Category: Creativity
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Literary Judging and Book Review: Binding the Cuckoo
Last month, I promised that I’d share a little about my experience judging this year’s British Fantasy Award for Best Independent Press. I also have a review for an enchanting new romantasy novel, so let’s start with that, and I’ll say more about judging later. Binding the Cuckoo Review Binding the Cuckoo is the first foray…
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Book Review: Better Living Through Alchemy
I’ve been meaning to finish and review Evan J. Peterson’s occult detective novella Better Living Through Alchemy since it came out last year. Better late than never, right? Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of books in order to judge the Best Independent Press award for the British Fantasy Awards. There are a few of us judging…
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Embracing Our Colors and Facing Our Demons
I’m writing this fresh from Brighton Pride celebrations this weekend. And I’m grappling with difficult feelings. It’s hard to lose a parent. And while I was traveling back and forth across continents to visit my father in the hospital, I didn’t have the bandwidth to process other emotions which I’m feeling now. A lot of…
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Book Review: The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean
Plus a meal fit for a phoenix I was given an ARC of The Phoenix Keeper, and here’s my honest review, plus some recipes the characters might like. I loved this book. It was the perfect thing to read while recovering from illness, and the anxiety rep hit home. I was swept away into a world…
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…And Here’s How the Songwriting Retreat Went!
I’m back from my songwriting retreat in the Peak District, where I spent a week in a converted barn in the countryside with a group of musicians and our facilitator, Murray Webster, who arranged daily activities and masterminded the whole thing. There was a lot of talent in that one living space! Guitar chords rang…
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Book Review: Kind of Coping by Maureen “Marzi” Wilson
We all get anxious sometimes. But for some of us, anxiety can be intense or pervasive. I’ve been coming to terms lately with the role that anxiety plays in my life. It sounds great to be a relaxed person who doesn’t worry about much of anything…and these people exist, but I’m not one of them. …
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Good Idea or Bad Idea? It’s All in the Execution
“Where do you get your ideas?” It’s a dreaded question for many writers. Sometimes, people outside of the writing world focus on ideas as the holy grail of literature. If you have a good idea, they may suggest, you might as well have a book already. And woe betide if someone steals your idea! The…
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September is for Songwriting Class
The pandemic has led a lot of people to take up new creative hobbies. Last November I tried NaNoWriMo for the first time in lockdown. Last month, I took a songwriting class. Making up songs is something I’ve done off and on, casually throughout my life, but never pursued in earnest. As a kid, I…
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Where to Find New Book Discoveries and Deals
During London’s third lockdown (with restrictions just beginning to ease recently), I read more than ever. Books provided solace and escape into other worlds. I took full advantage of library loans and collected e-books, keeping my eyes peeled for deals and new discoveries. If you devour books more quickly than popcorn, or simply aspire to…
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