Fi Phillips

Spring starts this month (20th March in the UK) but there are already daffodils and crocuses in the garden, and birds chasing each other around in an amorous fashion. I like spring. Seeing the buds on the trees and petals poking through the earth makes the world seem a happier place to live in. With the milder winters in the UK, I'm not sure if any of our animals hibernate anymore, but spring always feels like the land (and my motivation) is waking up. Writing Not a great deal to report here except that I'm getting on with what I was doing in February. I initially had a plotline for the whole trilogy but after making so many changes to novel 1, I had to rethink the entire story arc. I discussed part of the process of doing this in Cut, Paste, File Away and now I'm dipping back into novel 1 to make sure all the clues needed for the big reveal at the end of book 3 are in place. Literary Agents I'm still waiting on hearing from a couple of agents. The latest ...

I've already mentioned the writer's love for pens but along with that goes a writer's giddiness over a well-formed writing pad. Be it A5 or A4, lined or blank, ringbound or punched, a lovely, fresh pad will make any writer smile. As with the pens, they don't have to be expensive and they're widely available in stationers, gift shops or supermarkets.  Here's a selection that I came across. Pink Blossom Blue Sky Gifts, Zazzle Strangemoo, Zazzle W H Smith Tesco Paperchase

Not really. Who am I trying to kid? The last six weeks may have formed a glutenous mass of imagination, frustration and end result, but they've been enthralling too. I'll explain. 1. Zazzle My husband and I have always been all round creative lunatics. If we're not writing, we're discussing plans. If we're not doing that, then we're doodling designs. The list goes on and on in our constant creative endeavours. The result, almost two months ago, was the decision to do something constructive with our humour (well, it makes 'us' laugh) and our designs. Combining the two led us to a website called Zazzle . Zazzle is an online organisation that creates quality custom products. Put simply, you can upload a design and create a t-shirt, business card, tie or gift, either as an individual or as a store. Although Zazzle is based in the USA, it has bases in many other countries too, including the UK. We have become what is termed by Zazzle artists as a pair...

Over at Murdering the Text , we've recently designed a whole range of merchandise that now appears in an online shop called Strangemoo . It all began with a image of Stalking Stephen from our plays ' Waxworks of Horror ' and ' Bride and Doom ', and I'm now happy to inform you that the range has been extended to include several of our cartoon strips on t-shirts, posters and mugs, to name but a few of the many items available. You can find them all under the category   'Waxworks of Horror'   in the Strangemoo online shop. WOH Playing with his food  by  Strangemoo See more  Waxworks Mugs WOH "Dead on his feet"  by  Strangemoo Buy a  cheap mousepad  at zazzle.co.uk WOH Sweet Dreams Poster  by  Strangemoo Browse  Waxworks Posters