Camp NaNoWriMo – yes it’s back, and so am I. I finished the edit of Princelings 8 over the past few months and sent it to my editor a couple of days ago. So now I’m back to the elephant in
Off to Camp NaNoWriMo at the weekend!
Book Review | The Queen’s Envoy by David Prosser
The Queen’s Envoy: a prequel. I’ve been sitting on my copy (well, not literally, since that would break my Kindle) of Lord David Prosser’s Barsetshire Diaries for quite a few years now, with other things combining to press it down
#FridayFlash Fiction | The Vintage Explorer
The Vintage Explorer is a title I gave Rebecca ages ago during the first Chuck Hiatus. Today I wanted to do something involving flying machines since I hadn’t told you I have a Goodreads Giveaway on for my father’s memoirs White
#Fi50 | A Change in the Weather
A Change in the Weather is this month’s prompt from Bruce Gargoyle in his Fiction in Fifty (Fi50) meme. You can join in this fun communal story-telling any time you like. Bruce posts his own offering next Monday, and then
Mystery Blogger Award – received and given out
The Mystery Blogger Award was given to me by J Lenni Dorner around June 6th. I do say on my ‘policies’ that I don’t accept this type of award, but there’s always an exception, especially when I need a blog
Book Review | Death By Pumpkin by N A Granger
Death by Pumpkin is the third in N A Granger’s delightful cosy mystery/crime series starring Rhe Brewster. Regular readers probably know that Noelle Granger is a regular reader. Despite this, I read and review her books! I bought this one
#FridayFlash Fiction | The Thief of the Moon
This week Chuck gave us a list of random titles. One leapt out at me, The Thief of Moons, although after I’d written the story I amended the title to The Thief of the Moon. I wanted to feature a
Have you met Kristen Twardowski?
I met Kristen Twardowski a little while ago when the Story Reading Ape reblogged one of her amazingly insightful posts. Then he reblogged another one and I decided to follow her by email. I don’t know about you, but I like
Today’s Guest Post on the Story Reading Ape: A Tribute to Fred and George
My guest post for June is up on The Story Reading Ape. Read more of this post here….
MG or not MG? My Book Review question
MG or not MG – a question that came up recently for two books intended for tweens and young teens. Okay, the older end of MG, but still. We often discuss what makes a book suitable for ‘middle grade’ readers
#FridayFlash Fiction | It came from Nether Smocking
Nether Smocking: a tiny village in the middle of the countryside – British, but anywhere will do. Chuck’s given us a lovely prompt this week, to celebrate his new book Invasive, we have 1500 words to come up with our own invasion-type
#IWSG | I Quit! Or do I?
Our Insecure Writers Support Group theme of the day is: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing? Before I get around to answering the question… a big THANK YOU to
Bookshelves | what’s on your shelf – #bookbloggerhop
Bookshelves – or other things as well? That’s the question for this week’s Book Blogger Hop, which you can find at the Coffee Addicted writer. It’s a godsend for anyone hunting for inspiration for a blog post, any weekend throughout the
Beach Reads #Giveaway Hop
Beach Reads… yes it’s summer, officially, although it doesn’t seem like it in England. Have you got a pile of books to read on the beach? Not sure what to do with the ones you’ve read? Well, thanks to Val
#FridayFlash Fiction | Deadbeat Cannibals on tour
Deadbeat Cannibals on Tour is this week’s 1100 word flash fiction. I continue to be a week behind Chuck Wendig’s prompts. This week he suggested an excerpt from Twitter, but I picked two numbers and applied them to his previous week’s list
Wrap-up post #CleanSweepARC 2017
Time to wrap-up the Clean Sweep ARC Challenge for another year. It’s been a busy month, and I was surprised to find enough time to read as many as I did, especially as a couple of them gave me reasons
Thank you, Arthur Ransome
Arthur Ransome’s anniversary falls next Saturday. It’ll be fifty years since the death of this prolific writer, who created a series of children’s books that has stood the test of time. The Swallows and Amazons stories are still as popular
Bookclub Bad Reads round-ups
Bad reads. Two books I don’t recommend, that the librarian inflicted on our bookclub recently. I think she hasn’t read either of them. Bear in mind that I’m one of the younger members of our bookclub, even if I am, officially, retired!
#FridayFlash Fiction | Woebegonnie & Clyde
It’s Fridayflash time! I’m a week late with this one, as I explained last Friday, but I think this one’s worth it. Chuck Wendig is back with a subgenre mash-up – and you know how I like those. I got
Old Wives’ Tales #Fi50 May prompt
Old Wives’ Tales is the prompt for the month’s Fiction in Fifty words #Fi50, the brainchild of the BookShelf Gargoyle. I enjoy doing these miniature stories, the purpose of which is to create a full story in exactly fifty words.
Time to read #CleanSweepARC Update
Finding time to read: you remember I started the month with the announcement I was doing the Clean Sweep ARC Challenge again this month? I thought you might like to know how it’s going at the end of week 3.
Book Review and Tour | Uncorking a Lie by Nadine Nettman
Uncorking a Lie is the sequel to Decanting a Murder, which I reviewed last year. I’m delighted to be reviewing this book as part of the Great Escapes Book Tour. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway after you’ve read the
#FlashbackFriday | The Termagant’s Brains
Termagant. I didn’t even know what it meant (I’m not sure I do now) but it was a random ‘roll two dice’ to get a combination title from Chuck‘s lists two years ago. I didn’t remember it, either, and only
Book Blogger Hop | Once Bitten Twice Shy?
Today’s question for the Book Blogger Hop from Coffee Addicted Writer is: If you read a book you ended up hating, would you stay away from future books by that author, or would you give them a second chance? (submitted
Book Review | Abducted Life by Patricia Josephine
I featured Abducted Life in a launch party last autumn, and took advantage of the special offer on the book. I don’t often read YA, but this one was special, as you can tell from the opening chapter/excerpt I posted