And, Away!
It's six-o-two on Christmas morning. We are in a distillery cottage on Islay, Dave is sleeping, the wind is roaring round us like a fury, causing the wood in the…
An Artist and her Bus Pass
I am on a lonely road and I am travelling, sang Joni Mitchell in a song I like very much. But her problem could be considered quite the opposite of…
The Artist’s Date
Like everyone, Covid has affected my life in a zillion random ways. While I've had the very good fortune not to get sick, I'm somewhat weighted by certain repercussions. No…
Embracing the Strange
It struck me, as I lambasted myself for having watched three You Tubes in a row on how to get the most out of Big Sur, that instead of fighting…
Cook Your Own Stories
Literary Diet, the final dayTomorrow it won't be January any more, which feels rather abrupt. But there are still a few hours left of the month in which The Guardian…
Enchanted Lands
What is an enchanted land? Does it have to be outside, like a forest or a wild-flower meadow, or can it be inside, like a kitchen in which a pie…
The Short Story: Opening Lines: A Perfect Day for Bananafish
‘There were ninety-seven New York advertising men in the hotel, and, the way they were monopolizing the long-distance lines, the girl in 507 had to wait from noon till almost…
An Apology, of Sorts
I've put the following message on my Home page, but thought it worth putting in a blog post too, mostly because I don't suppose many people look at my Home…
Valtos Rocks
Research & Motivation (or is it the other way round?)
I'm currently writing a novel about a shit-storm that ensues when a small Scottish community decides to buy the island it inhabits from the wealthy, always absent and appallingly neglectful,…
Literature Ambassador: Writer Opps: The Write Practice
Writer Opps Wednesday aims to bring you six new opportunities each week. But occasionally something comes to our attention that deserves a post all of its own, and that has…