So many TED talks make me chuckle and nod in agreement that I wish to express so strongly! "I agree!" I want to say. "Oh, I agree, I agree, I agree a thousand times over!" Sometimes, I think, "And I have more to add to that. Think about this, in the same context. I've felt and thought this, and this, and this!"And then I realise, sitting alone with my laptop, I'm agreeing with a screen and myself.I just listened to a TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I had never heard of her, but now, she fills me with all the joy and empathy of a kindred spirit, with respect to so much of what she says.At about the age of seven … I wrote exactly the kinds of stories I was reading: All my characters were white and blue-eyed, they played in the snow, they ate apples, and they talked a lot about the weather: how lovely it was that the sun had come out. This despite the fact that I lived in … [Read more...]
Royalty for The Story-Catcher
Royalty makes you feel good, even if it doesn't make you feel royal!For the financial year 2012-2013 - that counts as roughly eight months considering the date of publication - 119 copies of The Story-Catcher were sold! (I don't count the author copies, of course.)It's not much, but I'm feeling pretty grand about it being my first real percentage royalty! … [Read more...]
Avameru
Since I know that this author will barely publicize his book, if at all ...This is what I'm reading.There's nothing like reading something (published) that is written by a real and very dear friend.Buy it now on Amazon! … [Read more...]
What I used to write …
I transcribed the story of the dame who hated plants some time ago, but found this in a drawer while I was hunting for inspiration - … [Read more...]
British Library Workshops
In the display window of ‘Chapter and Verse’
Private Peaceful
Charlie ... Charlie ... Charlie ...I want to meet you, get to know you, look up and admire you.I wanted to sob my heart out when I finished reading Private Peaceful.I wish I hadn't read it. It was so painful, so filled with a sense of injustice, so cruel.I feel privileged to have read it. It was so moving, so human, so gentle and so filled with love.My heart reached out to Tommo - who could have lived in Charlie's shadow, but never did. Instead, he basked in Charlie's glow. Tommo, little Tommo, is so human. He tells his story without reserve, without embarrassment. He gets angry with someone he worships. He adores without restraint. He knows that Charlie is everyone's hero. He is, and always will be, the other Private Peaceful. And he basks in his elder brother Charlie Peaceful's glowIt will take courage to read the book again. But I know I will. A powerful book like Private … [Read more...]
Indian Coffee House
smoke swirlscoffee tastes peculiari drink it anyway, along with something with mustard mainly for the mustard, rather than for the 'something'people stick political posters over the board that says 'SMOKING IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENCE' people ask for ash-trays and get them or they don't ask for ash-trays and they tip ash on the floor, looked on indulgently by waiterstwo old men watch the people around them, silent in the midst of the noiseand we chatter on about our writing and our dreams … [Read more...]
Express Yourself!
Sigh. And that's the end of another fun workshop at the British Library!We played, we laughed, we shared ideas. For once, I honestly believe the children enjoyed the workshop more than I did.One child had to explain the word 'FREEZE'. The rules were - no acting, no translating, no using the words 'ice', 'cold', 'still', 'fear' and 'move'. He stood, thinking, for a long time. Then he began, "Once upon a time, there lived an Eskimo. One day, he decided to go to Antarctica. He went all the way there and he made an igloo. But then on top of a mountain there, it was so chilly that he ..." … [Read more...]
My next workshop is tomorrow!
A custom-made workshop for the Reading Challenge at the British Library!Yes, each of these cards is hand-made. Each card contains a word from the Creepy House Reading Challenge.I've lost count of how many cards I made. … [Read more...]