Hello friends! Hope you are all safe and well and writing/reading is going well. What better way to do a long overdue update than with some good news? 😊 Last month, I spotted an opportunity on Twitter to enter the Lindsay Literary Agency Scholarship for a fully funded place at the Virtual Writers Weekend held between the 9th and 12th of July 2020. […]
Two stories by Deb Olin Unferth and one by Dino Buzzati you ought to read
via Two stories by Deb Olin Unferth and one by Dino Buzzati you ought to read These are just SO good to savour with coffee on a Sunday Morn. Cheers Sunday Octopus 💕
A Summer Catch Up and a micro I wrote to the prompt, ‘Triangle’
It is summer and the sprogs are home, making noise(🤪). Work pays no heed to the seasons so writing has become a patchy business. I’ve sworn myself off Twitter to devote any waking moments to the WIP which has been giving me side-eye for the utter neglect I’ve shown it over the last few […]
A Photo Prompt Micro and New Writing Friends
I’ve recently stumbled upon across some really nice writer folks on Twitter via the Virtual Writing Group, (@virtwriting). Not only are they a welcoming, supportive bunch of people but they are also masters of tomgiffery a term I especially coined for the exemplary GIF show their members put on last week for their 1st birthday celebrations […]
A micro I wrote from a one word prompt
O.K, I’ve waxed lyrical here and on Twitter about how much I love using @AdHocFiction ’s one word prompts to write micros. The unsuccessful one below was huge fun to write because I wrote it in 10 minutes in a DNA slot fuelled by a quick, much needed coffee. I didn’t think I would write anything in that […]
Links to Publications
Just a list of publications, please click on the links 😊 Confession(Funny Pearls UK Nov ‘20) Percolation in Baked Climes shortlisted by Bath Flash Fiction competition Oct 19 and published in Bath Flash Fiction Anthology IV O Dweller of Heights, here I must lie (Sept 19) Torque (Aug 19) Butterfish (July 19, scroll down to 2nd story) Be […]
Mood Boards and Fictional Minds
I have been so neck deep in reworking my book that I haven’t got round to updating this blog but just thought I’d pop in to mention a couple of things that have really helped me recently. I’ve joined Pinterest where I am doing valuable research for the book and also creating a bit of a […]
Saying Hello to Book 2
Hello! Last month, I had my first flash published online in the flash flood for National Flash Fiction day. Here it is: Colours This was the one shortlisted by @TSS publishing in the Spring and I was so chuffed to see it amongst some great stories by amazing authors. I have another one due […]
Revisiting Earthsea by Ursula le Guin: The Tombs of Atuan
I am ashamed to say that I came to Ursula Le Guin pretty late, via one of my favourite authors, Lian Hearn. I am revisiting some books I really admire and trying to identify the ‘behind the scenes’ mechanisms that make them work. So rather than a review, this is more of a learning exercise […]
How a writing course helped my novel
Back in 2016, when an editorial report of my book picked up promise but suggested a hefty redraft, I had three options: Jack it in and take up another hobby. (Baking for instance, but after a few flour bomb incidents, I had to abandon my plans to usurp Nadiya) Rewrite the book using pointers from the report […]