up from England for the press launch and Bev Lyons, entertainment journalist, hosted the big evening launch at the Lantern house theatre in Cumbernauld.

It was all head microphones and razzmatazz and a full auditorium. It really was a celebration of a huge milestone for me. Book sales have gone well, with about 600 sold already… a mixture of paperbacks, eBooks and audiobooks.

I continue to grapple with how I am going to let my visually impaired 91-year-old mother listen to it. She has no electronic devices, can’t see the buttons on anything and has no internet.

In the midst of radio shows, podcasts, live talks to local groups and contacting independent bookstores I have been trying to pursue my new fused glass hobby and keep up with a steady stream of commissions… watercolour painting, pen and ink pointillism and fused glass.

Pet portraits of Labradors seem to be flavour of the month. I have just done five and still have two to do! It is almost time to close the list for Christmas as the artwork needs to be framed and delivered too.

With Christmas coming I have been encouraging everyone to think about using my book as a stocking filler and I have decided to make quite a few gifts this year. People seem to like the fused glass dishes and spoon rests I’ve been making so I will be gifting some to family and friends.

Currently I am debating having an open studio to show off the glass work, as this is a new direction for me. It lends itself to commissioned personalised gifts, in colour schemes to match your room. Watch this space.

📚PUBLICATION AND PROMOTION📚

At last, I have made it over the finishing line. After a slight delay, my book ‘I don’t talk to dead bodies: the curious encounters of a forensic psychiatrist’ was finally published on 15.9.22. It was incredibly exciting to receive the delivery of books from the printers, open the first box and see my book smiling back at me. It was akin to the joy of delivering a baby… it was such a long time in the making!…And then the realisation kicked in!

I was fortunate to have about 200 pre orders which required signing, but then came the job of boxing them up and addressing them for posting out. I hadn’t quite thought through how I was going to manage the logistics of taking 200 boxes to the post office and persuade the post mistress to individually label them. In the end I just split the task between two post offices, sweet talked the staff and gave them a free book for their trouble. Sorted !

I now have much more admiration for the staff at Amazon. They had about 200 more books to send out for me. My ebook and audiobook went on sale too, but fortunately no packaging was required for them.

Promotion of the book now needs to ramp up. After the press launch and celebration launch party with 100 friends and family this week I need to do more newspaper, podcast and radio promotion. Fortunately, I have interviews already set up and this week alone I recorded a podcast with Soundsaboutright and a radio segment for Revival radio. I also got my book stocked in The Book Nook independent bookstore/ cafe in Stirling, so I am delighted about that.

At the beginning of October I have a virtual book tour of book bloggers for 10 days, which should widen my reach too. It’s all go! If you have already bought my book and liked it, please kindly leave a review on Goodreads or a similar platform.

📚WHAT A PROMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER 📚

With my book launch scheduled for 28.7.22, I have been on full promotional mode over the past few weeks.

My business breakfast group, BNI Building Bridges, has been a remarkable and surprising source of support. We get 60 sec every week to promote our business and to say what kind of referrals we are looking for.

I normally ask them to look out for opportunities for art commissions e.g. people with pets who might like a pet portrait or who are looking for uniquely personal gifts for weddings, birthdays, Christmas or anniversaries.

A few weeks ago, I asked for help to promote my book and said I needed contacts who do local radio shows, journalists, podcasters, owners of independent bookstores, TV presenters etc.…wow! The response was amazing.

Since then, thanks to a plumber, electrician, website developer, charity manager and business coach I have been on two local radio shows, had a 2-page colour feature in the Sunday Mail (including photoshoot!), been interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland and have a podcast recording in the planning.

I also have an independent bookstore willing to stock my book. There are still more irons in the fire. This is the power of referral networking in progress. We help each other to access each other’s network of contacts.

As a result of the newspaper and radio publicity I found myself temporarily at the number one ranking on Amazon (biography/ true crime, police subsection!) I captured the screenshot, so that’s what mattered!

Hopefully the book launch and virtual book tour will generate even more publicity. What a rollercoaster of excitement over the past few weeks!

FINGAL WITH A TWIST

Meet Sheilagh, who had a quirky idea for a wedding gift. The wedding was being held in a beautiful, converted boat in Edinburgh… Fingals.

She considered sending a photo of the boat and getting me to paint the wedding venue as a gift. That seems to be a very popular option as a unique gift these days.

I have just painted another two. Then she couldn’t find a photograph she liked. With a bit of a mental leap, she came upon the idea of getting a pen and ink pointillism drawing of Fingals cave instead. a famous Scottish landmark.

The bride and grooms name and wedding date would be on the mount. She reckoned it would be a bit of a talking point. ‘What’s that?’ ‘We were married in a boat called Fingals and one of our friends got us this picture of Fingals cave to remind us.’ It involved quite a lot of dots !!!

This week I have been working on a wedding venue and a 60th birthday present. Unfortunately, I had a positive PCR test on Friday, so covid has spoiled plans for a promotional radio interview and the recording of my audiobook.

What it did do was free up my diary, so now I’ll get the art commission list sorted. Next on the list is the pet portrait winner of the Rotary Bandana-Rama dog walk, cute little Pebbles.

Most importantly, with spring gradually emerging between flurries of snow, I have moved back out to my studio to work.

SUNFLOWERS FOR UKRAINE

With the humanitarian disaster in Ukraine very much on our daily newsfeed, it is hard to escape the horror of the war almost on our doorstep. Each of us is forced to consider what part we can play in helping the innocent victims of this invasion.

As a Rotarian I regularly contribute to fundraising initiatives to raise money for Foundation, Rotary International’s own charity, which offers grants to worthy causes across the world. This includes a fund to support disasters and we also support Aquabox and Shelterbox, which can ensure clean water and a roof over the head of displaced families.

In the past I have used my artistic skills to design greetings cards for End Polio Now and Strathcarron Hospice. I have just received my first order of Sunflowers for Ukraine cards, so can start selling these via the Rotary club of Kilsyth, with all profits going to the Foundation charity, to support the work being done in Ukraine. £10 for a pack of 5 cards. The blue envelopes and yellow flowers mirror the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

When peace is eventually restored, we will look back and say, what did we do to offer support? As with all things in life, if everyone did something, collectively we could achieve a great deal.

As I take on the role of President of my Rotary club in July, I will be even more aware of asking myself, ’ what do you want your legacy to be?’

I continue to work mostly on individual art commissions, each one a small legacy of my artwork, often marking special occasions , special places and special pets.

This week it has been paintings of wedding venues as gifts for the bride and groom.

THERE’S NO ESCAPE

This week I escaped up north to Pitlochry, to the lovely Atholl Palace hotel for a mini break Christmas present. It felt quite self-indulgent, eating nice food, relaxing and visiting a beautiful waterfall, a viewpoint overlooking the valley and wandering around Loch Fascally, when there is a war raging in Ukraine.

It is hard to imagine the horror these people are enduring, in what is supposed to be a civilised world. I am pleased to see that Rotary, of which I am a member, have mobilised their disaster aid funds and people on the ground, to offer support. We are fortunate to have honest, free press, who report a balanced account of what is happening.

Back here in Scotland life goes on at a pace. It has been a busy time with commissions of special gifts. I have retirement, engagement leaving and wedding gifts back from the framers. Once delivered to the recipients I will have lots to share.

The bandana-Rama pet portrait judging is this weekend, so that will be another one to add to the list.

On the book front, the pre-sale AUTHOR Section of my website is now open, and I have had multiple orders already, with one even coming from USA. Anyone ordering from outside of the UK should email me separately, as their p&p will be different.

I have also had the first versions of the front cover back from the graphic designer, featuring my illustration. I can’t wait to share the final version with everyone. It looks great.

The manuscript has also been shared with a small number of people who may possibly agree to endorse it, so fingers crossed. Contacts are starting to be made with media connections for promotion opportunities too… watch this space.

THE WAIT IS NEARLY OVER 📚

It’s been a long wait, but I have some good news. My book ‘I don’t talk to dead bodies’… the curious encounters of a forensic psychiatrist, is moving further towards publication with every week that goes by.

I am pleased to reveal that my publication date is 28 July 2022 and within the next couple of weeks you will see a new AUTHOR section in this website, where you will be able to preorder a signed copy of the book direct from me. (£12.99 plus p&p).

Later, it will be possible to order the paperback and audiobook from Amazon and other outlets, or order from a bookstore, but this is your chance to get your very own signed copy.

The front cover has been designed by me too and is with the graphic designer for addition of text at the moment. I hope to reveal that to you very soon.

Right now I am looking for additional opportunities to promote the book e.g., newspapers, podcasts, radio or TV interviews. My business group colleagues have been great in making some connections for me.

I am also hopeful of some book endorsements from respected authors… the manuscript is back from the copy editor so ready to send out to those who have agreed to help. It’s quite exciting.

There has been so much happening with the book that I have a bit of a backlog of art commissions. Currently working on a watercolour of a grand old house with lovely turrets, set in wooded grounds, and then on to two wedding venues.

There is then the judging of my Bandanarama charity dog walk pet photos, to see who will have their pet portrait painted as first prize. They all look so cute in their checked bandanas with little Rotary badges. 

CONFUSION...NO GLASS FUSION !

Last week I started some glass fusion workshop sessions, at The WASP studios in Glasgow, with the talented Catherine Lowe. I had never done anything like this before, so I was completely out of my comfort zone. As usual I was full of great ideas but did not have the technical knowhow to execute them.

I started with an ambitious twostep process which involved using powdered glass to create the background for my glass picture. This would be fired in the kiln in preparation for next week's class, during which I will be adding the detail.

I should explain that the image in my head is a wood of silhouetted trees surrounded by a carpet of bluebells. The problem is that I had to learn (the hard way!) that powdered glass may look one colour when dry and completely change colour when heated to the very high temperatures achieved in the kiln. It all feels a little bit of a lottery.

Then there is the delicate business of cutting the desired shapes out of sheets of coloured glass, to create the tree trunks. We practiced scoring clear glass and using implements to break it along the scored line.

It was all progressing very well until I moved on to the coloured glass! It didn't seem to want to play ball when I attempted the fairly thin shards of glass required for tree trunks. Let's just pretend these are fairly mature trees with a wider trunk then.

Next, I will be adding small pieces of glass called frits to represent leaves and bluebells. These should fuse to my prepared background, to create the desired effect, once subjected to the kiln again.

From what I can gather, the real skill is learning how to use the kiln properly, at what temperature and for how long.

It is important not to mix glass types either...apparently, we are using bullseye glass. Fortunately, we have Catherine on hand to deal with all of that.

It has been nice to take a challenge and get out of my comfort zone. 

THE WANDERER RETURNS

Did you miss me?

I have been absent from my blogging for several month, not because I have been away on holiday. The pandemic has certainly impacted holiday plans. I should be on an expedition cruise in Antarctica just now but that will have to wait until 2023. What have I been up to? If you follow my rhonamorrisonauthor Facebook page you will know.

I have been working on the final edit of my memoir, ‘I don’t talk to dead bodies’…confessions of a forensic psychiatrist. It was handed in to my publisher last week, so hopefully will be published late summer.

Despite all of that I have been busy on the art front, having had the usual pre-Christmas flurry of referrals for unique Christmas gifts and my Open Studio event. Having transitioned to focussing mostly on commissions, I have been enjoying the personal feedback from grateful recipients and hearing the stories behind the choice of subject matter.

This week’s pointillism drawing of two fluffy cats was a gift from my friend to her neighbour, to thank her for her kindness. It never ceases to amaze me how touched people are when you give a gift which has been created just for them. It is the thought and effort which has gone into it which has the impact, and the artwork serves as a constant reminder of that, often capturing memories of much-loved pets or places.

As you know, I avoid portraits of people as there seems much more room to disappoint. People don’t always see themselves as others see them, whether it is the size of the nose, the angle of the eyes or just how chubby those cheeks are… to be avoided!

I promise to be more active with my blogging in 2022 and to keep you posted on my writer’s journey too. It’s been quite a ride so far.

Happy new year.

Rhona