INTERIORS

INTERIORS
one of my jobs and what I do...

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Miss Carr's Pies - from SPOOKY TALES....


HERE'S ANOTHER GREAT TALE FROM LEIGHROY MARSH 
AUTHOR/SONGWRITER 
 


Long, long ago, there was nothing but snow 
on the dark country lane in my tale

And galloped a horse, (with a rider of course) 
with a bag full of paintings for sale.
But the snow was too thick, 
and he had to think quick - 
if he stayed out too long he would freeze
And though the dark night 
he saw the pale light of an inn, 
where he could find some ease.

He tethered his steed in the stables next door, 
and carried his pictures inside.
And there by the bar, was the lovely Miss Carr 
with a tray full of pies at her side
Good evening Miss, he said with a hiss – 
his mouth was all frozen and solid
She simply looked up from a recipe book 
and said in a manner quite stolid.

“Good evening sir, can I get you a beer? 
A room for the night or some tea?
There’s nobody here at this time of year 
I can give you a discount maybe?”
“What would be nice, is one of those pies..
 “ Said the traveller eyeing the tray
“Can you warm right it up with some ale 
in a cup and tell me how much I must pay

“I certainly can” she said to the man 
“please take a seat by the fire”
“I shall warm it up quick, I ‘ll be back in a tick – 
with a pie that will match your desire”
Miss Carr went away to the pies on the tray, 
and selected the largest one on it
To the kitchen she went with a pie for the gent , 
whilst humming herself an old sonnet.

“So the man wants a pie”, she said with a sigh – 
it will cost him much more than he thinks
She pulled out a locket from inside her pocket
and opened it over his drink.
Down poured some dust, which was redder than rust – 
It bubbled and fizzled and festered

She stirred up the brew which was thicker than stew – 
but smelt rather good none the less

Miss Carr was a witch, and her knowledge was rich, 
she could halt her old age with a spell
And nobody knew she was 302, 
her diet had kept her quite well
Her goal was quite plain and simply insane – 
She needed his brain, heart and eyes
To keep herself trim and slender and slim - 
and the rest she would turn into pies

Miss Carr brought the pie with a glint in her eye 
and a serving of carrots and peas
With the beer on the tray, 
and a splendid array of some bread 
and a thin slice of cheese.
“Here you are, my dear ……one pie and a beer - 
eat  it up quick while its hot”
She watched and she waited, 
the man hesitated …
coughed….. 
and then scoffed down the lot.

can't post any more at the moment!!!!
 
will be out soon - so watch this space  - there's some scary stuff that will put the shivers down you spine.....   
Just one of the tales taken from our book   
'There's something wrong with Granddad'
scary stuff in this booooooook

FOR NEWS AND UPDATES....  
 









Friday, 24 June 2011

high plains dancer.wmv



Leighroy Marsh - Author/Songwriter/Music Entrepreneur
writing children's books and composing contemporary electronic music…
visit: http://www.hpmmedialtd.com for more news and updates
leave a comment and let us know what you think!


Posted by Kul Cuthbert

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

the hairy plug monster & friends - childrens books by HPM Media


 don't you just love it when things go right !!!
               Author                  Leighroy Marsh
               illustrations          Samuel Perry
               published             HPM Media Ltd 






for more updates visit :   http://www.hpmmedialtd.com
                                         http://www.hairyplugmonster.com

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tell us what you think....






Posted by Kul Cuthbert

Thursday, 16 June 2011

Step aside ....There's a new kid in town

Step aside ....There's a new kid in town

Having been the only book on the shelf for so long,
The Hairy Plug Monster 
has now had to make room for the new kid in town.

We received the first 'mock up' of Be Careful Ethel
this week and it looks superb. We came up with the
idea of the promotional clip to boost awareness and
have already had a very positive response.

on her class, without saying who wrote it and came 
back with the following:-
I gave the copy of Be Careful Ethel to Maya-Rose's 
teacher to test drive 

Erin: "very good, I liked the King and Queen"

Archie: "Fantastic"

Luke: " Liked that the story rhymed"

Maddy: "I really liked it, I liked the 'dont panic' bits

Louie: " Liked the cheesy teddy bear bit

Rowan: " I liked the cheesy teddy bear bit too!"

Ankita: "I want to buy the book right now"

Harry: "I laughed at the cheese teddy bear bit"


Miss Steyert " The children really enjoyed Be Careful Ethel 
and laughed throughout. Especially when 
Maurice spread cheese on his teddy bears. 
The children joined in with the 'dont panic" bits -
Thoroughly entertaining.
So in a nutshell it looks like its going to be as well liked as the
Hairy Plug Monster, but could you do me a favour when it does 
come out -even though I enjoy being told how much you like my stories,

don't tell me - just tell everyone else

visit our website for more updates...
purchase page:     http://www.hairyplugmonster.com


Get a sign copy of the Hairy Plug Monster....
you won't be disappointed...
written by Leighroy Marsh                                  
           Illustrations by : Samuel Perry

Posted by Kul Cuthbert

Monday, 13 June 2011

we publish great childrens books...

the hairy plug monster goes to town
written by Leighroy Marsh - author/songwriter 



©  2009  hpm media ltd - childrens books
another book to add to our collection
check out our website
http://www.hpmmedialtd.com


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hope you like this.... not all  the story posted! 
but hey just to give you an idea!
                                                                                         
“We’ve ran out of biscuits

and chocolate éclairs!”

Dad called up to Maya

From the foot of the stairs



 “Get your coat and your hat


And we’ll walk into town


We can do all the shopping


While mum’s not around”



Maya looked at her toys


At the foot of the bed


“Can I bring a friend


Maybe dolly or Ted?”



“Yes” replied Dad

As he stood in the hall

“If you like, grab your bag

And you can  - bring them all”

So she picked up her bag

That was hung from her bed

Then  In went the dolly

And  in went her Ted


She went to the bathroom

And yelled in the plug




“Would you like to go shopping

With me? - Glug, Glug Glug”


The hairy plug monster


Popped out of the tap


Wearing  stripy pyjamas


And an old swimming cap



He hopped in the bag


And they went down the stairs


To pop to the shops


For more chocolate éclairs



Down into Town

Strolled Maya and Dad

With the hairy plug monster
                                                           
All snug in the bag
          

they arrived at the bakers


The one in the square

And Maya sat down

On old wooden chair


Dad said to the baker

I’d like one pot of tea

And some blackberry muffins

For Maya and me

But,


The hairy plug monster

Had climbed on the shelf

And whilst no-one was looking

He was helping himself


First went the biscuits

And then went the cakes

And then went the flapjacks

That had all just been baked

All that was left


were the chocolate Éclairs


2 blackberry muffins


And Some marshmallow squares



The was two sausage rolls


And a pie that was hot


before anyone noticed


He ate the whole lot

The hairy plug monster


Had left them with nothing


Not even a cake


Or blackberry muffin.....




visit our website for updates, news and reviews :-

http://www.hpmmedialtd.com
------------------------------------------------


let us know what you think....


leave a comment


The Hairy Plug Monster available to buy


order your copy on line....

http://www.hairyplugmonster.com/purchase.html 


or Waterstones, 


thats it and have a great evening from all of us here 


at HPM 





Posted by Kul Cuthbert

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

10 years ago, all we had to do was publish a book ...


WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2011

            by Leighroy Marsh

10 years ago, all we had to do was publish a book ...

It seems that to be an independent children’s author and publisher in today’s market – it’s not enough just to write good stories. That has proven to be the easy bit. 


When we published The Hairy Plug Monster 18 months ago, we naively thought that it wouldn’t be long before the whole world knows who we are along with commercial endorsements right across the board from branded doughnuts to Theme Park rides….
Imagine that! “Dare you ride The Plug Monster?”
Anyway as this blog has detailed in full – that really hasn’t been the case. Ten years ago we may have stood a chance, but not today.
10 years ago, all we had to do was publish a book or better still get someone else to publish it and live off the earnings. Now the game has changed completely. Just having a book isn’t enough – it now needs to be digitalised and produced in formats that can be delivered to a variety of gadgets. 
Because I don't have the luxury that newly crowned children's Laurette - Julia Donaldson has by not allowing her books to be sold in this format, I have reassessed my outlook and decided that e-books really are a major part of the future and as a publisher and author it would be a wasted opportunity not to at least have a go.  
Not being a total “geek” myself, I have had a few problems getting to grips with the software, slowly overcoming it with a few choice swear words and long periods of self doubt........
It seems to be working.
In one way it seems a 'no brainer' as we are already producing PDF’s to send to the printers for the first edition print run. So, by default we have an e-book in it’s most basic form. 
 I'm content to just produce a PDF, because it is a bit static and not very engaging but it has served as a good starting point.  
In the current version of the pdf HPM I have hidden lots of small treats for enquiring minds to look for:
strange noises, music, theme tunes, speeches by MAYA and the posh and articulate Hairy Plug Monster etc, and in one secret area there is even a narrated version of the unpublished The Hairy Plug Monster goes to town.
At the last count there were over 30 hidden ‘hotspots’ in the PDF. 
Although it is an original thought for us, everyone else has been doing it for some time, so even at this early stage in E-volution, we are still in the caves.
The publishing software I am using has already been superseded by an even better one, that allows e-publication in several formats and apparently lets you integrate animation, movies and other tasty bit of software to make the e-book a full 360 interactive experience. (well that’s what it says on the tin).
If you get a chance, have a look at Alice on the iPad - which seems to have set the standard that we all must follow.
Already it is possible to submit the Italian text into The HPM and with some help we can even do the Farsi version that we have had for ages. Now that offering direct translations is a real possibility, I will be calling favours in from all over the World to get translations in as many languages as possible and putting them up on www.hpmmedialtd.com .
One of the challenges at the moment is getting the HPM into a format that is supported by Amazon and Waterstones - The E-pub format isn’t picture book friendly and although there is a way to do it, it involves getting someone else in and paying them far too much money. 
Obviously an e-book wont be the same as having a real children's picture book to snuggle up and read to your kids, but it seems that within a few years the iPad, Tablet and Smart Phone are going to become part of the furniture in most households.
It is also true that you can download a book for less than it would cost to park your car in town... (well where I live anyway), and it seems inevitable that this market is only going to grow bigger each year, and while other people may have more technologically savvy ebooks, 
HPM Media have brilliant stories.
be involved 
send us a comment
follow us on Facebook and Twitter
http://www.hpmmedialtd.com

          Posted by Kul Cuthbert

Monday, 6 June 2011

Mini Chocolate Eclairs - from HPM MEDIA - childrens books


Hairy Plug Monster sponsors mini chocolate eclairs


this post given by:  Leighroy Marsh | Author/Songwriter
http://www.hairyplugmonster.com
"If there is one thing that the HPM craves more 
than anything else it's: Mini Chocolate Eclairs


Since meeting Maya, his
days of eating "bubble bath 
sandwiches" are long gone - 
and as "shop - o - late" 
eclairs are just not tasty 
enough, I had to ask my 
sister Karon for a recipe that 
will satiate his enormous appetite.                                                               



110g Plain flour
175ml water
½ tsp salt
75g butter
3 eggs beaten


150 mls whipped cream
100gms Couverture Chocolate melted
(yeh, I didn't know what it was either, so I "wikied" it)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couverture_chocolate 


To make choux pastry:
Preheat oven to 180° c
Boil water and butter, add flour and salt and mix to a smooth paste, until the paste leaves the sides of the pan and allow the flour to cook out.


Transfer to a clean cool bowl and let the mixture cool.


When it is cool, start to beat in the eggs one at a time until you have a smooth dropping consistency, that is pipeable.


Fit a large plain piping nozzle to a piping bag and pipe in lines about 4 cm long onto a greased baking tray. 
Bake for 30 -35 minutes until the éclairs are golden brown take them out and allow to cool
To assemble:
Place a thin piping nozzle into a piping bag and pierce a hole in the bottom of the Ã©clairs.


Pipe in the whipped cream and top them with the chocolate
How easy is that?


FOR MORE UPDATES VISIT :


http://www.hairyplugmonster.com
http://www.hpmmedialtd.com
buy on line at :  
http://www.hpmmedialtd.com/our-bookspurchase.html
Posted by Kul Cuthbert