First, the more writerly news: the local author book fair co-sponsored by the Ashland, Framingham, and Hopkinton Public Libraries has been rescheduled to Sunday, September 19. Still being held outside at The Corner Spot in Ashland, still 2 to 5 PM.

And now, onto boring basement stuff.

My basement, aka The Writer’s Block, is desperate for good lighting. There’s only one small window down there, and the existing lighting wasn’t good enough to brighten the whole space.

I took care of that on Sunday by replacing the old, mismatched, dingy ceiling tiles with bright new tiles, and replacing the overhead light fixture with a new LED model that throws light like crazy. It also has a thinner profile, which means I’m not going to bonk my head on it constantly.

I also borrowed a trick from the many home renovation shows I watch and created a “sun tunnel.” Basically, I lined the small alcove where the lone window lives with sheet aluminum, which reflects and magnifies the sunlight that does reach the window. It’s not enough to fully light up the space, but it brings a lot more sun in that the old window by itself.

To end on a completely self-indulgent note, my friend Matt happened to spot copies of Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins in a display for top picks for young adult readers in a local Barnes & Noble. While I don’t put any effort into getting book shops to carry my stuff — the money is all in online sales — it’s a nice ego boost to see my work out in the wild, so to speak. Thanks for the boost, Matt!