By Boxing Day, everyone had noticed something was up with Mark. He’d spent Christmas Day checking his phone then putting it face down on the sofa. He snapped at my son Arlo when he’d asked Mark to play Guess Who, which earned him a hard stare from his wife, Cheryl, before she set up the… Continue reading Boxing Day
Tag: writing
The Christmas Bed
Last Christmas, Z and K bought Pepe a new cat bed. It was a round, fluffy thing - a padded doughnut with high sides to keep him warm. Pepe was always Z’s favourite, partly because he knew it and partly because he was the sort of cat who sat with his tongue sticking out, chased… Continue reading The Christmas Bed
Step Into Christmas
Falling snow was visible through the windows of the university auditorium as Janice did one last check as the audience filtered into the graduation ceremony. A frisson of excitement ran around the room as the gossip spread that the husband of Sir Leo Johns - global rock star, cultural icon, wearer of glasses visible from… Continue reading Step Into Christmas
Festive Aunties
I absolutely adore the jolly, free-spirited, gorgeous Aunties by Inge Löök, a gardener and illustrator living in Finland. Apparently, her illustrations are mainly inspirations from her own surroundings or life. The Aunties are my motivation for life. They don't care about looks or what others think, they just enjoy every moment to the full. But… Continue reading Festive Aunties
A Cotswold Christmas Caper
So this is the first chapter of the cosy murder mystery I mentioned the other day featuring Muriel Button and her niece Jane. I actually managed to finish this one which was quite an achievement for me! Re-reading it, it could do with some serious editing but this month is just about sharing my writing… Continue reading A Cotswold Christmas Caper
Muriel’s Merry Hangover
Today's post is the beginning of a light-hearted diary form novel I wrote featuring Muriel Button (70, married multiple times, never managed to hold down a job) and her nephew Colin. Muriel also appears in another novel about her niece Jane, who inherits a country house hotel from Muriel when reports of her death are… Continue reading Muriel’s Merry Hangover
The Turkey Who Found a Christmas Miracle
Toby was happily pecking at some seed in the farmyard when he overheard Farmer Potter talking to his wife about a forthcoming trip the turkeys were taking to ‘the abattoir’. Listening intently, Toby learnt the awful truth about what Farmer Potter called the best meal of the year. Toby didn’t intend on being anyone’s Christmas… Continue reading The Turkey Who Found a Christmas Miracle
Festive Family
It was less than eight weeks after my mum had unexpectedly and very suddenly died that Christmas rolled around. None of us were up to shopping, cooking or hosting a big Yuletide feast, but my aunt and uncle bravely stepped up to the not-inconsiderable task of hosting six sad, teary bereft extras and a King… Continue reading Festive Family
Cliché Christmas
I opened the front door to be greeted by silence. ‘Mike?’ No answer which was odd because he worked from home and his car was outside. He was planning to make a special anniversary dinner later so maybe he’d walked into town for some last-minute bits? I swapped my trainers for fluffy slippers before making… Continue reading Cliché Christmas
What I Treasure
This was a submission for the 'What I Treasure' feature in The Simple Things magazine. I never heard back from them but patience is a virtue, apparently... I’d always coveted my dad’s gold nibbed fountain pen and was delighted when he gave it to me for passing my 11+, just as his mother had passed… Continue reading What I Treasure
Merry Christmas? #3LineTales
It's been a busy few weeks while we've been off for the summer holidays. I sent my children's book to several agents...I can now consider myself alongside the likes of JK Rowling as I've had my first rejection email! Woohoo! I'm currently working on a 'cosy mystery' novel, trying to fix some major plot holes… Continue reading Merry Christmas? #3LineTales
Visions of Zarua #bookreview and Honey Cake recipe
So today we have a guest post from the lovely Suzanne Rogerson as part of her World Blog Tour to promote her epic fantasy book, Visions of Zarua. Suzanne is a real life friend of mine (I do have some…) We met at a Creative Writing course about five years ago. But whilst I’ve been scratching my… Continue reading Visions of Zarua #bookreview and Honey Cake recipe
U is for Urn
What's a Greek urn? About 1000 euros a month... Yes, I know the picture is the yet another type of 'Urn', but it makes me laugh almost as much as when Top of the Pops showed a backdrop of darts champ Jocky Wilson to Dexy's Midnight Runners song, 'Jackie Wilson Said'. I particularly like this sort of urn. I don't… Continue reading U is for Urn
R is for Renegade Writer
Another story (well, the first chapter) for today's A-Z Challenge or rather #atozchallenge - I'm trying out Twitter... Renegade Writer Arnold took the final sheet of his 90,000-word novel, Strike Hard, from the printer and added it to the rather impressive looking stack of pages on his desk. It had taken over eight months of trying… Continue reading R is for Renegade Writer
Paperback Writer
Thank you to the very funny Jim at Gingerfightback, who was not only kind enough to read the first draft of my children's novel and give me some great feedback, but has now invited me to take part in The Writing Process Blog Tour. The tour asks writers to answer a few questions about their work. I don't… Continue reading Paperback Writer
The Mighty Pen
This is a short story that I wrote a couple of years ago for a creative writing course. At the end there's a plea for help... The Mighty Pen The printed sheet of A4 paper held disdainfully between his thumb and forefinger, Sebastian tossed it dismissively across the seminar room. It competed briefly with the… Continue reading The Mighty Pen
Let’s Do The Time Warp Again…
‘What do we want? ‘Time Travel!’ ‘When do we want it?’ ‘It’s irrelevant…’ Time travel. It’s a tricky one to get your head around. In fact, every time I think about the mechanics, ethics and illogicalities of it, I get a migraine and have to lie down with a nice cup of tea and a… Continue reading Let’s Do The Time Warp Again…
It’s Not About The Money
I’ve seen a few blogs recently with a donate button. One blog was about a family travelling around the world, home educating their kids and enjoying an idyllic existence. The donate button said ‘help us to continue our dream.’ At first, I felt quite affronted but then I thought, ‘hang on, am I missing a… Continue reading It’s Not About The Money
Top Ten Tips on how not to write a novel, find an agent, get it published and become rich and famous
I’ve read a string of comments in the last week about how easy it would be to write a novel if only one lived in Rome. This sort of thing: You want to write. Really you do. You long to. In fact, if you could run away now to Rome and write full-time with the… Continue reading Top Ten Tips on how not to write a novel, find an agent, get it published and become rich and famous
