The Insecure Writers Support Group is a marvellous group set up by Alex Cavanagh. On the first Wednesday of every month, members post thoughts, fears or words of encouragement for fellow writers. The link above takes you to details about the group and how to join. You'll also find a list of bloggers signed up... Continue Reading →

I'll apologise up front to readers from across the Pond, but I've always thought of Thanksgiving as an extra holiday, shoe-horned in because you don't get a proper break over Christmas as we do in the UK 🙂 Whilst being aware of the tradition that one joins hands and expresses something you've been grateful for... Continue Reading →

I've long held a view that higher education can come too soon for many of us. I didn't uncover a love for learning until my fifties, even though I'd had moments in my thirties and forties when I stopped and wondered "what if ..." I was in my late twenties when I had simple mathematics... Continue Reading →

All forms of social media are on the receiving end of some seriously bad press but, for today, I'm going to focus solely on Twitter's positive aspects. Having previously experienced the negative side of the online world, I've been careful in my use of social media platforms. To paraphrase a wise woman I know -... Continue Reading →

The Insecure Writers Support Group is a marvellous group set up by Alex Cavanagh. On the first Wednesday of every month, members post thoughts, fears or words of encouragement for fellow writers. The link above takes you to details about the group and how to join. You'll also find a list of bloggers signed up... Continue Reading →

My annual Goodreads challenge is now frozen at 52 books per year - a level I feel comfortable in achieving and one which means I don't spend too much time eyeing up short books solely in order to catch up! Before having a quick review of my progress, I instinctively felt I'd had a good... Continue Reading →

We've moved recently. I'm mostly sorted, but my office is still a bit of a work-in-progress while I try to balance it's different uses. Previously I had a corkboard where I pinned stuff - medical appointment letters, important things I mustn't lose and such like. I also had a noticeboard where I mostly stuck nice... Continue Reading →

As you can tell, I started drafting my post to discuss how much I was looking forward to reading 2019's Booker winner ahead of time, only to discover the judges had announced joint winners! But, I'm going to stick with my title and graphic because the one book I wasn't drawn to read - even... Continue Reading →

As a reader, I'm always book first, film after. In fact, many a book on my TBR list has been promoted up the order following the news it's being filmed. As a writer, I'd like to think that order would be the case for the majority of my readers-to-be. I got to wondering, how do... Continue Reading →

I wrote about my plans for reading to a Black History theme earlier this year. As Black History month is October in the UK, here's what's I've been reading since February - Black History month in the US - which got me started on this theme. If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin James... Continue Reading →