Latest From Cafe Life

• What are you reading at the moment? Recommendations welcome
  It's not that I'm stuck for reading anything at the moment, but it's nice to know what Litopians are reading - might provide valuable material for a writer or a pleasant diversion away from the genre s/he are writing in. I was going to say 'Bookshelf,' but that's recently been mentioned as a possible scam. […]
• Our bodies are apt to be ...
  Our bodies are apt to be our autobiographies.” Gelett Burgess
• Huddle May 10th - 5.00pm UK time
  This week's (REGULAR WEEKLY) Huddle will take place on Saturday as usual at 5.00pm UK time. As ever, you are invited to submit your WiPs for discussion and feedback from Pete and the collective. But not only WiPs. Query letters, book proposals, synopses and blurbs are all welcome. Also, anything you've spotted in the press […]
• I am glad that I paid so little attention to ...
  I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes. .Edna St. Vincent Millay
• Erotica is making love using a ....
  Erotica is making love using a feather. Pornography is using the whole chicken. Anonymous
• Knights and Their Machines
  New blog post by Pamela Jo Keeley 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 Taghmon and my boot is rubbing a raw place on the side of my foot. My time was wiled […]
• US President fires Librarian of Congress
  From today's Publishers Lunch: "Yesterday, President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the Washington Post reports. Hayden was the first woman, the first African American, and the first career librarian to hold the position. She was appointed to a renewable 10-year term in 2016."
• I believe in never giving up, no matter what the ...
  I believe in never giving up, no matter what the odds. My mantra is, 'Failure is temporary. Giving up is permanent. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
• What Light Through Yonder Window
  New blog post by Pamela Jo Keeley What Light Through Yonder Window Mrs CW Jones was the heart of the cul-de-sac. For example, there wasn’t an unruly lawn in the neighbourhood. She arrived with a basket of bum-scouring homemade bran muffins and an hour of chit-chat every day until the grass was mown. That ‘Tidiest […]
• Swanwick Writers Summer School
  So, last year I entered a short story competition with a first prize of a week at the Swanwick Writers Summer School and was absolutely delighted when I won. This year I entered the children's story section of the competition and guess what. Whoo Hoo! Two in a row! One After The Other Consecutively In […]
• BBC Zombie Agatha Christie to Teach Writing
  I'm starting 'AInt', a protest against AI resurrecting dead writers to inveigle money from new writers. AI can't teach writing anymore than an expensive exercise bike can make you get in shape. The effort still has to come from you. Agatha Christie | Writing | BBC Maestro Learn the art of mystery from the bestselling […]
• Our uniqueness makes us special, makes perception ...
  Our uniqueness makes us special, makes perception valuable - but it can also make us lonely. This loneliness is different from being 'alone': You can be lonely even surrounded by people. The feeling I'm talking about stems from the sense that we can never fully share the truth of who we are. I experienced this […]
• Forgiveness is healing, especially ...
  "Forgiveness is healing, especially forgiving yourself" Alyson Noël
• Fascinating talk w an author who switched genres
  Manda Scott was an award winning crime writer-up for an Edgar, when she was drawn to write something completely different.
• British Books/American Farm Store
  I spotted this display of British books. I.e. - published in the UK, with metric measurements for sale in a farm store in Pennsylvania. Who would even think of shipping them over? But they were there, appeared to be excellent, and proof that books have more reach than most people would imagine. And of course, […]