From Breakthrough Authors To Bestselling Legends
The Most Exciting & Original Voices Writing Today
What’s in a game?
6When my son was a toddler, he threw the mother of all tantrums at my childless friends’ house. I waited it out, from time to…
The Shadow Durian
As a lifelong foreigner, I’ve learnt that being open to new things smooths the path considerably. Food especially opens doors, and I’m very much an…
Goodbye Eeyore, Hello Tigger
Granny was churchy. She grew up in an era that saw living by the Bible as an important British character trait. Like wanting God to…
21st Century Song of Summer
It’s sobering to think that while summer is celebrated in some parts of the world with music festivals, sporting tournaments, flower shows, fringe…
Falcon Theory
“So,” said Goethe to his friend Johann Peter Eckermann, “let us call it a Novelle, for what is a Novelle but an outrageous incident? This…
The Joy of Lit Mags
While my first novel is tentatively making its way towards agents who already have too much to read, I’ve been wondering which other slush-piles might…
Advertising and Social Media
There has been much discussion in writing circles about how much a writer has to self-promote these days—whether they are published by the big boys…
Future Abstract: Fights at Night
SATIRE ALERT: The following abstract is entirely fictional and does not represent actual events or scientific research. Tarsiers are not currently at war with pollination…
Great Novel Openings Quiz
As writers, we all know how important it is to grip the reader from the very start. Intriguing, surprising and thought-provoking, these opening lines are…
In The Summertime
. In the early seventies, I had a semi-Afro hairstyle and a shaggy beard. . I thought I looked like the lead singer of Mungo…
Working with a Literary Agent
The Querying In a previous post I mentioned that I was back in the query trenches. To recap, my earlier, experimental novel didn’t sell and…
Danger! Danger!
What is perhaps the most feared creature of the Borneo rainforest, I hear you ask? Who is the King or Queen of the Forest? The…
The World Has Missed You
May 2021… COVID lockdown restrictions had eased, so Mrs Treaclechops and I headed to the Isle of Wight for a few days. The…
Throwing in the towel
So, recently I’ve been thinking about giving this writing malarkey the heavy ho. It’s expensive. It take’s up a huge amount of my already dwindling…
Huminodun – A Borneo Legend
In the lush landscapes of Sabah, Malaysian North Borneo, dwells the Kadazandusun community, the region’s largest indigenous group. Their cultural identity is deeply entwined with…
The Zodiac for Writers: Introducing Gemini
This year the sun is in the sign of Gemini from May 20- June 21, 2025. The dates for the zodiac sun signs can vary…
Nobody Else’s Girl
. I fell in love in Glasgow: green eyes and shiny brown hair. It was the evocative way she said, “Aye, ye’ll dae fur th’…
Knights and Their Machines
The bees are buzzing around the blueberry bushes I need to plant, but it’s the first friday of the month when the chiropodist comes to…
When I Think of Blue
When I think of blue, I think of music. Not necessarily the blues, although that idiom applies. I think of Running Gun Blues, Silly Boy…
Her Beautiful Smile
. Abandoned in a shopping bag in a public toilet . loneliness beyond comprehension. . Profoundly disabled . physically mentally . deaf blind . loneliness…
Self-esteem and stuff I’ve learned about it
Nearly forty years ago I was taken to a self-development workshop by a new boyfriend (and yes, I did think maybe he was inviting me…
Be my, be my Beta.
I really need to spend less time on X. Once again, I’ve stumbled upon a heated discussion on social media that I can’t help but…
The Writer’s Zodiac: Taurus the Bull
Taurus (from the Latin for Bull) is a fixed earth sign; the second sign of the western zodiac, and represents the height of spring in…
The Power of Questions
How can questions drive plot? Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned. Un-put-downable books utilise these types of questions: The long (big) question: this…
The Untidy Desk
In an effort to repossess the poet’s soul I sold to Reality thirty years ago, I decided to tackle a form with some constraint. Like…
Character
Character arc/emotional journey/B plot – whatever you call it, it’s vital that you have one. But what does this really mean? As usual, this post…
One Day in April
April 2022… a quartet of grandchildren: Jack (nine years), Jacob (eight years), James (six years) and Sophie (four years) came for a play…
Plotting
I’ve watched some great webinars on plotting recently and I thought I’d compile what I’ve learned, as much for myself as for anyone else who…
Everything Has Changed
Monday January 11th, 2016. I awoke to a text from Becky. Becky: You okay, Sal? Sarah: Yep. Why? Becky: Haven’t you heard the news? Sarah:…
Future Abstract: Crisp and Squish
SATIRE ALERT: This Future Abstract is entirely fictional and should not be taken as actual scientific research. No plastic was consumed in the making of…
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