Over the past few weeks, I've been involved in a few new blogging schemes. I participated in The Next Big Thing, which if you missed it,  gave me and other writers I admire a platform to discuss our works in progress. Like all of these schemes, it has spread its...

I love music and I've played the violin since I was seven years old. I'm now pretty good at it and I've often wondered whether I could have been a professional musician IF I had concentrated on music only, forsaking all other pursuits, and IF I had chosen a different...

In the previous post here, I wrote about journalistic writing and how I have recently been asked by a few magazines to write articles for them about my work teaching street kids in Cambodia and setting up my writing workshop in the educational shelter, Anjali House....

It's been a bit of a difficult week on the home front, so I was doubly pleased when my copy of Where Rockets Burn Through came in the post. This is a collection of contemporary science fiction poems from the UK edited by the poet, Russell Jones, and published by the...

I'm thrilled now to be a part of a new network of bloggers reaching out to new readers, discussing their work. It's called The Next Big Thing, and I get to introduce my readers to some fascinating writers, and also ramble on a bit about my own next big thing.I was...

A short while ago, I discussed the long lost book called A New Perspective .The blogger, Just Williams Luck, had started an initiative to bring this forgotten novel back to life, and I then passed it on to one of my own readers.The book winged its way to Botswana,...

I'm back home now. And since I've already written plenty about Ireland, I'll just show you some of the visual reasons why I love it so:yes, a rainbow...Healy Pass ravinerays of sunlight over the mountainsthe road belowlunch of Dingle crab and soda breaddon't I look...

There are several reasons to write pieces for magazines and newspapers if you are a creative writer. The obvious ones are that any writing is good practice, be it poetry or prose of any sort. If you're a writer, you write, they say -- and as far as I'm concerned, even...

How do you know when a novel is finished? People often ask me that, and the true answer, I guess, is when it's on the bookshelf. As a writer, the most you can do is write it over and over, wait for comments from trusted readers or, if you're lucky, from your editor,...

When I was a little girl, and even into my early teens, I wanted to be a doctor. My interest in medicine coincided with my interest in music and the beginning of my lifelong learning to play the violin. I never did become a doctor, but I have continued to be...

Here's a bit of a conundrum.A short while ago I became virtual and then real friends with a writer who shares my passion for Cambodia.  She contacted me after reading my first Cambodian novel, A Clash of Innocents, which she (thankfully) loved. But she told me that...

This past weekend the news was full of space-related events. I must admit, over the years I have had a conflicted view of the various space programs, NASA in particular, and the obsession with all things extra-terristrial. The social activist in me has thought that...

As tourists, it is hard not to be touched by the big eyes and outstretched hands of impoverished children forced to beg on the streets.  It is very easy for we who have so much to want to help those who have so little.  But giving children on the street money is more...

My interest and work in Cambodia has led me to many unimagined places. Most recently, I found myself at the International Translation Day conference which was organised by English PEN and Free Word. This day-long event was full of panel discussions, networking...

...and musicians, I should add. A Californian (of course) had the idea to hold a simultaneous global event where poets (and musicians -- they were organized separately, I think) would all come together on the same day to share their work in the name of peace. The...

For several years now, I have been following a terrific blog called Just William's Luck. Once a week, William reviews something he has just read -- that's a lot of reading, to be sure -- and he tries to highlight work published by smaller presses. As a result, you can...

I do tend to read a lot of "how to" books about writing. You never know when you'll pick up some wonderful new tip. And I'm always curious about how others do and think about what I spend so much of my own life thinking about and doing. Needless to say, not all of...

Poetry p f is a link which deserves more publicity. For years now, it has quietly been a catalogue, showcase, resource centre and online bookshop for the UK's contemporary poetry world. On its site you can find out about over 100 poets, each with his or her own page....

One of the great joys of summer, as we all know, is catching up on our reading. Whether it's on the beach, on a couch, back in bed for another luxurious hour -- it's that little indulgence that means summer holidays. Here's what I read this summer:Echo House by Ward...

This Saturday, 8 September, the second annual Free Verse Poetry Book Fair will be held in London. In just its second year, this has become an important poetry event, mainly because it is so unique. The festival aims to gather, in one place on one day, a wide range of...

No, this isn't a rant against ebooks. Actually, the more I read them, the more I like them. And I must admit that the convenience of immediately owning the book once you've had the impulse to buy it, is terrific from both a consumer's and a publisher's point of view....

Things are getting very busy here in vacationland, so I thought I better "officially" sign off for a while, sending love and best wishes for the rest of the summer to all my friends and readers.But I'm not the only one who has been busy this August. For those who have...

Six years ago, I wrote a poetry play which went on to be produced in London's fringe and published in book form. It was my first major publication, and as such holds a special place in my heart.  Dreams of May has since gone on to have an exciting, well-traveled life...

Sadly, Maeve Binchy died this week. I always loved her writing and had the privilege of meeting her years ago at an event at the Irish Cultural Centre in London. She seemed larger than life then - a big personality, but gracious and funny as well. Her books remind me...

Yesterday was, truthfully, one of the most remarkable days ever experienced chez Guiney. As I mentioned in my last blog, my husband, Don, was honoured for his two decades-worth of work with London Baseball and youth sports by being named an Olympic Torch Bearer. And...

I don't mean to rub it in, but even though my UK friends have hardly had a summer at all yet (although today is hot and sunny), I've had a great time so far. Two weeks seeing friends and family on Martha's Vineyard was followed by a magical four days listening to...

I have the great pleasure today to introduce to you all a writer you may not have heard of, but which I think you'll definitely want to get to know: Shauna Gilligan. Born and bred in Dublin, Shauna has worked and lived in Mexico, Spain, India and the UK. She lives in...

Oh, the difference a comma makes! If it wasn't for that little squiggle you might have thought I was saying goodbye to poetry for ever (which leads me to lead you to Emma Darwin's excellent blog on the subject here.) But no, of course not. It's just that summer is,...

When I was recently in Cambodia, for the first time in my life I was afraid to write something on my blog. I wanted to tell everyone about the dislocation of hundreds of families from their sites along the Siem Reap River, but I realised my blog was a public forum,...

Last week, I wrote about going off to see the Olympic Park here. But I have now been authorised to divulge the real reason why the Guineys are excited about the Olympics. Let's hear it for my husband, Don!