Italy: Trip of a Lifetime. Part 8

These posts, with my photographs, record our stay in Italy in September. We thoroughly enjoyed it, so we’re sharing our experience. You’ll get the (almost) full story of our travels, activities, and experiences; warts and all, in instalments. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. 25th September, Tuesday. …

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Pandora, by Joshua Grant: #BookReview.

388 Pages Horror/Action Adventure. Imagination is a crucial element in any work of fiction, and here it reaches new heights, especially in terms of human ambition and the lengths some will travel to fulfil it. This novel is a mix of horror, fantasy, science fiction, adventure and thriller. But, in merging the genres and developing …

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The #Write #Word? Post 46

Finding it hard to discover the ‘right’ word when writing? Me, too, sometimes. In trying to improve, maybe I can help you. Today’s words: Macabre, Migrant/ Refugee, Monachopsis, Member of Parliament, Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Macabre: Roget lists only two sub-headings: frightening and …

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Italy: Trip of a Lifetime. Part 7

These posts, accompanied by photographs, record our recent stay in Italy. Having thoroughly enjoyed it, we’re sharing our experience. You’ll get the (almost) full story of our travels, activities, and experiences; warts and all, in instalments. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. 24th September, Monday. Our first breakfast in …

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The #Write #Word? Post 45

Struggle to find the ‘right’ word when writing? Sometimes, so do I. In trying to improve, maybe I can help other writers. Today’s words: Laborious/Easy, Look ahead to the future, Last hurrah, Leader. Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to find, because thesauruses usually give no examples. When lost …

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The Golden Peacock, by Lauren B. Grossman: #BookReview.

287 pages Historical Fiction/Mystery, Thriller and Suspense A ‘thriller’ that actually concentrates on the characters, bringing them to life so the reader is eager to invest emotion and concern for them. In fact, this doesn’t read like an ordinary thriller at all. This thoughtful, evocative and moving book is a very good read. I read …

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The #Write #Word? Post 44

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? I sometimes have the same problem. In trying to improve my own work, maybe I can help you. Today’s words: Kaleidoscope, Ka-ching, Kuebiko, Knight Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Kaleidoscope: Roget lists the following sub-headings; …

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The #Write #Word? Post 43

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Me, too, sometimes. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Jargon, Jetsam/ Flotsam, Join together, Joke. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Jargon: the thesaurus lists these five subheadings; …

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Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

It’s that time again! Your reminder that the writing contest table has been updated. It lives on the ‘Resources’ page. Some contests are free to enter and offer great cash prizes. The table currently offers contests with entry dates from November 2018 through to May 2019. Submit your entries in plenty of time. There are …

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The #Write #Word? Post 42

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Me, too, sometimes. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Insouciance, Instantly, In the near future, Insidious/Invidious, Idea. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Insouciance: means carefreeness, a lack …

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The #Write #Word? Post 41

Do you struggle to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Sometimes, I do, too. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Habitat, Heavily, Has a requirement for, Hollow tube, Honour. Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Habitat: …

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Invitation to Poetry, by Mihai Brinas: #BookReview.

Poetry is such a subjective literary genre that it’s often difficult to reach a conclusion about whether a collection is very good, difficult, obscure, or any of a mixture of reactions. This assortment is by a poet whose first language is Romanian: whether English is his second language is unclear, but the standard of its …

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Another 5 Star, Well, 5 Shrimp, Review!

It's always great to receive a positive review. This one is quite short, but says the things an author loves to hear. You can find the original here. # Ten Tales for Tomorrow Stuart Aken Rating: 5 Shrimps! Stuart Aken’s short story compendium Ten Tales for Tomorrow explores several possible futures.  Speculative fiction often has …

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The #Write #Word? Post 40

Do you struggle to find the ‘right’ word when you’re writing? Sometimes, I do, too. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Gaffer, Grow in size, Green-eyed monster, Genre, Synonyms are alternative words that have the power to convey exactly what you’re trying to say. Gaffer: Roget lists …

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The #Write #Word? Post 39

Struggling to find the ‘right’ word for your writing? Me, too. Maybe, in working to improve my own work, I can help you. Today’s words: Fantastic/Ordinary, Free gift, Forego/Forgo, Fashion, Antonyms: words that express the opposite of other words can be hard to find, because thesauruses usually give no examples. When lost for such opposites, …

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