Cornwall to Afghanistan
So, the time is upon us again when we remember and honour the lives lost in war. In the midst of this, I believe there should be an increasing emphasis on those who remain. Lest we forget has more than one nuance. I stood in Tyne Cot cemetery in 2017, the 100th anniversary of the
THE EYES HAVE IT…
…but unlike Parliament, does the nose have it too? Or the mouth, for that matter? Okay, what I’m really asking here is whether the age-old adage, the eyes are the windows to the soul, still holds true in these times of masks. Yes, they remain pretty much the only part of the face we can
Men and women – fact or fiction?
Pre-COVID I ran a book club. Hopefully we will soon all meet again. We tried Zoom and soon realized it was a waste of time. Anyone who has belonged to a book club will know it’s not just about discussing the nuances of the text, but actually spending time with like-minded people. Anyway, at any
Why do we say hello?
Well, why do we say hello? More than ever in these times of long, solitary walks, the greeting to a relative stranger is perhaps an example of what W.B Yeats called ‘a lonely impulse of delight’, a line I love, though it reflects the thoughts of someone – an airman – foreseeing his death! The
‘Dreamboat’ or…
The Poem of the Physicist As I stood upon the land So the sea destroyed the shore And a heart of stone was damned To be sand forever more My galleon world had long since lost its sail of leaves and birds, Tempestuously shred upon the storm I hoped would bring us home. I
The Half-Torn Page
My new novel launches 26th November. If you have read my previous works, you will know they fall under the umbrella of darkness; psychological thrillers with twists and an examination of what drives people to some of the actions they take. Sometimes they contain hints of things lurking beyond the edges of our universe. The
Well, I never…
…grieved for my father. Before anyone recoils in shock, I should point out that this only became apparent to me very recently during an on-line discussion with a dear friend. Having lost her own father when he was young, she asked me how my father died, at which point, I found myself struggling to type
Time to remember
One of my first posts on here (see below) was about my mother, who had recently passed away. Today is the two year anniversary. At the weekend I visited her memorial up in the Midlands and placed flowers. My sister and her husband place fresh flowers regularly, which fade and are replaced. In many ways
A time for reflection
I wrote in a short story that I wished my life could always be September, when the embers of a dying season wisp and glow. I think I had in mind, apart from anything else, the bonfires which my father invariably seemed to end up lighting at this time. I know that a lot of
A Conversation With Cain
My second ebook is now out on Amazon Kindle – called A Conversation With Cain. I have to admit I’m nervous about this one, as it’s certainly different from The Prying Game; a deeper book, perhaps – more of a slow burner – even though it is still a thriller. It’s surreal, that’s for sure
The Prying Game
My latest novel is now available as an ebook on Amazon Kindle. Please have a look – even if you don’t buy, you can have a quick look inside on the Amazon website. Here’s the link. Happy reading!
eBook Publishing
I read an article recently which stated it takes c.15 minutes to publish an eBook on Amazon Kindle…and so it might, if we’re just talking about loading the file and the cover, but the preparation has taken me weeks. As I posted on Facebook, writing the novel was the easy bit! There is a lot
Red kite at night
I went for a long walk across the local farmland this evening. The harvest has been collected and the fields are being prepared for…whatever it is that comes next! It was amazing to watch how, in one field, the plough seemed to be leaving behind it a trail of white, as gulls settled behind it
5-6am
I woke up some time between 5 – 6 a.m. today after sleeping really poorly. It struck me what a strange, rather emotional time of day that is. You know already you are going to be tired that day and that the chance of a decent sleep has gone. There is still mainly silence outside
Here we go!
OK, I have taken the plunge, given up the day job and decided to try pursuing my writing career. So here I stand in a place with no waymarker, wondering which road to take. Like Bilbo Baggins, I have a road running by my door, with no idea where it will lead. Let’s see. I
Shardonic
It has been surreal for me to watch the change in the London skyline of late. In my second novella – ‘In the Laptops of the Gods’ – published in 2006, you will find the city headquarters of the monopolistic computer company, KompuKraft, dominating the horizon. The name of the building: The Shard; a needle-like structure
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