The function at school of prizes is part reward and part self-advertising. In the striving there is some excellence and a lot of work but in the actual winning does this all vanish? Does self-advertising take over? I wonder at this when I see hundreds of awards from small institutions, publishers and even blogs and…
Blueskin the Cat
Many years ago my mother said she thought the name ‘Blueskin’ was a good one for a book as it was the name of a real highwayman in the England. The book I wrote has become her favourite as it charts the adventures of a man reincarnated as a cat in the seventeenth century, as…
Something Mozart Forgot
I have been watching on you-tube some of the got talent franchise from around the world. Amongst the entertainers and outright show-offs there are some lightly talented people. Though I think the back-story to some of them and whole ‘show’ adds so much emotion to the whole saga one can hardly be objective. However I…
Life’s Got Nothing To Do With It
The more I watch TV shows and their supposed realism the more separated from living I think they are. I know they are just stories and it is escapism on a grand scale but as a story writer I can assure you they are not that inventive or that interesting, going over story-lines and themes…
Ages Past Are Ages Shared
I doubt there is anyone who has been disenchanted by their Times who has not wished to live in another time or another place. Hearkening back to a period of quietness, or simplicity and there are times when I have wondered where I would like to have been and in what age. Yet when I…
Late Into The Night
Everyone has different body clocks and mine used to be a late, owl like one, though in the years I have had to go to school and work, early mornings have haunted me though at times getting up really early has been a boon of quietness and reflection. Emily Dickensen we are told work from…
That Old Spying Game
In the world of espionage, the thriller writers have us believe, you cannot trust anyone. Having written a book about the genetics and habits of lying I am likely to be one to say that is probably true of every profession. When asked how many witnesses told lies in the legal cases a Lord High…
The Simple Life
There was a time according to popular fantasy, when life was simpler, easier even because there were fewer decisions to make, or less options for life choices. In these Garden of Eden fantasies food is cheaper and purer, the sea water somehow fresher, the clothes easier to copy and people’s expectations lower. It is a…
When You Wish Upon A Star
Many years ago my mother said that people who wish upon a star have to – this from the woman who used to feel good about having silver coins in her pocket when she saw a new moon. She meant, of course, wishing is for people having few options but the idea that we do…
The Age Of Innocence
In the years when we have learned so much more about paedophilia I get a little wary of talking about childhood innocence. In much the same way as I would never immediately go to a child’s side if they were crying in the street or appeared lost because of how it may be construed, I…