Just a quick note to let you know my story is in the September/October Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, available from August 21, 2020. As they describe it: The Perfume of Peaches by Alexandria Blaelock (from the Department of First Stories) will have you drifting into aromatic and flavorful territory. Plus, my guest post The Thin […]
We’re Busy Doing Nothing
Many of my friends are marooned at home, busy doing nothing. For them the world has ended, but for me nothing much has changed. I’m busy writing and publishing short stories. And submitting them to magazines (my Ellery Queen story will be out in a week or so). Researching and writing another non-fiction book. Planning […]
New! Short Story Sunday
I’ve started a new thing I’m calling Short Story Sunday. I’m releasing some of my older stories to celebrate my upcoming Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine debut. I’m a little bit nervous, and a little bit excited, and a little bit stressed, and a little bit proud. Because it marks a new phase in my writing […]
Stress Free Virtual Dinner Party
It’s hard to stay connected in lock-down. You can’t meet in person, but you can get online and host a Virtual Dinner Party. No, it’s not the same, but it’s better than nothing. And as the important thing is to be together, and because most communications suppliers (e.g. Zoom or Skype) limit free plans to […]
How to Respect All People
Respect politeness, honour, and care shown towards someone or something that is considered important Cambridge dictionary When I was young, all the people I came into contact with were “ordinary” people, just getting on with their lives. I didn’t think surviving to adulthood was anything that commanded respect, so I didn’t see why I should […]
Welcome 2020, good to see you
It seems like no time at all since I was wishing you Happy Holidays, and now it’s all Welcome 2020. Last year I was feeling all optimistic, but this year I’m feeling tired and worn out. Half the country is on fire, has been for months, and it feels like we’re running on global charity. […]
Happy Holidays 2019!!!
The fifth anniversary of this blog passed quietly during the year, so this is the sixth time I’ve wished you all Happy Holidays. Here are just some of the celebrations taking place in December: • Christmas • Hanukkah • Kwanzaa • Bodhi Day • St Lucia Day • Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe • […]
How to Solve the Time Management Mystery
I was chatting about the Time Management Mystery with some creative friends the other day Actually, we were whining about how we have so much to do, and not enough time to do it in. And speculating how some of the creatives we’re inspired by manage their time. For the most part, all of us […]
Thank You Mrs Sparkle
A curious thing happened today. DB and I went to our local village fair, and among the things we do every year, we went into the Church to look at the Art and Craft Exhibition. One of the pieces was an arrangement of hand-made bears, with a sign saying something along the lines of: These […]
Remembering and Forgetting
Not long ago, Katy got in touch. And I was remembering that she taught me one of the most important lessons that I have ever learned. At the time we were the best of friends but lost touch around about 20 years ago after I moved to London for a while. We both had the […]
Stress Free Medieval Dinner Party
Turns out to have been a really long time since I wrote a Dinner Party, and for a while there I was really stuck on what to do, but then I watched The King and now I’m doing a Medieval Dinner Party. Though I suppose more technically it should be called a Banquet. Food We […]
The Joy in Matching Beanies
The other day, I saw a young couple wearing matching beanies on the train. He had his arm around her, and she was nestled into his armpit, leaning her head on his shoulder. She titled her head up to him, and he leaned across and kissed her lightly on the forehead. It’s a cute thing, […]