The Ninja Mockingbird

Or the Sneaky Art of Shameless Plugging. I am quite shameless in this endeavour, two months reposing reasonably (for me) quietly on Authonomy has shown me that the art of being a shameless tart is not one to be frowned upon. In fact, it's one to be revered.... even envied. The Three Wise Men of Authonomy (there, that's my concession to Christmas taken care of!), Simon, Alexander and Richard reached new heights of shameless abandonment, they varied from the crafty to the blatant and every shade in between. Simon's style was the neat hook, Alexander's the pithy repost, and Richard's was to be as crystal clear as possible. The sheer volume and ingenuity of Simon's plugs are an art work in themselves..... In fact when this is all over, I think he should bring out a book of his shameless plugs...... advertising could learn a lot from his approach.

Of course, my books would be all at sea without the killer cover...... And I can claim absolutely no responsibility for either of them, Cats, Custard and Consequences was beautifully designed by a young lady entitling herself Will Fletcher Fan..... (bless you hunny), Half Light comes courtesy of Doug Rao (mate, you are a true gent!) who has a great eye for a good pic...

Strangely enough, Pix lead me neatly to another of my heroes, Garalt Canton, and his incredible book, The Fifth Kingdom, Gar is also a more than usually talented artist... (the sin of envy... moi??).

If word pictures grab your fancy, and you need a good giggle, may I also recommend Edmund Farrow. Ed has brought whole new meanings to the word Housedad and quite restored my faith in the whole idea along the way.

I could not possibly forget Shah's Haggis, an unusual name for a cat and Gina's Escaping Reality along the way, especially as the sneaky art of plugging has now escaped the bounds and is infesting the whole universe.

Of course for lovers of flying kites, and idling your life away by the pool, I could not possibly miss out on Annia or Heikki whose support and encouragement have been wonderful and whose books are pretty darned wonderful too!!

That's it for this public service broadcast..... Enjoy!!