Rosalie Gilbert

Although it's a little early to be doing bookmarks and printing little mini covers for promotions for the new book, there's cheap printing specials for Xmas, so it makes sense to save money right now and order.

The bookmarks came today. It is cheaper to print them on the size and cut them down the middle myself, so that's what I'm doing. Today I watched a movie and cut a heap up and I'm really loving them. I love the brown colour scheme and they're a nice, crisp print.

I need to do a proper post and pictures and things, but still trying to stop being ridiculously excited that my book has hit the shelves in the Braille Library. Super duper excited about that, but also super duper busy with projects.

The circlets are all together now, and I've glued the linings in. They'll need a little glue touch up where the ends overlap, but that's easy.

Two of the three matching blue, faux silk surcotes are finished now, and I'm not going to attempt the third before the event. My current plan is to have red in the centre flanked by the two matching blue ones. The morris dancers aren't answering their emails, so a bit stressed about using them for the ceremony.

More fun with photos with friends with good results. I've also managed to trawl though old photos and grab a few extra which are perfect for side pages.

Insanely late sewing night when a friend dropped over in the afternoon and finally left with much achieved at 3.10am. It did keep me working on projects and we had a steady supply of delicious cheeses and tea and Disney movies she hadn't seen so the time flew by!

The silk kirtle now has a few buttonholes completed. I gave up and machine sewed the back gore in and will go back and hand stitch it later. I'm so short of time.

Ditto the roses curtains. I'll use other wall hangings for the event and use the roses as a really great bedspread this year. I have three panels sewn together with two other smaller ones completed also. It's quite an expanse.

In other news, I'm tired and need a nap. I've been trying to keep up with posting things on Inst and FBook just to keep things motivated, but really, I am still bouncing about the braille library thing. Proper post to come with lots of info about Braille House and all about them.

Look, I know we are all sick of hearing about it, but by now we all understand the challenges I've faced with publishing and the front cover of my book. This week I had dealings with a venue which was hoping to sell my book over the course of a medieval event, but, in an exceptionally tactless way, informed me that they felt the cover was (and I quote) "A bit on the nose" and that it wasn't suitable for a family-friendly festival in their gift shop.

I completely understand that the original cover screams SEX in large, unwieldy letters, which is one of the reasons I printed a dust jacket. That and the nipple censorship thing, of course.

The venue was not particularly happy with the dust jacket either, so with an extremely limited time frame, I got this one off to the printer for a new dust jacket. The venue conceded that this one was (and again, I quote) "A bit better." They insist that the book be wrapped somehow so it can't be perused by potential customers. I really would have just given it all a solid miss for the way they feel, except for the fact that they are actually potentially interested in stocking my book all year round.

Anyway, I'm now waiting for these to arrive, so I can trim them and wrap the books with their new "bit better, less on the nose" jackets.

See what I did there? BOOK-ings? Oh, all right, it wasn't that funny.

I'm pretty excited though, because my first speakers booking for next year is in. By first, I mean on top of my regular every-year-booking bookings. This is a brand new one. There's a women's friendship group in Brisbane who have their monthly meetings with a guest speaker and I'd been recommended as an entertaining speaker with an interesting topic! That looks like February. The group does an incredible amount of outings and activities for women who are new to the area. It seems like a really great group. They have interstate trips as well as attend cultural events as a group. I usually waive the speakers fee for women's groups but since people do tend to buy books at my talks, I'm hoping that they will permit sales instead.

In other book news, Booktopia, my Australian distributor has let me know that they have only a few copies of my book in stock and with Xmas around the corner, will be asking my American publishers guys for a reprinting of my book. I know the first print run wasn't massive, but I feel that it's a small achievement in my world! My concern here is that if my local museum calls out for more books right before Xmas for their events, I may not have enough to give them and have for other things without ordering from the States. If I order directly from the publisher, the sales don't count, as I could be just hoarding them to book my sales numbers, but honestly, who has money for that? If I buy my stock from Booktopia, the sales count which affects my rankings and recommendations on Amazon which keeps visibility and therefore impulse sales happening.

In even more book news, I've gathered my courage and emailled the gift shop of the Victorian Medieval Festival in December to ask whether they might like some of my books in stock so I can so author signings while I'm at the festival but not have to handle the actual sales. I make more money doing the sales, but I'm super keen to do the bathhouse, and can sign books if people by them at the gift shop.

As usual, I'm expecting a push back of "We Are A Family Festival And Your Book Is Quite Sexy!" but I'm hoping that since I pointed out the sales figures for the last festival, they'll see dollar signs instead. You'll know how that goes if you start seeing me promote it on social media as an exciting opportunity to get your copy Signed By The Author, which still makes me giggle a bit when people mean me.

Further news on the Braille Library of Australia copy of my book. Still being proofread. Apparently proofreading and then making error adjustments is a big process! Having it even available in Braille cracks me up endlessly.

Fingers crossed for all of those things.

Having some fun tonight updating the tutorials page on my website. I did a share to Faceblergh earlier today and new followers are really enjoying the sewing How To links. I love it when people other than me get excited about medieval clothes.

I'm loving the new banner, which is much like the old one but the photo has been replaced.

Well, here we are all composited into one picture! It's been impossible to get everyone together for a group photo, so that will wait until the Saturday morning at the festival. Thank goodness for digital technology.

It was a bit of fun making this, but cutting everyone out and pasting us together is time consuming. Still, it's a nice break from sewing! 

I've given the ladies the option to mask up or not, but it's a bit covid-y out and I will be. I usually hope for correct shoes, but quite frankly, I'm feeling that since we are in the Marketplace and not re-enactors (for me this year) that gumboots and dry feet are quite okay also. 

It's looking very wet on the grounds and today I would have been setting up my tent but it's too wet. I've got all my fingers crossed that it's not raining on Thursday for the grand setting up. I've packed extra surcote and hoods for warmth. I thing we will need them.