Writing and reviews with an environmental, science fiction, and fantasy touch
The 27th Letter is the ampersand. That’s according to a very interesting e-newsletter from Blurb, my paperback print/distributor. I was so taken with it, I’m recreating it here, using their graphics and words. The 27th Letter Ever wonder why we
Norwich’s crime festival, christened Noirwich in its first year, has reached the grand old age of five. This year’s writing festival is as varied and exciting as ever, although I’m only going to the events on Sunday. Crime festival highlights
I’ve not done any Friday Flash Fiction for a few months now. You may (or may not) have noticed. I started doing a regular flash fiction on Fridays way back… I have 301 posts tagged as ‘short stories’, the first
The Insecure Writers Support Group #IWSG posts every first Wednesday of the month. Today’s question: What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey? I’d like to thank our Co-Hosts today: Erika Beebe, Sandra Hoover, Susan Gourley, and Lee Lowery! Please
I’m still at Camp NaNoWriMo, and I’m still editing Curved Space to Corsair. Even better news, my illustrator has got to the window of opportunity she had to do the cover device for it! My Darlings Darlings are those things
Restructure: that’s the subject for my second postcard from camp this year. As you know, I’m editing Curved Space to Corsair so that I can send it to be properly edited. At last. This is the second in the Viridian
Week 1: Camp NaNoWriMo 2018. I’m editing Curved Space to Corsair. I also have Curved Space to Corsair on pre-order at iTunes, Nook and Kobo, and listed at Smashwords. This must be why, in among my better-than-usual sales stats for
Brothers are my inspiration. I didn’t think they were. I thought other people inspired my lead characters. Let’s explore this a little… The Princelings of the East series My princelings who inspired the whole series are Fred and George. More
I’m taking time off this week. So although it’s the Insecure Writers Support Group day, and you can sign up here to join in the fun (along with hundreds of others), I’m not posting today. After all, when we’re feeling
Thank goodness it’s February: January is gone. How many resolutions did you make, and how many are still intact? I decided long ago not to make new year resolutions. It’s always the same thing: lose weight. I generally have to
Choosing your book title is something I’ve muttered about in the past. Why would you name your book the same as loads of others. A famous name, even? Being short of a book review today (I shouldn’t have included Neil
Happy New Year! It’s the first Wednesday of the month, in fact, of the new year, so it’s Insecure Writers Support Group again. Thank you to all who make this gathering happen, especially our hosts this month: Tyrean Martinson, The Cynical
The frenzy of Christmas is upon us. The Black Friday, White Monday and sky-blue pink excuse to shove sale items at you in a desperate attempt to take your money from you instead of it going to another retailer made
Story ideas arriving out of the blue is something most authors dream of. I dream of lots of stories, the trouble is remembering anything about them long enough to write it down. Last week I went to an event as
Memoir or Fiction? There’s something for Insecure Writers to get more insecure about. If we are to write about our own experiences, how far do we go before it becomes a memoir? I’d already started thinking about this as a
I’m mapping the Realms again. I can understand if you don’t understand that, but it’s a little extra you can find on the Princelings website – a map of the Realms, the Princelings world, as relevant to books 1-5. Why
Surprise! It’s the first Wednesday of the month and time for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group. I’d already started thinking about the suggested question for the month when I got a horrible surprise. I’m going to try to work out
Pet peeves; something I don’t really have, save for badly edited books and wrong homophones. But this is the first Wednesday of the month, and it’s Insecure Writers Support Group, so I’ll go with the flow. I’d like to thank
It’s the Insecure Writers’ Support Group today, asking about a valuable lesson you’ve learnt. I’m at Camp Nano, so this is just a quickie to show willing. My most valuable lesson The most valuable lesson I’ve learnt while writing comes
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
Doing writing research is not something I do a great deal (see my U post for the A to Z Challenge to discover why). This month the Insecure Writers Support Group suggested tackling the question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing
Zanzibar’s Rings is the working title of the third book in the Viridian System series. It seems a bit daft, really, since I haven’t republished The Perihelix yet, which I withdrew after it got reviews which showed it really needed
A news round-up is a generic term for Monday posts on my blog. This is my spot for discussions, events, things I’ve discovered or done, announcements and sometimes “I don’t know what to say today so I’m making it up
Illustrations in Children’s books (older children – 9 to 12 years old, or middle grade) has been a hot topic over at the Goodreads Great Middle Grade Reads group. Every time I find a book with illustrations I notice them
Distractions from the A to Z Challenge No.1: the first Wednesday of the month is the Insecure Writers Support Group. Today is also letter D in the A to Z Challenge. Now there’s a distraction from the proper job of writing. Tips