A Sunday Afternoon at Swansea’s Plantasia
On a recent visit to my home town of Swansea, I tried to think of something a bit different to do. My husband and I were meeting a friend and the options were slightly limited, due to my pregnancy and the fact that I’ve been getting some pain on my right side. Suddenly, I remembered…
‘Home Waves’ for National Poetry Day
Home Waves To lie on the line between sand and sea will not be enough will not express my homesick, long-hearted fondness for here.
Grasshopper, Caterpillar, Mushroom Cake!
It seems we have a friendly grasshopper, content to stretch out on our doorstep and chirp a greeting. Obviously, he doesn’t realise his size puts him in great danger of being stepped on! He’s so relaxed that my husband was able to take a very detailed close up of him.
Novel Writing – The Second Draft
After an intense eight months of novel writing, I recently left my manuscript to sit and breathe for a few weeks. Last Friday, I chanced taking a peek at the first three chapters again. My husband keeps asking to read them and I just wanted to be sure they made some kind of sense. Surprisingly,…
Micropoetry and the Hairy Molly
I’ve been looking out for a certain kind of caterpillar, thinking of its presence as a sign; a prime indicator that autumn is here. The caterpillar I refer to is known as a ‘Hairy Molly’. I think this is actually a slang term for the larvae of the fox moth, but don’t quote me. I’ve…
Analysis of Antiheroes
I’ve been thinking about Antiheroes this week. The topic cropped up in a conversation between myself and my husband. He asked if I considered the leading male character from my novel to be an antihero. I said ‘no’ and for some reason this worried me.
Meeting a Beetle at Mahon Falls
Mahon Falls is a place I go to find peace. It is characterised by mountains, stubborn sheep (with horns like celtic knots), rushes, greenery, gushing water and pure air. Well, the air is usually pure. On this occasion a group of smokers gathered in front of our just parked car, obscuring the view and lending…
Poetry and Stories Make the Heart Sing
I’m taking a break from the novel this week. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have managed to fill a major gap, but when I started to look at a couple of other chapters that needed a reshape, I found myself getting a sinking, sludgy feeling that I didn’t like one bit. So,…
Write Club – a Force for Good Writing
At the weekend, I hosted the first meeting of a new group called ‘Write Club’. The group was formed from a small gathering of writers I have met at events / workshops or have chatted to on social media. The idea of ‘Write Club’ has been floating around my head for some time. I occasionally…