Celebrate Everything

Each morning when I open my inbox, I wonder "Does anyone want to acquire my novel today?" Thus far, the answer has been a resounding "No" and it's a situation that makes it easy for me to obsess about publication, while overlooking all the good things that have happened to me. It's for this reason I instigated my Achievement Points system and also why I want to talk about a couple of recent achievements - one in the children's writing field and the other in my day job.

Let's take the day job first. As Digital Product Manager for Oxford Dictionaries, I'm proud to announce that we have a new app available for iPhone, iPad and Android Devices - Oxford Dictionaries Quick Search.

It's totally free, so please download it using the links below and let me know what you think. The core idea of the app is to provide quick, simple and free access to the complete text of Oxford's current English dictionaries (both British and American), and to link to our OxfordDictionaries.com site (where you can access the same content and much more).


As well as being our first free dictionary app, Oxford Dictionaries Quick Search is also notable for being the first app that we've built entirely in-house, using a small team headed up by yours truly. I even did some of the programming, but the app continues to work very reliably despite that!

Here are links to the two versions and QR Codes if you have a scanner app installed on your device:

Apple iPhone and iPad	Android Devices
http://oxford.ly/17XCYkD	http://oxford.ly/17w8zEn

In the children's writing realm, I'm very pleased to say that I will be getting into print for the first time this coming January. As some of you who attended the SCBWI conference already know, my short story Princess of Dirt will be featured in the debut issue of Stew, a new indie magazine for children aged 8-12. The magazine is looking great so far (you can see sample content and subscribe at stewmagazine.com) and it's amazing to see my work illustrated as a stunning double-page spread by the very talented Jayde Perkin:

The story itself is something of a departure for me, a feminist revenge fantasy set in a world where magic is boring! I hope you'll sample the magazine and read the story when Stew launches.

Do excuse me for all the self-promotion this week, but it's so nice to have something to announce, let alone two good things at once. Who needs novels, eh?

Nick.