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Dates For Your Diary
Litopia’s Book Club, run by @Jason, is an unmissable monthly event. There are – happily – lots of book clubs around. But none like ours. Quite…
We are now in Pisces Season. But what are its stars, what’s the ancient story behind it all, and what does it mean for writers? Time to…
Of the many jobs I’ve juggled, my latest presents a unique challenge. Sabah, in Malaysian North Borneo, is popular with Korean tourists. Five hours south of…
Well, it’s been in discussion for years, but the man behind the curtain X’d (I guess you can’t say tweeted anymore?), that the American penny should…
Bear With Me! Okay, this is probably a weird analogy but this is how my (bird-brained!) mind works. So, in terms of the title question, I’ve…
Bonnie Bethany
Life unfolded
A poem about a childhood memory concerning a friend's family.
Dems the rulez
Once again, I find myself writing about an argument I stumbled upon on X (Can’t they agree on anything over there?) and I just had to…
Murmuration
Blackpool has a long tourist season that runs from Easter to Christmas each year, but the biggest seaside spectacular takes place throughout the winter months when…
Humans vs AI
Okay, I know it’s not a war. Us against the machine. I’m not I-Robot-ing or being all dramatic. Or am I? What I do know is that I'm angry. Like gut-level something-is-very-wrong-here angry.
Astrology for writers? Yes, because it’s the ancient source of all the world's great story Archetypes…
If you want to be traditionally published, the chances are that you’ll need a literary agent. Their job is to sell your book to a publishing…
A book table is not for the TikTok folk, there’s no prestige in it. It’s mostly just for you!
Pulled pork, whiskey, and a hard lesson in empathy. A chance encounter in Indiana taught me more than I bargained for. Read on for the story I’ll never forget. ???????? #EmpathyMatters
You often hear that books are "fast-paced", "slow burn" or "saggy in the middle"... but what exactly do we mean by "pace" - and why is it important?
For me, getting traditionally published simply isn't worth it anymore
Because Something Is Happening Here, But You Don't Know What It Is Do You, Mister Jones?
The year 2025 is when we will see the “traditional” publishing model start to break down and be reconstructed as something entirely new...
My First Crit
My First Crit... Do you remember your first time? Was it exciting? Were you nervous? Did you just want to get it over with?
An indie author often lives or dies based on their books’ ratings and reviews. Okay, maybe that was a touch dramatic. Often, it’s a case of…
Writers are by definition people of heightened sensitivity. The coming period will not be easy on our minds or souls. So let’s get some self-defence measures in place
Over the last year, I’ve become obsessed with trawling second-hand bookshops and charity bookshelves. I’ve caught up with Clare Chambers, Emily St John Mandel and Ruth Ozeki.  But I'm not done yet
My reading of The Complete Works of Shakespeare was almost at an end. The book (only a paperback) had weighed in at 1250g, and the font…
Let It Snow!
The sky grew dark and the clouds drew in. The first big fat flakes began to fall. And fall and fall and fall...
Well, I'd just read all of Shakespeare's plays and I was feeling extremely showy-offy. And yes, I'd been totally mind-blown or singularly unimpressed and all the…
Don’t Call On Me
. Cold winds blow through city streets as winter’s grip takes hold and grey souls in downbeat worlds retreat to lies untold. . Rain-lashed pavements now…
Unbelievably, after nearly six months, I had almost come to the end of the complete works of Shakespeare. That lockdown challenge had proved hard to do…
Of all the Christmases before and since, this one will forever be my favourite: the night of the beatboxing panto under kerosene lamps in tribal Jharkhand, with magic of an entirely unexpected kind
Pericles - Cymbeline - Winter's Tale... I was determined to push on, despite having never heard of a couple of these. Also unaware that the good, the bad, and the ugly were about to hit me full force
Hugh was last seen with Jack, our four year old. He shrugged and dipped a toast soldier into his runny yolk, "We were playing Hide n Seek, but I couldn't find him. He vanished."
Imagine Cher, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Rhianna all rolled into one - tthen multiply by 100 and add a ***load of gold and you're coming close... that's Cleopatra!
If you read my Christmas Snippets post, you'll be aware that I suffered a psychotic episode in 2019. This was followed by a long period of…
Othello - Macbeth - King Lear... If I thought Iago and Macca had issues, then Lear wrote the book on them
My paperback version of The Complete Works of Shakespeare was starting to look properly shabby. I'd bent the cover back a lot, and sat cups of…
As a teen, I used to feel awkward and a little fearful of homeless people; but this week I held the cold hands of a lady who was living on the streets
I was approaching the halfway mark of my Shakespeare-a-thon, and methought it was time for some top scores. The Big H was coming up, so I…
Improvised Lines and Spinal Tap Whispers
As a rock guitarist, I expected music, not culinary critique. But there I was, teaching an actor how to make Irish Stew—in front of a live audience.
Much Ado About Nothing left me in a good place, so the thought of another comedy coming up was quite welcome. But would it deliver the…
Christina
Gone Too Soon
Remembering a friend in poetry.
Just Another Day
I don’t want to bring you down, but Christmas isn’t always fun for me. It’s a difficult time for a lot of people. The pressure is…
It is 1975. I am a teenager, listening for the first time to a protest song by Greg Lake. The tune mesmerises me, the riff stiffens…
When I was eight years old, I auditioned for a part in my school’s Christmas play, Christmas is Cancelled! Despite being a shy child, I loved…
I was cracking on with my stupidly self-imposed lockdown challenge to read The Complete Works of Shakespeare. I'd met a few Henry's now, and although I…
Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through the wide and drifted…
I'd now hit the stage where I was half enjoying this challenge and half wishing I hadn't told everyone I was gonna do it. There were…
I'd now encountered a few stand-out plays, in my great Shakespeare-reading marathon, so I felt quite buoyed up at the prospect of what was approaching. But…
In my quest to read all of Shakespeare from start to finish, I finally made it to plays that I'd heard about and seen on the…
Ten minutes before I left the house, my boss called. “The science class is cancelled today. Take Jisoo and Jennie instead. They need adjective practice.” (By…
Full of enthusiasm for my lockdown project of reading The Complete Works of Shakespeare, I wandered blindly on to play number 5. Some time later I…
Love, Christmas
The Long and Short of It I enjoy writing short stories, which is a complete one-eighty compared to how I used to feel. I used to…
When I first started down this self-publishing journey, I heard quiet rumours of the dangers of scammers. I knew they were out there. I knew they…
We all remember those drawn out days of the first Covid lockdown, right? I don't know how you coped, but while other people were learning new…