Edgy and entertaining insights from the dangerously-talented writers in the Colony…explore at your pleasure!
Journeys and the Importance of Writing Communities
My Writing Journey During my formative years, I had spells when I thought I’d like to be an author when I grew up (if we…
And Another One Gone…
Donald Sutherland is gone. I saw him on stage at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles years ago in a play. What can one…
Pride Weekend, Part 2.
I’ve never liked my voice. I’m not alone. People, in general, hate their voices. We are simply not biologically intended to hear our voices the…
Pride Weekend
This year, for the first, time, I noticed the absence of something in June: rainbows. I’d never been particularly in love with them. The fact…
Bad Writing
Lately, I’ve been hearing lots of complaints about awful writing. Not mine – people aren’t saying it to my face anyway – but some movies…
AI at the G7 with the Pope
Originating from an informal meeting of finance ministers in 1973, in Washington DC, two years later the G6 established at its first meeting in Château…
Forest bathing
A long-lost friend dropped by recently. Myka was in Berlin for a conference, and found herself with a free evening. We offered her a barbecue,…
Play to Your Strengths
Be Up-Front Agent Pete often says that writers should play to their strength and put it front and centre in the opening of their novel….
Titles – What’s in a Name?
A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet, Right? The Silence of the Lambs, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Elinor Oliphant is Completely…
I like this. You like that.
Food, travel, books, movies, television shows, and on…and on… A family member of mine doesn’t like avocado. Won’t dip his chip into guacamole. YUM. A…
Think Like A Reader
I always find Beta reading such a great opportunity to learn. I discover things that I’m sure I do myself as a writer that I…
What’s The Deal? My Experience with Deal Sites
My experience with deal sites. This one is for the writers. Last week, I ran a promotion for my novel The Trouble with Prophecies. I…
Padre Pio and I
I’ve always had a sense of affinity with the Mystic Padre Pio and the fact that he was born the same day I was, May…
Writing ‘Rules’
Don’t Start with a Character Waking Up, Looking in the Mirror, or with a Hangover On Pop-Up Submissions, we received a lot of openings like…
Writing Disability
(Disclaimer: although not politically perfect, I’m going to use the familiarity of the term ‘disability’ rather than, say, ‘differently abled’ in this post.) I’m gonna…
Self-Publishing
I decided to self-publish my contemporary romances after unsuccessful attempts at the traditional route. There are pros and cons to making this decision and lots…
Skimming Stones
The pebble skimmed the surface ten times before running out of momentum, then seeming to flounder for a split second, sank into the dark still…
Hide and Seek
“I’m home, darling! Early finish today. Hurrah!” The masculine voice echoed through the house, and fell on the ears of Mrs Brown and the insurance…
Italy: Liberation Day
The 25th April is a national holiday here in Italy and it’s called Liberation Day. I had noticed, however, as the years went by, the…
The Worst Part Of Being A Writer
“So, what is the worst thing about being a writer?” my neighbor asks me at the Spring Social. “Ummmm,” I say, looking past him to…
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