The tension's building, the excitement's mounting, and the crowds are, well, crowding round as it's very, very nearly time for the unveiling of the new Zopa markets. The A* and C markets are opening next week (the week of 7th August), and that'll be great for everyone, as more borrowers will be able to get Zopa loans, and Zopa lenders will get more choice about who they lend to. Like NASA with Discovery, we had to delay launch a few days to do some last-minute technical checks, but now we're all set for lift-off. And by the end of next week the new markets will be go. Be sure to get involved.

July was a great month. It was sunny, we ran an organic veg promotion to help keep Zopa members healthy, and all this stuff happened:

• 6,464 new members joined
• All those lenders chomping at the bit to lend more than £25,000 finally got to stop chomping - as you can now lend as much as you like at Zopa with a licence. Many lenders are already lending 6 figure sums, and if you're interested in lending over £25k, you should click here.
• We made some nice buttons as part of our 'Tell a Friend' scheme, which you can put on your blog or myspace page and maybe earn yourself some cash. Sign in and go to My Zopa for more info.
• Zopa got a huge thumbs up from What INVESTMENT magazine, taking the Product of the Month award for August and getting 5* out of a possible 5*. Read what they said about us.
• The Metro, Your Money, Investors Chronicle, IT Week and several regional papers all ran pieces about Zopa, which led to lots more lenders and borrowers signing up
• An extensive leafleting campaign brought us onto even more people's radar

Zopa is all about bringing people together, so it's always nice when Zopa members get to meet each other in person. Archie118, a Zopa lender, was doing his weekly supermarket shop when all of a sudden a stranger approached him wanting to chat. It turned out that this was a stranger with a love for people in his heart and a passion for lending and borrowing marketplaces in his soul – and the two ended up having a right old natter. Archie118 picks up the story... I happened to be wearing the Zopa T-Shirt I won in the easter egg competition when I was shopping the other night. A stranger came up to me and asked if I worked for Zopa. I explained I didn't but I was a member and we got chatting. It turned out he was a borrower and he thanked me for being a Zopa lender as he had got a much better deal than the normal banks were offering.

What a pleasant encounter. What aisle did this happen in?

Fruit and Veg. I was filling a bag with potatoes. Not sure what he was getting.

Was he a friendly fellow then?

Yes – friendly enough to start a conversation with a stranger

So do your wear your Zopa T-shirt often?

I've worn it two or three times. So far the only other people to comment have been friends. Now I know Zopa is Russian for "bottom" (according to one of your emails) I might not be so inclined to wear it!

Good point. Maybe avoid wearing it to any Russian bars you happen to visit. How have you found lending at Zopa so far?

Very interesting. I could have probably put my money in a unit trust or something and sat back but I guess I am one of the “early adopters” who loves new technology and seeing how things work. I've just topped my lending up with another£150 to bring it up to £2000 ready for the new markets coming in August.

A seamless plug for our new markets there Archie – great work. Just finally, seeing as we've been talking about supermarkets, what's your shopping technique?

I tend to just go round in a daze following the same pattern each week. I always check the section for damaged or “short date” items. Does that say anything about me?

Just that you've got an eye for a bargain Archie118, as we'd expect from a Zopa lender. Cheers then.

Have you ever bumped into a fellow Zopa member in an unusual location? If so, we'd love to hear from you - drop a line to tom@zopa.com. No hoaxers.

Ever heard of a book called The Wormton Lamb? It's all set to be the next Da Vinci Code, and was written by Zopa member Injector (aka Bob Blackman), who borrowed money from Zopa lenders to help him self-publish his books. We caught up with him to see how everything was going.

So Injector, what are your books about?

I write humorous alternative reality. The Soul Trader is the first part of a trilogy that features not the traditional battle between good and evil but a three-way fight between good, evil and the forces of bland. I have also written The Wormton Lamb, which features Nick Hob (the hero of The Soul Trader trilogy) in a cameo role – he borrows the G-gnome as part of a soul trading deal and the little rascal gets out of its box.

Crikey - bet that leads to some hi-jinks. What's Nick Hob like then?

Hob is a horsepower whisperer. He can inspire engines to great feats of power and endurance with just a few carefully chosen words – he talks the torque! And for the speed and power he can give them, people will gladly sell their souls. Nick Hob is your best friend and your worst enemy. He'll lead you into temptation and take your soul from you, but you'll thank him for it afterwards.

There's one in every office. Can you give us a short extract from one of your books?

From The Soul Trader:

The stranger took a business card from a pocket of his battered leather jacket and presented it to M Cadvare. "My card."

M Cadvare stood up and studied him for a moment. His clothes did not follow any Euphobian fashionality with which M Cadvare was familiar and the stranger spoke one of the pre-unification dialects with a strangely refined accent. The hand that held the card had long steely fingers that bore several notable scars. The fingernails looked rather grubby from ingrained oil.

M Cadvare took the card and glanced at it. "There's nothing on it," he said.

"Modesty forbids it."

He turned it over. "And no address either."

The stranger smiled and shrugged. "I'm never at home."

But something made M Cadvare turn it over a second time. "‘Nicholas Eldritch Hob,'" he read out. "‘Soul Trader and Holder of Soul Rites.' What odd spelling. ‘Horsepower Whispering a speciality.' Pleased to meet you, monsieur … er, Mister Hob," and they shook hands. "Enrico Cadvare, at your service."

Excellent. Don't suppose you could give us one from The Wormton Lamb as well, could you?

"Widdershins!" called Mr Heckmondwike.

Widdershins was his three-headed collie. The Greeks may have conceived the idea of a three-headed dog but the Wormtonians had refined the concept and given it practical reality through very selective breeding. As well as three heads, they had endowed every Three-headed Wormton Sheepdog with three tails and twelve legs.

The masterstroke, however, was to give each Three-headed Wormton Sheep Dog three bodies. These bodies were completely independent of each other and came complete with a tail and a matched set of legs. The result was a sheep dog that could be in three places at the same time.

Consequently, it was a simple task for Wid, Der and Shins to round up the unfortunate lamb and bring it, bleating and confused, to Mr Heckmondwike. Mr Heckmondwike picked up the lamb and examined it while its concerned mother looked on.

"Ah reckon ah'll have to keep an eye on this young rascal mesen, now," he said.

Sounds great. Now, a horrible question, but what other authors would you say your work's closest to?

Horrible answer - I dunno. Once they are on Amazon, I hope people who bought Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Jaspar fforde would also be shown as purchasing my books.

How close are you to finishing everything?

There's still a great deal to do to complete the trilogy but it's pretty well mapped out. I have hired an editor and we are working closely on the first part, which is The Soul Trader. I aim to get this ready for publication in the winter. The Wormton Lamb will be published soon afterwards.

And how come you decided to go down the self-publishing road?

I've tried the conventional publishing route but got nowhere with it. So I decided to take some of the risk myself and self-publish. This is where Zopa comes in. My loan has been used to create a fighting fund. Print on demand publishers are offering reasonably priced packages to authors who wish to take this step and keep creative control over their work. Increasing numbers of authors who have published their own work by this means have enjoyed great success and gone on to sign major deals with mainstream publishers on the basis of their self-publishing track record.

Well good luck with it all. When they're published, where would you suggest people read your books: on the beach? At home? In a haunted castle?

A Cornish engine house would be the best place. As will be revealed, they are an integral part of the Anarchadian landscape.

How can Zopa members whose fancies have been tickled find out more about your work?

E-mail me at bob@rdblackman.fsnet.co.uk.

Moving on from your writing, in the midst of this heat-wave, it seems only appropriate to ask you what your favourite ice cream is.

Callestick Farm Ice Cream – it's made in the Cornish village where I grew up. I can eat loads without feeling sick.

Impressive. And are you a 'tanner' or are a 'burner'?

I'm a pale skinned burner. Apparently the surname Blackman is a German joke name, derived from Bleichmann or bleach man.

Well plenty of factor 30 for you then. Best of luck with everything Injector, and keep us posted about how things are going.

In last month's This Month at Zopa we posed the question: 'What should we call a collection of Zopa members?' We had an overwhelming number of responses, and big thanks to everyone who chipped in. Here are some of the many replies we received:

MickeyBlue - We are the Zoparites.  A Nation of Zopa'ers.

sidsdosh - What about plain and simple ZOPALS? It reflects the camaraderie of the ZOPA principle.

coulter - Zopalites. It's not too, too zophisticated dahling - just a bunch of lo-zopiety, lo-finance people getting together and zopialising.

sumiTimus - As we are all brave pioneers who boldly explore the Zopa universe I think that we should be called Zopanauts.

GoodeBank06 - I prefer the assonance of Zopatropes

terrtucordle - Zopateers: easy on the tongue!

ginny1 - You could call persons that have done a deal "Agree-mates", whilst calling those still to make a deal "Approxi-mates"

RQuadling - I'll go for Zopaneers. I like eers rather than ites.

DickieBird - Let's apply the KISS principle. Keep it simple and be called "Zopers".

mattide - I think Zopa members should be called Zopatistas, in the same vein as the revolutionary Zapatistas, who fought for the redistribution of agricultural land. Isn't Zopa a revolutionary idea all about the redistribution of money!? You could even get berets made!?

RichardRay - ZOPATISTAS. Que viva Zopa!

In the end we decided to pick a shortlist of 5 and let people vote for their fave on the discussion board. The shortlisted 5 were: Zopers, Zopaneers, Zopanauts, Zopatistas and Zopateers.

And the winner? Zopateers, by a country mile. It's got a nice ring to it, and fits in perfectly with the 'one for all and all for one' ethos of Zopa. Good decision everyone.