It was odd to see the sweet 80-year-old lady being helped into her cinema seat one minute and soon after appearing onscreen as the irresistible femme fatale.



Read Full Post

Writers have been getting a bit of flack, recently, for dragging their personal lives into the public eye. I’m thinking in particular of Julie Myerson, whose latest novel “The Lost Child” chronicles how her teenage son’s addiction to cannabis finally led her and her husband to change the locks in order to keep him out of the house, in a desperate bid to save their sanity and the unity of the rest of the family.

Read Full Post

After a very bad start to the year everything appears to be returning to an even keel and in terms of the novel, going as it should. I'm a lot happier being out of work for the now and seeing progress being made. The novel seems a lot sharper and more sure of itself, and that can only be a good thing, right?

Read Full Post

I never thought it would come to this, but I actually wandered the streets with my laptop searching for WiFi to steal! As you might surmise, I found it, and am now sitting on the Poperinge pavement, my back against the glass front of the pharmacy on the town square (closed on Sundays), listening to the church bells and ignoring odd looks from the passing Belgian townsfolk. Do people not sit on pavements with their laptops in small Belgian towns? Surely it must happen more and more.

I just got asked directions from some suitcase-wheeling tourists, who wanted to go to the one place I actually know around here, so I am useful, at least! Others are staring at me. Well, let them stare. I must blog.

So, Thursday was intense.

Read Full Post

It's rare to condemn a play outright, because there's nearly always some aspect that's well done. With such a wide range of things to consider - acting, set, lighting, costumes, etc, it's almost impossible to find nothing to praise. It seems to me the critic risks a loss of credibility with his readers, though, if he fails to point out serious flaws in the writing.



Read Full Post

My good friend Liz once described me as ‘domestically disabled’. In writing. More specifically, in writing on my personal profile on the occasion of my frankly disastrous and short-sighted foray into online dating. I was a little bit hurt. Not about the dating - concerning which I was truthfully neither here nor there – but about the slur on my femininity. That wound gaped deeply for about as long as it took me to, oh, light a cigarette and accidentally drop ash on the carpet.


Read Full Post

We’ve all heard the well-worn metaphor about how books are like babies. We create them, nurture them, and (if we’re lucky) finally bring them proudly out into the world for all to coo over and marvel at. Or, if they’re rather more “difficult” babies, to flat-out ignore and shoot evil glances at when they scream the house down. And write bad reviews about on Amazon… okay, the metaphor rather breaks down there I grant you. In fact, I’m here today to tell you exactly why books are nothing like babies...

Read Full Post

Five cherry stones lay at the bottom of the winter white glazed bowl amid the dregs of single cream that had evaded the attentions of my spoon in spite of my best efforts.



Read Full Post

Today's World Book Day event was a success. And it was enjoyable. We had a decent turnout for the reading, which was good. And they all seemed to like my stories and the one, written for World Book Day here in the north west, by Zoe Lambert.

I think the most pleasing thing from my point of view was how well the writing group members read - they were all really great. So well done, them.

It was also pleasing to raise almost £80 for Book Aid - that's a fair few books.

So thanks to all who came, who gave up their Thursday lunchtimes and to all you supercool authors who donated books.

Read Full Post

Today has been a long and intense one, and I will blog about it at some point, but in the meantime, one more comp:

March 30th: Short FICTION Third Annual New Writer competition: Prize is £300 plus publication in Issue 3 of Short FICTION (due out September 2009). Writers without fiction book publication (of novel or short stories) are eligible. Entries must be of previously unpublished work (in magazine or online). Submitted stories must be under 5000 words. There is no theme restriction.
.

Read Full Post