From behind the keyboard...

Oh my little chucklebunnies, I cannot begin to tell you of the things I have seen!  So, since I cannot begin, I shall continue - thusly.

...and then, suddenly, there wasn't a motorway there at all!  And I found myself half-way to Leeds.

...because I had a panda on my lap, and I didn't want to cover him in icing.
...three people and no biro.
...'cake is the only research that exists', and he put it on Facebook.  The picture is terrible.

I am recently returned from the Festival that is BooQfest in Northampton.  Northampton is very nice, surprisingly.  Well, probably not surprisingly to the people who live there, although people rarely think the place where they live is nice, so more likely, not the people who live there but the people who visit every so often.  Anyway.  Nice.  The BooQfest opened with a launch party - which differs from a lunch party in two, very important respects, one being that extra 'a', which makes all the difference.  Consider these two sentences for a moment, if you will. "I met Tony Robinson the other day" versus "I met a Tony Robinson the other day".  One of these is merely a passing statement, the other is a case for Breaking an Injunction and possible police intervention.  That is how important an 'a' is.  Also it was in the evening.  So, launch party.  There was welcoming, and drinks of all kinds, and readings (which were terrific, Will Davis and Jeremy Seabrook) and everything was launched very nicely.  And there were cupcakes...ohh, such cupcakes as dreams are made of!  The kind where they are too nice to do the normal thing of licking all the icing off and then 'losing' the actual cake part.

And then there was The Bar, where my daughter (who had accompanied me to BooQfest, for an author should never go unaccompanied to events.  Authors spend far too much time writing, therefore alone, and when released into the wild, show a distressing tendency to talk with their mouths full and gossip and other such evils of society) and I found ourselves.  More drink was taken. Things happened.  Look.

I honestly have no idea what was going on here.  But I've got a glass in my hand and am obviously happy.

Me, Paul Magrs, and Colin, who was one of the volunteers who worked so hard behind the event.

Er, yes.  Quite. Looks like I'm about to blow out candles on a non-existant cake.

Me, Paul, Colin, Iain - who was my Minder for the day and managed to get me to my reading and signing and other things without actually having to resort to the pigboards and cattle prod, plus Joe Lidster. Iain made the cupcakes - his company is called Cinstyx cupcakes (follow them on Twitter @BakesWithBite).  Go on, I'll wait...

And I did a reading or two, and I did a signing in Waterstones, and it was all absolutely fantastic.  Met so many lovely new people (and some quite old ones), and a Panda, and Morgen Bailey, who was one of the helpy-organise people, and they're going to do it all again next year and I want to go again NOW!  When the call goes out, people, I want you all to sign up!

I shall leave you with some more pictures. This one -  

where I am almost sure that I am NOT sniffing Paul's sleeve.  Or wiping my nose on it.  No, I don't know what I actually am doing, but I'm fairly sure it's not that.

My daughter, Vienna, with Joe Lidster.  And a glass.  He looks a bit worried... and his tee-shirt is from Primark.

And, finally - the Sci Fi panel boys - Mark Michalowski, Joe Lidster, Paul Magrs and Gary Russell, talking about Doctor Who and stuff.

I'm only sorry that we couldn't get to see and listen to everyone - Alan Moore was there talking, and there were creative writing workshops and all sorts of stuff!  But, I think you can see that there was much enjoyment partaken of.  Also drink.  And cake.  Which, apparently, is the only research that exists...

No, me neither.