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?
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...
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...
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...
Oh The Sickness
[bt_bb_section layout="boxed_1200" lazy_load="yes" show_video_on_mobile=""][bt_bb_row][bt_bb_column lazy_load="yes" width="1/1"][bt_bb_text] Every author wants to write all day, all the time. But life has this horrible way of getting in the way. Three months ago I sat down with the third draft of a book about a secret service agent, a kidnapped Empress and some devious plot devices. I had time while my oldest kid was at daycare and my youngest was running around my feet bringing me plastic objects for me to admire. I got really into it. I was writing, and editing, and changing whole chapters and even the names of characters because...
The Quick Bamboo Fence
A few months ago I was walking home from daycare with both kids in the pushchair. I took out number #1 so she could walk up the stairs and into the house, and then turned to take the baby out of the pushchair. #1 immediately turned, and sprinted for the road (as fast as her 2 year old legs would take her). We don't have a gate currently. Clutching the baby to my chest, I hurried after her as fast as I could without dropping the baby. She got to the road and I reached her two steps before she...
Where is the Tin Opener?
What a Wednesday. My partner-in-crime is out, and I think I'm ready for the evening crazies that start at 4pm, despite my 6 broken hours of sleep the night before. I set out the prep for my dinner and put #1 kid's food in the microwave. Then I try to find the tin opener and it has vanished. I remember that she's taken to thinking it's a hairbrush and pinches it out of the drawer, so she's taken it, or I've confiscated it and put it somewhere "safe". A cursory search yields only frustration for me. Then #1 yells for...
Re-Purposed Tee Shirts
I had some old kid tee shirts donated to me and while they were way, way too big for my baby, I didn't want to just throw them away or get rid of them because I liked the patterns. So I thought about making them in a quilt. But the prints were too big, and I don't have that much patience when it comes to quilting. It's not my jam. But I thought - hey, the baby will need some blankets - so I made them into small quilted blankets for the baby. When she out-grew them they went to...
The Hiccup of Doom
Nobody likes being sick. But it happens, and we deal with it. But being sick and having kids makes you think wistfully about the times you took that day off work to feel miserable, alone, and sleep. With pregnancy #1 I got food poisoning at 6 months. I threw up so much I burst blood vessels in my eyes, which was both impressive and horrible at the same time. But kid #1 was very not sick for 18 months - thanks to both vaccines and the isolation that staying at home with mum can give you. Then kid #2 came...