As we stood in the Plaça Catalunya this year, grapes in hand and waiting for churchbells to chime, it struck me that once again, I was celebrating New Year’s Eve upon an unknown shore. Ten seconds to midnight, the crowd started counting down, ten, nine, eight. And then, at midnight– Nothing. The fireworks were aContinue reading “Facing 2023”
Tag Archives: writing community
That Expat Girl’s Guide to Writing a Novel | Part 2: The First Draft (1)
Sometimes writing a first draft is more like getting lost in a city, and sometimes it’s more like planning the perfect vacation. Either way, things rarely go completely according to plan….
July ’22 – On Purpose
It’s been a whirlwind of a month, July, and I’m going to admit: I’ve been struggling. I’ve been struggling with my health, with my work, with my stories. There were moments, in these past few weeks, where it felt like it was all just too much to deal with. There were days when I wanted toContinue reading “July ’22 – On Purpose”
June ’22 – On Holidays
“Do you even know what a holiday is?” Confession time. I’ve just come back to the UK from a couple weeks in Malta. The Boy and I are hoping to move there soon, and so, even with work deadlines approaching, we decided to fly out and see whether we could sort out our accommodations andContinue reading “June ’22 – On Holidays”
May ’22 – On New Adventures
Believe me, I am still alive… but boy, has it been a while. And it’s been a lot as well, but I suppose that’s the nature of life, to barrel on heedlessly while we cling on for dear life. That said, I’m going to try to keep this blog updated more regularly, but part ofContinue reading “May ’22 – On New Adventures”
March – On Rejection
There are things they don’t tell you about being an agented fiction writer. Some of this stuff, I learned the hard way when I briefly picked up the interest of an agent’s assistant on my first novel, way back in 2012. The interest proved to be short-lived. When you’re in the querying trenches, it seemsContinue reading “March – On Rejection”
February – Lockdown Updates and Worldbuilding Questions
In the midst of a third lockdown without sight of any sort of relief on the horizon, things have felt a lot more grim lately. I didn’t think that I’d be missing parties and my bookselling job all that much, and yet, here we are, and all I really want is to actually hang outContinue reading “February – Lockdown Updates and Worldbuilding Questions”
Rivers of London Award Shortlist Interview: Dan Buchanan
The skeleton of my story … serves as a useful guide, not only in terms of inspiring the questions my world-building needs to answer, but also as a kind of framework on which I can bounce the story around, and chop and change as needed. Dan Buchanan on knowing the story you’re telling Shortly afterContinue reading “Rivers of London Award Shortlist Interview: Dan Buchanan”
Rivers of London Award Shortlist Interview: Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
This is a story we are hesitant to tell… Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson – The Principle of Moments Shortly after Gollancz’s Rivers of London Award, I got in touch with the winners and other shortlistees to find out more about them and thier projects. In this post, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson talks to me about her winning novel, TheContinue reading “Rivers of London Award Shortlist Interview: Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson”
Rivers of London Award Shortlist Interview: Jaya Martin
Rivers of London award shortlistee, Jaya Martin, talks to me about her novel Blood of the Wolf and her influences as a writer.
The Venture 