It all started when Sara Paretsky grew tired of being the only female author at the crime writers’ conventions she attended. She started a group for female crime authors called ‘Sisters in Crime’, hoping to encourage other women to get those crime thrillers published. There was obviously a need. The group grew and spread intoContinue reading “A Bouquet of Secrets”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
I Can’t Keep It In…
I was out with a group of people on a youth club trip in 1975, and we stopped partway to our destination for a break to stretch our legs in a local wood. I went out to explore while the tea was brewing and came back with an empty plastic compost bag that had beenContinue reading “I Can’t Keep It In…”
A Walk in the Park
Last month’s adventure was a trip to the Self Publishing Show in London. I went last year, drawn in by an author friend, but this year I was going back with intent. I had so many questions that I’d wear a big hole in any friendship with them all, so I would be asking thoseContinue reading “A Walk in the Park”
Conference Call
Back in March, we went to the annual Scottish Association of Writers’ annual conference at Cumbernauld, with a few days walking around Northumberland as a treat along the way. I had to go to hand back the Largs Shield, and this time I knew I wouldn’t be winning it back because their rules (very sensibly)Continue reading “Conference Call”
Sight
Someone commented recently that I hadn’t posted for a long time. It wasn’t for lack of things to say; more because I’ve been struggling with my eyesight. The last post was made just after our holiday in north Norfolk. During that holiday, I came out of a shop into a sunny October day – paleContinue reading “Sight”
The Empire Strikes Back
A couple of months ago I sent two stories in to a Globe Soup contest. It was set up as historical fiction; buy a ticket and be assigned a historical period at random. I ended up sending in two stories, one about a blacksmith’s son who achieved his ambition of getting a place in theContinue reading “The Empire Strikes Back”
Norfolk
It’s Cromer, but maybe not as you know it. The beach is closed for about half a mile near the pier for ‘works’ – looks like a shipload of granite blocks have been dumped next to the esplanade with a couple of hills of granite left thirty yards further out in an attempt to protectContinue reading “Norfolk”
Sixty Years Ago
While I was clearing my father’s house I found a platform ticket for… Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch. Yes, I still have it. My brothers remember my dad stopping the car outside the station on holiday and the short argument that followed; rain hammering on the car roof and my mother getting out and running across to buy aContinue reading “Sixty Years Ago”
Inside the Wall
This was our first day in Chester. Not very impressive weather, but it matches our first view of the city itself. We were staying about five miles out, relying on the Park & Ride to get us in each day. No problem with the system, the bus or the drivers – £2.50 to ride aroundContinue reading “Inside the Wall”
‘Monty’ at the Maltings
I blame Tom Cox. In one of his books he mentions attending an event in an old chapel lit by lanterns in which an actor recreated the experience of M R James telling his ghost stories to his colleagues. I remembered hearing about this, and it was a quick job to trace the company –Continue reading “‘Monty’ at the Maltings”
Julia Chalkley 