Yesterday was part 2 of my 40th birthday (which was in October). My husband took us blacksmithing for the day! It was an introductory course and while we didn't make a sword (next time!) we spent an amazing day turning four inches of rectangular steel into something altogether less angular and, if I do say … Continue reading In the Forge
Category: Life
The talented and delightful (I haven't met her, but she seems to be) Delilah S Dawson posted an insightful and candid thread on Twitter today about dissociation, specifically among authors, and some of the self-imposed challenges we face. You can read it here and I hope you do, because it says a lot and it … Continue reading Suckerpunch
Happy 2019! I'm starting this year's blogs with a wild tangent from my writing life into, well, the rest of my life. Gasp! No, writing is not the entirety of my life, though it occasionally seems like it (not a complaint). Like many people who watched 'that' episode of Planet Earth II by the incomparable Sir … Continue reading Plastic-free, cruelty-free, chemical-free
In no particular order and with varying degrees of importance and silliness, some things 2018 taught me. Note, these are not prescriptions for others on how to approach life, writing, or anything. My job isn't to tell you what to do; it's, hopefully, to entertain you and then tear your heart out and crush it … Continue reading Things wot I learnt or did in 2018
First off, let me say I've updated my events page - I'm going to be a busy writer in the run up to Christmas! Check it out. Second off, I'll be popping up in an anthology early next year - the Art of War. It's for charity. You should totally order a copy - there … Continue reading Recent occurrences, and one big life decision
OK, confession first: I saw Wonder Woman this morning and I'm still a little hyper about it. Right, now that's out of the way, let me tell you why I think we need films like this in our lives. I'm going to talk about me for a minute, but go with it, because it is … Continue reading Why we need Wonder Woman
I'm saying it right up front - I won the Three Peaks. I won it inasmuch as it was the toughest mental and physical challenge I've ever undertaken. The only person I beat was myself - and that's more than good enough. For the non-UKers, the Three Peaks Challenge is climbing the three highest mountains … Continue reading Winning the Three Peaks Challenge
Ooh, use of the Oxford comma in the title there. Random. Better not do that when I draft Godblind's sequel. I've had some busy times lately. In June I met Natasha Bardon, my editor at Harper Voyager, for a fabulous lunch in the Hix, Bankside. We hit it off straight away (or we did from … Continue reading Reads, Goodreads, and Writes
So I did hand in what turned out to be my last round of edits to my agent. Relief and alcohol were the order of the day. I was then immediately confronted with the looming deadline for Birmingham Writers Group's summer short story competition. The theme was Alternative Birmingham, so I couldn't just do my … Continue reading Writing and … not writing
Here are six stories about the rock star who left a mark on music, fashion, and art. Source: David Bowie, 1947-2016
