A new-release post today, and my guest is J. Scott Coatsworth. His latest offering, The Hencha Queen, is out to day, and he's agreed to pop in to talk about the story's origin. The COVID pandemic has left none of us untouched and - in the end - we all found our own ways to deal with the anguish, …
Welcome to the blog where I talk about boys and cats, share news and snippets of WiP and snark about the little annoyances without which life would be boring like running out of coffee or accidentally locking the cat into the bathroom…
I might also muse about my day job or aim to make you ditch your diet by reminiscing about my favourite recipes, which is part of my day job. Sort of.
If I can work out how to handle image copyrights, I could even regale you with visual inspiration for my characters… now wouldn’t that be nice? Screenfuls of Lawrence Nicotra and David Gandy. Wipe the drool off your chin now!
So… welcome and thanks for stopping by!
Romance Reads with Dragons
The part of the world that follows the Chinese lunar calendar is about to enter the Year of the Dragon. Which is enough of a reason to create a collection of romance reads with dragons, right? I love fantasy, but except for one tiny flashfic - which you can read here - dragons have never made an …
I actually know what’s coming next!
I have so many unfinished stories on my WiP stack, plus a flock? herd? whatever of plot bunnies in my life, sometimes, the hardest decision is what to write next. Actually, I can get epically stuck going through notes and stories, unable to decide what's coming next. Not so this time. I've been …
2024: A Year for Progress
We made it across midnight and now I have to remember that the year is 2024. I started my morning by cheering that it was sunny and then wondering whether the beginnings and endings I'm usually so fond of retain their meaning as I get older. I've never been one for New Year's Eve parties, but …
2023: A Year for Experiments or There’s (Some) Method in this Madness
One of my favourite newsletters is sent by Claire Taylor from FFS Media. I owe her my introduction to the Enneagram - all the way back in 2020. And it was the Enneagram which subsequently helped me realise that I was stuck and needed to ask for help. Fast forward to 2023, and one of her recent …
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It’s Rainbow Advent Calendar Time
It's December 13th, which means it's time for me to open the door on the Rainbow Advent Calendar. It's a month-long FB party organised by author Alex Jane that I try to take part in every year - even though I'm the absolute worst at writing to order. Yet with beautiful regularity I sign up having …
Sunday Snippet: Ben sees something he likes
For today's Sunday Snippet, I've decided to look back at last year's Christmas novel, A Box of Wishes. It's the book I never thought I'd get finished, as it got caught up between first the Covid lockdowns and then me landing myself in a hole. Burnout or stress, I still can't say, but it took me a …
Sycamore Gap: More than Roots and Branches
Headlines and news items that make me shake my head are nothing new. They come and go, sometimes in a trickle and sometimes in a wave, and I'm mostly resigned to people doing stupid shit I don't have a hope of making sense of. Last night's news took the biscuit, though. The tree growing in the …
Room to Bloom | Strengths Reflections
I'm in the middle of a Strengths for Writers class and it’s throwing up all kinds of interesting thoughts. I enrolled in the strengths class particularly to improve my writing / book finishing speed, but of course my strengths show up in more than just my writing. And I'm coming to realise that …
Sunday Snippet: Ryan is an odd duck
Welcome to today's Sunday Snippet, where I'm in the mood to ponder self-care. It's something I'm spectacularly bad at. Part of that is upbringing. I remember two colleagues of my mum's, both childless and both with time and resources to have beautiful hair, nails, and clothes, or to go abroad on …
Sunday Snippet: Compromise in Action
Time for another Sunday Snippet! I'm working on the next Jack & Gareth stories, but I keep thinking about Gareth's issues in Grand Union Hunt. Not surprising seeing we love our canal walks, especially when the skies are wet and drippy. Mostly, though, because Jack faces very similar problems …
Looking for a Distraction (or maybe a Hiding Place?)
Welcome to Zombie Week! Our clocks went forward last night, and I'm already dreading the coming week. Moving to summer time puts my internal clock out of whack, and every year it takes me at least a week of headaches and yawning at inappropriate times to adjust to the change. Over the years, I've …
Looking for a Distraction (or maybe a Hiding Place?)Read More