Easy Life?
Who said life was easy? My mother died when I was a teenager. Many years have passed but I’m still learning about her, not from family or friends. When she married my father she distanced herself from the only friend she had and there is no family. My mother is still a mystery to me. I discovered many things about her after her death, through letters and legal documents. Photos revealed a woman who was a far cry from the old-fashioned, prim and proper mother I knew. Writing has helped...
Read MoreWriting advice
Do this, do that! Many writers are concerned about their “platform,” sometimes forgetting to take time to write their books it seems, some of them haven’t even written a book to start with. Nothing wrong with being prepared but when I hear so many saying they haven’t got time to WRITE, the balance seems all wrong. Ah, balance, always a tricky one. It seems though that there is so much advice about promoting yourself that writers become obsessed with it, questioning their every moves be...
Read MoreWhat’s your excuse?
Excuses not to write “Of all human activities, writing is the one for which it is easiest to find excuses not to begin – the desk’s too big, the desk’s too small, there’s too much noise, there’s too much quiet, it’s too hot, too cold, too early, too late. I had learned over the years to ignore them all, and simply to start.” Robert Harris Related articles Guardian Book Club: Fatherland by Robert Harris...
Read MoreWhat he said…
“Forever may not be long enough,”says Matthieu to Natasha in my new novel, Lost in your time. He’s French and he doesn’t take no for an answer. Impossible is also denied. So, will the sparks fizz out? Or will Natasha fall for the forever concept? “Forever is the most dizzying word in the English language. The idea of staying in one place forever was like standing at the border of a foreign country, peering over the fence and trying to imagine what life might...
Read MoreLost in translation, or not
The beauty of writing and reading in two languages I’m English but I also speak French fluently. On many occasions, reading translated comments or subtitles on the television or at the cinema has provided a few laughs and/ or head-shaking. I love the fact I can pick up any French book and read it without any problems. It does open the mind to read authors whose mother tongue is not the same as yours. I also find it influences my own writing at times as I might find another turn of phrase...
Read MoreAll part of the act
Rumours and lies Rumours people start Lies follow Never knowing who they hurt Never knowing what they’re saying Today, it’s him Tomorrow, it will be you Sometimes, we laugh Sometimes, we cry It’s all part of the act, you tell me Then rage, when it gets too close They want to get so close, too close They go on, not knowing the truth The truth is ours, our...
Read MoreA special notebook
I still remember getting my first Moleskine. It was given to me by a special friend many years ago. As I looked at it, words were dancing on the pages, stories evolving. As a child I loved stationery, books and notebooks were almost on an equal par. I scribble all day long, I have notebooks strewn all over the place. Now, I just need one I could use in the shower or in the pool. Ideas come to me all the time, but especially so when I’m submerged by water. Read what Victoria Patterson has...
Read MoreAn erotic novel? Moi?
The hazards of the writer’s life. You write a story and then something unexpected happens. Waking up one morning, I noticed my husband was laughing his head off. I was getting quite concerned. Would he recover? The joke was on me of course as he showed me the source of his hilarity. Occupy Me, a short story I wrote, or is it? Turns out someone else had published an erotic novella, with the same title. You’ve got to be kidding? Can’t make these things up. A message pops...
Read MoreMeet Mark Souza
About the Author Mark Souza lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, two children, and mongrel beast-dog, Tater. When he’s not writing, he’s out among you trying to look and act normal (whatever that is), reminding himself that the monsters he’s created are all in his head, no more real than campaign promises. Born with a pen in your hand or writing came as a shock brigade? I was not born a writer. I had a knack for language and story telling at a fairly young...
Read MoreMost useful hashtags when writing
All writers jot ideas on everything they can lay their hands on. When inspiration strikes, you’ve got to write it down. Incidentally, writing it down helps me remember those precious ideas. So what do you do with all the bits of paper, notebooks…you have accumulated. How do you reconcile them with the stories you write? I’m not the most organised writer, but I do try. Worse, I often go from one project to the other. Firstly, I have plastic folders labelled with the title of the book the...
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