A little bit about when I find the time to write, and how I write – just for those curious beings who want to know the SECRET!
When do you write?
Who can read this book?
The Colour of Her Magic is perfect for any lover of a good adventure story who wants fantasy, magic, wicked sorcerers and a fight between good and evil. It’s suitable for ages 12 – 13 and above, has the barest mention of sex, and the relationship between the two main characters is platonic friendship – and how often do you read that in books these days?
New Release Coming Soon
I'm so excited to announce a new release coming in April: the first of my "Song of the Towers" series of novels! A Princess imprisoned for ten years. A Chicken Farmer who dares defy the High Sorcerer. A Bard who’s just along for the ride. Princess Daphne of Undersunne has been imprisoned by the High Sorcerer for ten years. She isn’t dead… yet, but she’s running out of time. Erin, the daughter of a chicken farmer, wants to rescue the Princess. She's got a sword, a bow, acres of willpower and a scrap of magic. But before she faces the...
Life ah… gets in the way
As a wise Jeff Goldblum once told us that "life uh... finds a way" the same can be said of life getting in the way. I moaned the other day to my partner that I just didn't have the mental capacity to be creative at the moment, and he just looked and me and nodded wearily, feeling the same. I shouldn't complain, but I want to. The start of this year my website building business kicked into a new gear, making each day very busy. It's great to have the work, but sometimes I wish I could just chuck it...
What have you done?
I've had these characters hanging around for a while now, but each time I tried to write them they always petered out... It was never right. Alison and Celia Griffin fought back each time I tried to put them into a book. They didn't like what I had in store for them, and each time the ideas just went slowly downhill and I stopped writing. I watch a lot of renovation programs and thought one day - why not renovate a magic kingdom? The very next morning this first chapter wrote itself, and this time it feels right. Check out...
The Ideas Bible
Recently I had an amazing catchup with my writing buddy Renee Dahlia (http://www.reneedahlia.com/) who is well on her way to becoming a prolific romance author. Now I do romance as part of my overall plots, and I love to read them, but it's not my jam to write. My jam is fantasy, as well you might have guessed. Her jam is romance. While we caught up about the usual (family, friends, work), we also chatted about writing, which is one of my favourite things to do. I am fascinated with the way other writers work, and comparing that to the...
Ideas that just take their time
See that picture? That's me in 2000. With the long hair up in a ponytail (that hasn't changed) and the bedroom wall positively covered with posters of movies and movie stars (Joseph Fiennes was the man of the moment I can see) and the grim look that says taking selfies with an actual camera is hard. This is also the year I had an idea. Or at least, I think I had the idea then. My notes from then are completely lost, which is a shame. I've transferred ideas from paper to paper, from note to note. At university I...
The Angel and the Swarm
Last week, while on a zoom with a few friends on mine, one asked "what are you writing?" I was a bit stunned at the question. I'm always writing, to start with, but also I didn't realise this particular friend knew that I wrote at all. "Anything sci fi?" they asked. "Yeah," I said. "A book about a kid in space." "Sounds awesome. Tell me more." I struggled to find words to sum up this 800 page behemoth I'd been writing for years, but I ploughed ahead. I've always been one to write enormous novels, and summing my work up...
Dying to Colour You
Dying natural fibers in ancient ways using all kinds of natural stuff like Madder and Woad and Berries
Adventurers Workshop
At the end of last year, my family had decided that we would go for a family holiday to Fiji in June. We had it all planned: flights, accommodation, swimming costumes and blow-up rings for the kids to float around in. We were all looking forward to the break. But then along comes a global pandemic, and we had to say farewell to our vacation. Our flights were cancelled, and a credit given. Our accommodation was refunded. I felt terrible for the hotels in Fiji which are all struggling, given that tourism is a huge part of their economy, but...