Monthly Archives: May 2016

#writephoto – The Glade

I do love Sue’s photo prompts – her photos are so evocative, and she gets such a wide range of responses in different styles and genres. My response this week is… well, I guess it’s sort of a poem. I don’t fancy myself as any sort of poet, though, so perhaps it’s more, these areContinue reading “#writephoto – The Glade”

Thursday Doors – St Margaret’s Church, Wolston

This is the doorway to the church of St Margaret, in Wolston, England. It’s a typical Norman-style church doorway – the church was built in 1186 – with a simple wooden door. Yet the colours of the stones, the simple shapes and worn lines, give it beauty, as do the fresh flowers and shrubs inContinue reading “Thursday Doors – St Margaret’s Church, Wolston”

Wednesday Wander – Twelve Apostles, Australia

This is the Twelve Apostles, a rock formation located on the southern coast of Australia, and probably one of the country’s most recognisable tourist icons. I only visited the Apostles twice when I lived in Australia – even though we also lived on the coast, we were to the east of Melbourne, whereas these areContinue reading “Wednesday Wander – Twelve Apostles, Australia”

I Can’t Pay My Mortgage with ‘Exposure’ – Why Creatives Should Be Paid For Their Work

I don’t usually post rants on this blog – it’s not really my thing. I actually wasn’t even going to publish this piece at all, but I had a short online conversation about it with Ali Isaac, and so here we are. And perhaps this isn’t so much a rant as a collection of thoughts.Continue reading “I Can’t Pay My Mortgage with ‘Exposure’ – Why Creatives Should Be Paid For Their Work”

Apricots, Reblogs and Eurovision

So I woke up today thinking that I should probably write another blog post. I’ve been down the editing wormhole these past few days, as the final MS of Hills And Valleys has come back to me, so my posts and comments have been a bit all over the place. Then I saw that theContinue reading “Apricots, Reblogs and Eurovision”

Thursday Doors – Watford

On first glance you might be excused for thinking that this is a door from somewhere exotic, a Moroccan souk or Turkish bath, the air redolent with incense and orange blossom. Instead, it is the door to a very good Lebanese/Mediterranean restaurant in Watford, just on the outskirts of London, where I happened to haveContinue reading “Thursday Doors – Watford”

Wednesday Wander – Como House, Melbourne

This week I’m wandering to a place in Melbourne that I knew quite well when we lived there. This is Como House, situated on a rise overlooking the Yarra River, just outside the city centre. Built in 1847 for Sir Edward Eyre Williams, it changed hands several times until 1864, when it was bought byContinue reading “Wednesday Wander – Como House, Melbourne”

Stuck Writing Your Author Bio? Try The (Totally Not Serious) Author Bio Generator

So I’ve been noticing a trend recently of, shall we say, somewhat overwrought author bios, in which every detail is teased into something magnificent, a picture of a life fabulously lived. I realise that there are, in fact, authors who do live wonderfully exciting lives but I also seem to remember a time when itContinue reading “Stuck Writing Your Author Bio? Try The (Totally Not Serious) Author Bio Generator”

#WritePhoto – A Glimpse of Ambeth

The ground began to rise beneath them, their horses’ hooves thundering as they entered the pass leading towards Etras’ stronghold, a castle set high among the crags. Pointed towers of grey stone rose above a solid keep, black flecks swirling around one of the towers. The faint shrieking of winged Watchers could be heard, growingContinue reading “#WritePhoto – A Glimpse of Ambeth”