I know the price of success: dedication, hard work & an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.
— Frank Lloyd Wright

(The photo above is of The Huckleberries – a really good band that used to play regularly on Cornmarket St. here in Oxford).

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
A brilliant fantasy read. I’m itching for the next installment from Rothfuss and frustrated that I have to wait so long. Name of the Wind recounts the tale of Kvothe – a young man with various legends and stories surrounding him as the most powerful wizard of all time. Kvothe tells us his story starting with his childhood years as a member of a traveling troupe and how he first became interested, and involved in magic. It is the foundation of an epic tale, and one I am looking forward to reading.

Evermore by Alyson Noel
An enjoyable read overall for a YA dark romance. It didn’t grip me entirely and I’m unsure if I will follow the rest of the series or not. A quick, light read though with the expected teen angst and forbidden love that goes hand in hand with YA dark romance. Ever Bloom (yes, that is the main character’s name) can read minds and see auras, until she meets Damen that is – a mysterious and entirely too handsome new guy at school (sound familiar?). Damen is dangerous, but Ever can’t help be drawn to him, as if she’s known him her whole life…and more. Ahhh…the mystery!

No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong
I’m a huge Kelley Armstrong fan and have read almost all of the Women of the Otherworld series (only two others to still read). In this installment, we follow Jaime Vegas – a necromancer – as she tries to start a TV career and instead, finds a better calling. My favourite aspect of the entire story though, is watching the relationship between Jamie and Jeremy unfold. I’d love for Kelley to write more about these two – especially the quiet, withdrawn and mysterious Jeremy.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
It took me a little while to get into this, but once I was drawn into the world, I was hooked. A lovely story following Ethan and the sudden arrival of a very unusual girl, Lena. It may seem a tad cliched to start, but Garcia and Stohl are able to weave a rather unique story with a sweet romance and two characters that you really want to get behind and see them find a happy ending. I’m looking forward to the next installment and wish it were already out for me to buy today. If you are looking for a sweet YA “dark romance”, this is a wonderful option.

Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
If you’ve read any of the Women of the Otherworld series, you are already familiar with Clay and Jeremy, although how they first met and how Jeremy adopted Clay is quite vague in the series. Here Kelley delves right into the backgrounds of Clay and Jeremy and we get a fantastic insight into where these two strong characters come from. If you are a fan of Kelley’s, you’ll love this.

Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange
I read Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Grange and loved it so I thought I’d read this as well, and who can resist anything to do with Mr. Darcy? This is a diary of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy’s viewpoint. An interesting read, but it didn’t quite meet my, admittedly, high expectations. I enjoyed it as a fun supplement though, but perhaps I’m biased and will enjoy anything, even remotely, connected to Darcy.

So, over the last few months we’ve been working on an iPhone game, Property Mogul, which is finally finished and available in the App Store. I had a lot of fun working on the graphics and above are some of the icons I created for the game (used when News events hit certain property areas). More details on the game as soon as I have a little more time to spare.

If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is. —Author Unknown

Design is not about awards”

At the end of every project I like to ask myself some questions to make sure I did what I was meant to do – in fact what I was hired to do – as a designer:

1. Did I solve the problem in the best possible way? / Does the final site meet its goals?
This is always the first question I ask, and actually the question that has been with me throughout the project. Whether the “problem” is a requirement for a new site to promote a book, or a redesign of a site to allow it to be more usable and aesthetically pleasing, the “problem” is at the forefront of my thinking. Is the outcome the best possible solution given the requirements and any limitations to the project itself?

2. Is the final product completed in the best possible way?
Did I dot all my “i”’s and cross all my “t”’s? This is where I like to check that I took the time to worry about the final details of the project – the little things that often get overlooked.

3. Is the client happy?
They are the ones that hired me and it shouldn’t just be a matter of them being happy with the final site, but they should be happy with the entire experience.

My goal is to answer yes to all 3 of these. I consider it a successful project if I can. Never, though, do I ask, “Will this win awards?”. That’s not the point. For me anyway.