January has started out slowly for me, as I had both intended and hoped it would. Life can be so hectic, and making a conscious choice to slow down and take time for myself has proven to be a wise one. The Danes call it hygge, a cultural concept which encourages a calm and relaxingContinue reading “Wintering”
Tag Archives: Writing
New Beginnings: My Year of Living Selfily
Yes, I know. Really I do. Selfily is not really a word. But as 2026 begins, with ice and snow blanketing much of the North, it is the best descriptor of how I want to live my life over the next twelve months. After over two decades of motherhood, much of which was undertaken asContinue reading “New Beginnings: My Year of Living Selfily”
A Christmas Story – Part 2
In many ways, it is more than a little bit cheeky to call this a Christmas story, when what I am really doing is extracting out two chapters of my unpublished novel, both of which happen to be set during Christmas. What is interesting for me as a writer, is that both of these chaptersContinue reading “A Christmas Story – Part 2”
A Christmas Story (in two parts)
Part One – but first some background… In the days before Christmas, I thought I would have a bit of festive fun, and return to my unpublished first novel that still sits in the metaphorical drawer that every author knows all too well – the file full of writing which is destined to languish inContinue reading “A Christmas Story (in two parts)”
Pathway to Publication? Let’s Talk About Agents
I have been talking about my writing journey on my way to publication, and today I want to focus on that thorny topic for many aspiring novelists – agents. I’ve been in the query trenches, and I have been wounded, again and again, by the rejection letter. I know what it is to feel thatContinue reading “Pathway to Publication? Let’s Talk About Agents”
Pathway to Publication: Courses and Competitions
In my last post I spent time talking about the writing of my first novel, and my failure to achieve publication. My use of the word failure in this context was one that I carefully considered, for while I failed to find anyone willing to support it for publication, whether that be an agent orContinue reading “Pathway to Publication: Courses and Competitions”
Reflections on my Journey to Publication: Failure and Festivals
Since the moment I began reading, books have entranced me. Throughout my life, they have provided me with solace, companionship, laughter, and hope. I have been surrounded by books my whole life, from saving my pocket money to buy books when I was child, to spending my Saturdays in the library when I was teenager,Continue reading “Reflections on my Journey to Publication: Failure and Festivals”
Writing Dickens – Week 3
I don’t know how Dickens did it. Right now, I am on week 3 of writing in instalments, exactly as Dickens did, 170 years ago. So far, I have written chapters 1 to 6, publishing them in the same increments as Dickens did: 1 April 1854 1–3 Book I 8 April 1854 4–5 15 AprilContinue reading “Writing Dickens – Week 3”
Writing Dickens
Today marks 170 years since Charles Dickens advertised what would become his latest novel to his public. That novel was Hard Times, one that he would serialise between April and August 1854 in his periodic journal Household Words. We are so used to reading Dickens’s novels as whole books that it is sometimes difficult toContinue reading “Writing Dickens”
Review of Cold Wallet by Rosy Fenwicke
Crypto currency? Sudden death? And, dare I say it, a novel that is probably firmly in the thriller genre? Those who follow my reviews know that this is a book I would normally give a rapid swerve to. It is not something I would usually pick up, even with the most enticing of covers. However,Continue reading “Review of Cold Wallet by Rosy Fenwicke”
Deborah Siddoway 