A quickie today, but I suppose one jpeg says it all. Hope you can read it. If not, you'll find the article here.  And then, if your curiosity is piqued and you missed the previous post, you can read some of the kids' latest work here.

On-line sites - sure.Blogging friends - thank God.Bookstores - don't hold your breath.Emailing updates to everyone you have ever met - but how many people have you ever met?No, I do believe that for all of us writers out there with books to sell -- and yes, probably...

How about doing this for Father's Day?Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there -- but especially to mine!

This tiny photo is a picture of me working with the young adults of Anjali House back in March when I was there in Siem Reap setting up the Writing Workshop. Careful readers of this blog may remember that at that time we published the first issue of the kids' new...

My friend, Kelley Swain, is a talented poet and freelance writer, and a fascinating person to hang around. We try to meet every few months to discuss our work and something interesting always come up. She's full of ideas and new perspectives, and I wanted you to meet...

Some people can't stand TS Eliot. Some find him obtuse and elitist -- and this is an argument that still surrounds poetry today, and I don't mean just about Eliot. Read the latest tempest in a teacup here. But despite all that, I have always loved Eliot. The first...

There was a lot to choose from Friday night in London, if you are a writer and/or reader of poetry.  One of the wonders and surprises of London's arts scene is the very large role that poetry plays in it. On any given night you can find a reading, an open mic, a...

Fiona Robyn is a writer I have been following for years. Her work and her spirit is unique, and in a few weeks she will be getting married. In a typically generous way, she and her husband-to-be, Kaspa, want to share it with all of us out here in the blogosphere, and...

A short while ago I was asked by Roast Books to review their new publication, Dogsbodies and Scumsters by Alan McCormick. I tend not to do "normal" book reviews, but if I like a book I do like to have a chat with the author -- we writers are such weird and interesting...

I'm thrilled to be able to chat today with Noel Duffy, novelist, poet and screenwriter. I had the pleasure of  meeting him recently when I was in Dublin over Easter. It's always a bit scary to meet a fellow writer, especially when you admire their work as much as I...

If you're reading this, then I guess the answer is, thankfully, no.I was all set to write a thoroughly tongue-in-cheek blog about this weekend's "rapture" hoo ha. Yes, it's the end of the world - again. And I was having a swell time in the shower - where I do all my...

I'm committed to sharing the process of writing Novel 3 with you all. I already wrote about diving into the first draft and some tips I have remembered here. But now I find that I have entered a new mini phase that I want to discuss.I have indeed written over 20,000...

Today, I am a guest over at the terrific literature blog called Novel Spaces over here, talking about the experience of bringing A Clash of Innocents back to it's beginnings. Novel Spaces is an eclectic group of authors bound by a singular passion: writing. If you...

Given all the craziness with blogger this week, I think I'll just post this again. See you again in a few....I have been a bit preoccupied over the past two weeks. I know I've talked about my trip to Asia, writing novel three, reading and writing poetry, and even...

My innate nerdiness is most evident in my love of grammar. Does anyone out there remember parsing, those intricate diagrams of sentence constructions that use to be at the core of grammar lessons? Probably not, but I remember learning how to do it and loving the way I...

Every now again, especially when I'm in the midst of a big writing project like I am now, I like to trawl through the achives of YouTube for nuggets of wisdom from big-time writers. Joyce Carol Oates is definitely one of those, if only for the sheer volume of work she...

         This is a question that every writer gets asked, I think. It always surprises me how difficult some people find inspiration to be. Where does it come from? Well for me, I have to say it comes from everywhere, and often (and most delightfully) from the most...

It is my pleasure to welcome poet, John Siddique, to my blog today.  He is a poet whose work I have followed and enjoyed for several years now. But he is also one of those writers whose career I have observed from a far with admiration and some wonder. For those of...

Like all Brits, I'm enjoying the summery first of our two back-to-back four-day weekends. But I thought I'd drop by just to say Happy Easter to all my Easter-observing friends, and Happy Passover to all my Passover-observing friends. I'm sort of a one woman conference...

Once I returned home from SE Asia, I fell into a whirlwind (or was it a whirlpool) of writing. Novel 3 was in my head, in my dreams, and I awoke each morning and wrote for two hours, even before grabbing a cup of coffee. Things have calmed down a bit, although I am...

I'm flying back to London today after a quick trip to Boston. The weekend was full of meetings, talking, seeing family, ridiculous weather and...dancing! Number 2 Son's band played at a dinner for UK kids preparing to finish college - a proper black tie "Leavers...

My very funny, very clever writer friend, J.D. Smith, came up with this game.  In honor (notice the American lack of 'u') of April being American poetry month, a season of many readings and very many open mics, J.D. created this Open Mic Bingo board. J.D. and I share...

When I was at the very impressionable age of sixteen, an English teacher convinced me that The Brothers Karamazov was the best novel ever written. And I, of course, believed him.  He was one of those smarter-than-thou worldly sort of teachers, and I was a wide-eyed,...

I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but I've been on a roll ever since I got home. I've gotten into this pattern where I wake up, novel 3 is already in my head, and I start writing even before I get out of bed. Two hours or so later, I'm still there, ravenous,...

I'm back in London, and amazingly enough, the sun is shining and it's Mother's Day.  Mr. D is out overseeing little league baseball outside of one of Britain's most notorious prisons -- yes, it's true.  Son #1 is due to arrive over here later to take his old mum out...

Today is my last full day of this amazing trip.  It is unbelievable to think that it's now nearly over and that the next time I post something here it will be from back home in London.  I am ready to go home.  A month away is a long time.  But there are many things...

If it's Saturday, it must be Singapore.....When I arrive someplace new and I'm tired and jetlagged and hot, my favourite thing to do is take a boat trip.  My family hates these hoakey things, but I confess that I love them.  They may not be cool, but they're cool, if...

I'm now briefly back in Bangkok with an overnight stop before heading off to Singapore and the last leg of my Excellent Adventure.  But as we know, all work and no play makes all of us rather dull, so for the past few days Mr. D and I have taken our holiday in Luang...

Last night I had the most remarkable experience.  Just like we did in Siem Reap, the kids and I featured in a fundraiser for Anjali House.  But this one was different.  It was held in the garden of a beautiful, restored French colonial bank that now serves as one of...

While in Cambodia, I am doing the bulk (I hope) of my research for my next novel which is also going to be set here.  Without giving anything away, it will concern caring for children land mine victims.  Cambodia is still among the countries most riddled with live...