Blogs and Sales!
I have been a keen user of WordPress for some time now. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it lets me blog without having to worry too much about the sillier aspects of updating computers. In short, I like it. But not always. Sometimes you find little irritations and glitches that get in the way. For … Continue reading
Planning Not To Plan!
I was talking this morning to my old friend Phillip Gooden, and he mentioned that he was writing a variation to his latest story. ‘You know how it is,’ he said, ‘so often you don’t know how the story will pan out until you actually start it.’ It’s very true. So often aspiring writers will … Continue reading
Gardening – and Cats
There are times when writing is a sheer dream. Other times, of course, it isn’t. Today I set out with the best of intentions. I managed to subdue the work displacement activities that immediately sprang to mind, and got on with work. Off, first thing, with the dog to keep her quiet while I worked, … Continue reading
Authors and PLR
Authors and Money When a new book comes out, it’s not all wine and roses, sadly. Sometimes – I know this is hard to believe – people expect authors to go out and do some work. I’ve been pretty busy since TEMPLAR’S ACRE came out, because of signings and wandering the streets aimlessly, and also … Continue reading
Working Again
I was chatting to Paul Johnston, the author of several excellent books (I recommend them), and he demanded to know whether I ever actually wrote anything. Well, Paul, yes I do, actually. I don’t spend all my time Morris dancing. Writing is a tough job. No, seriously – the worst part is, that you’re never … Continue reading
Displacement Activities
This has been one of those weeks of urgent work with very little to show. A few days ago Simon and Schuster let me know that there were another three books needing to be proofed, and suddenly there were three more titles to look at. And they were good books, too. The Abbot’s Gibbet, The … Continue reading
Blasted BBC Again!
Blasted BBC stupidity once more! There are few things that can reduce me in moments to sheer, gibbering rage, but this one’s got me. Worked in a nanosecond. No, not one of the usual ones. Not politicians claiming their food allowances, not even politicians lying through their teeth. No, this was much, much worse. It’s … Continue reading
Writing – Tools and materials.
Time was, you’d write a book by buying a pencil and a lot of paper. Not everyone, of course, would do it that way. Some folks went to steel nibbed pens and ink with their paper. That was a little new-fangled, of course. Then you got the modern habit of buying gizmos. People learned of … Continue reading
Language
Ach, it’s a tough one, but I got three comments about anachronisms in my language this week, so got to make a comment, I guess. This is a hard one to comment on, because no matter what I say, I will be wrong in the eyes of some. Some years ago, I was contacted by … Continue reading
To Birch or not to Birch?
Ok, this one will probably get me some irritated responses, but what the heck. When I was ten or eleven, I can clearly remember the day when it was announced that coporal punishment was to be banned from school. The reasons were obvious enough to any thinking adult. First, how can a grown up smack … Continue reading
writerlywitterings 