Many readers followed my progress on Blood Red Dust, so I've decided to run a similar series of short blogs for the second book in the series. The new book is underway. I have a small core of characters, some of whom readers met in Blood Red Dust, and others new to the series. The …
Tag: Creative writing
Against the Night, by P M F Johnson, Reviewed.
Poetry is more difficult to review than novels or nonfiction. For me it is, anyway. As a writer of prose, often puzzled by the brevity and density of poetry, I feel less qualified to comment on technical aspects. What I can do, however, is describe how the poems made me feel, what I experienced as …
Continue reading Against the Night, by P M F Johnson, Reviewed.
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #16
Read this post and you’ll be in good company. Today’s Google search for ‘Writers Help’ brought up 72,300,000 results. One post from this series was the 4th in the list and a second was 9th! The series offers help for writers to make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar …
Letters From Hull, by Linda Swift, Reviewed.
This collection of letters written by an American novelist to her family and friends whilst living in Hull, England, during 1999/2000, is, essentially, a very personal book. Having said that, it’s also a book for everyone interested in the cultures, habits and attitudes of both nations. I came across it via Facebook; one of my …
Continue reading Letters From Hull, by Linda Swift, Reviewed.
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #15
If you read this post, you’re in good company. I recently did a Google search for ‘Writer Help’ to answer a Quora question. The search brought up 270,000,000 results. 2 of the posts from this series were listed on the first page in the 1st 10 results! A series offering to help writers make their …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #14
A series offering to help writers make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective by exploring similar and dissimilar words. A good thesaurus provides substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #13
A series exploring similar and dissimilar words for ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #12
A series exploring similar and dissimilar words for ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense …
Liking is Lovely, but Sharing is Caring.
All of us who blog, or use a website to inform potential readers about our books, are aware of the struggle for exposure, the difficulty of getting our names out there. We indulge in online activity to add value to the lives of others (at least, I hope we do: those interested only in self-promotion …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #11
Examining similar and dissimilar words for ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus suggests substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all these are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense is …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #10
Examining similar and dissimilar words to find ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus gives substitutes for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Putting alternative words in the same sentence to see if they actually make sense …
A Miscellany for Word Lovers, by Robin Hosie & Vic Mayhew, Reviewed.
As a writer and a reader, I love words. They’re the ingredients that form marvellous works and the means for the storyteller to create wonderful tales. This collection, presented as a series of quizzes interspersed with all manner of facts relating to words, is readily accessible. It’s also a brilliant resource for writers. It provides …
Continue reading A Miscellany for Word Lovers, by Robin Hosie & Vic Mayhew, Reviewed.
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #09
A series of posts examining similar and dissimilar words to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to see whether they …
Looking for the Best Word? Tip #08
These posts examine similar, and sometimes dissimilar, words in an effort to suggest ways writers might make their work more varied, accessible, interesting, accurate and effective. A good thesaurus provides alternatives for the idea of a word, but not all suggestions are true synonyms. Context is vital. Placing alternative words in the same sentence to …
Animal Magnet, by Gary Anderson, Reviewed.
A remarkable book, this. And one that makes several demands of its readers. It tells the story of a family through a number of centuries, dipping into significant life events and back-referencing to identify the particular family member placed under the microscope. Starting in Hungary and ending in USA, via France and Mexico, it travels …

