Lyme Regis: The Riverside Walk.

Lyme Beach. This is the first part of a short series on the famous town featured by John Fowles in ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’, and by Jane Austin in ‘Persuasion’. Lyme Regis, balanced on the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast at the very edge of West Dorset, is the seaside town where Mary Anning, the …

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The #Write #Words? Post 19

Looking at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, and my Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words:Oink, Old, Ostentation, Obeisance. Onomatopoeia: Oink: Oink is considered a representation of the noise made by a domesticated porcine. But the pigs I’ve met, and, having lived …

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Dry Bones, by John Holland: #BookReview.

72 pages Literary Anthologies and Collections/Poetry An anthology of poetry set in, and describing, the Australian Outback, this collection embodies that dry, deserted, hostile, hopeful, barren place I know only from novels and films. That the poems evoke a sense of place, even for an Englishman with no experience of the location, says a lot …

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The #Write #Words? Post 18

Taking a look at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, and my Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words:Natter, Nutty, Neverthriving, Nurse. Onomatopoeia: Natter: We all know people who natter; they’re the ones who chatter, gossip, enjoy the sound of their own voice …

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Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde: #BookReview.

384 pages Literary Fiction/Time Travel/Adventure Stories and Action. Oddly, this book isn’t listed under comedy or humour on Amazon. I think, however, it’s supposed to be funny, perhaps witty? I confess I found it more irritating than amusing. Written in a style that makes the author appear self-congratulatory and strangely complacent as he waves the …

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The #Write #Words? Post 17

Taking a look at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, and my Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words: Miaow, Mad, Mob, Moat. Onomatopoeia: Miaow: I confess I chose this particular onomatopoeia because so many writers and readers are cat lovers, and we all …

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Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

The time has come around once more for your monthly reminder to let you know the creative writing contest table has been updated. It lives on the ‘Resources’ page, here. For new visitors: Many contests are free to enter and offer great cash prizes (best prize is £16,000.00; you could buy a LOT with that!). …

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Promise Me, by Harlan Coben: #BookReview.

452 pages Crime/Mystery/Thriller A friend told me Harlen Coben was a good writer, so when I saw a pristine copy in a charity shop, I bought it. It’s a bestselling crime/mystery novel, and I try to avoid the genre as I find it too depressing in a modern world full of such activity. But I …

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The Dark Poet, by Kathryn Gossow: #BookReview.

106 pages Short Stories At first, this anthology of short stories seems an unconnected collection. As the reading progresses, another story emerges, built with the blocks of the individual tales. It is almost, though not quite, a novel. The encompassing story is that of Paul, the Dark Poet, and tells how he came to be …

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The #Write #Words? Post 16

Taking a look at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, andmy Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words: Lash, Light, Litter, Labour. Onomatopoeia: Lash: Although ‘lash’ has several meanings, I imagine the most popular is that meaning ‘whiplash’ as in the lash of …

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The #Write #Words? Post 15

Looking at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, and my Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words: Keen, Kind, Kaleidoscope, Kangaroo. Onomatopoeia: Keen: To ‘keen’ is generally thought of as to make a wailing or moaning sound. But this word can also describe …

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The #Write #Words? Post 14

Sorry this is a day late: domestic concerns took precedence yesterday! Looking at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, andmy Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words: Jangle, Joyful, Jack of all trades. Onomatopoeia: Jangle: ‘Jangle’ is one of those words crying out …

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The Fifth Ascendant, by Joshua Grant: #BookReview.

777 pages Children’s Steampunk/Fantasy and Magic for Children As this is a children’s book, I read it to find out how the author dealt with such a readership, having read other works of his written for adults. This is definitely written for a younger readership. There are elements some adults will find difficult to follow; …

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The #Write #Words? Post 13

Looking at Onomatopoeia and Metaphor, Simile, Collective Nouns, andmy Delusional Dictionary. For definitions of those, click here to read the introductory post to the series. This week’s words: Itch, Innocent, Implausibility, Imam. Onomatopoeia: Itch Whether ‘itch’ is onomatopoeic is probably a matter of opinion. I’m including it here as it has the power, through association, …

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Defy Death Now (Live to Die Another Day), by Dr Joseph S Maresca : #BookReview.

21 pages Medical advice This is an unusual little book with a fairly simple but important message about illness. It’s much more appropriate in certain ways to readers in America, but has lessons for the world. Here, in UK, we have a free National Health Service, once the envy of the world but currently in …

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