Writing Blog
Are you NaNoers gearing up for November?
It’s almost that time of year again! The air starts growing crisp, the days (sadly) start getting shorter, and it’s time to remove your writer friends from your speed dial. No point in inviting them out for dinner or drinks in November because they will be glued to their seats after work taking on an…
Read MoreDoes sloppy author research drive you crazy?
I recently picked up a novel by an author who seems to set some of her stories in Italy. This one was set in Rome – my city. It had a gorgeous cover, and I’d never read any of her work before, so I picked it up. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy anything about the book:…
Read MoreIt’s (not quite) Monday. What are YOU reading?
Always love discovering new book blogging sites through other sites I enjoy. That’s why I was pleased that Emma from Once Upon a Littlefield pointed me towards The Book Date. I like this blog challenge – ‘It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?’ – for those of us who blog fully or partially about books as a prompt…
Read MoreSorry to have missed this year’s Matera Women’s Fiction Festival
Around this time of year, I find myself engaged in the (pleasurable) task of writing up what I’ve learned at the annual Matera Women’s Fiction Festival. Matera is a very special town in southern Italy where writers of women’s fiction and women writers of all genres gather to learn about changes in the industry, to…
Read MoreAugust reads
In summer, my reading always picks up. And during holidays, I had the chance to read quite a few books, some of which I really enjoyed. Now that I am back to the daily grind, I decided to take a look back at my August reads and (hopefully) somehow feel as if I’m back on…
Read MoreI completed my Goodreads Challenge 2016
2016 is not yet over, but a recent burst of enthusiastic summer reading means I’ve wrapped up my Goodreads Reading challenge early. Even if it’s only for fun, always nice to get things in before deadlines. I know some people criticize the Reading challenge, calling it a useless check-list, but I enjoy participating each year. I’ve…
Read MoreBack to school … err.. writing!
‘Tis that time of year. New notebooks and pencils, giving up the freedom of long summer days of unscheduled time and getting that derriere back in the chair to concentrate on putting pen to paper and working once again. Sounds like back to school season, doesn’t it? And, not so strangely, it’s also back-to-writing season for…
Read MoreBook Review: Fall of Poppies
This series of short stories set during World War I, Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War was bound to be right up my alley. I love short stories and I love historical fiction, and I have a particular weakness for stories set during this time period, an era of marked upheaval as…
Read MoreThe origins of greatness
“Everything important always begins from something trivial.” – Donald Hall A great quote from the American poet Donald Hall. As any student of history knows, many of the greatest wars and tragedies in history were sparked by events that, with the benefit of hindsight, appear trivial and easy to avoid. Likewise for authors. Howard’s End…
Read MoreAre all writers hopeless liars?
“Is the artist a liar, or simply one for whom even a fact is not a fact? ” -Ned Rorem I love this quote by American composer Ned Rorem in The Paris Review. What do you think, writers? Are we merely liars when we make up an entire world and populate it with invented characters story after…
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