I haven’t bothered to write down any New Year’s resolutions this year. I didn’t come close to attaining last year’s goals so figure what’s the point in recycling them, or worse, adding to them? I don’t need that pressure. Clearly, I need to do something different.   Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go totally off the rails in 2025. I wrote a little bit, I exercised fairly regularly, and I mostly ate sensibly. I just didn’t do any in the volume or with the regularity I hoped I wou

One thing I’ve really learned from knowing so many authors is that luck plays a big part in getting published. You submit exactly what the publishing house is looking for at the right time, you bump into that agent at a conference when they are in the market for new authors, you tap into the zeitgeist at just the right moment. Sure, you have to write an engaging story that is a good read, but there are millions of those out there without a home. Luck is the final bit of magic

I always say that I’m only scared of two things; doctors and dentists. For a person who spends a lot of time in the world of sci fi, horror and paranormal fiction, they seem like pretty pedestrian and boring things to be afraid of. But recently I have realised there is a third thing to add to that list... Failure.   It’s no secret that for the last four or five years I haven’t written much. I’ve tried to blame that on everything from work stress to perimenopause. The big hiat

I was recently asked to be a judge for a short story competition. Despite my full-blown imposter syndrome, I accepted the invitation as part of my ‘doing something differently in 2024’ mantra. Having entered several competitions over the years, I was keen to see the other side.   Let me start by saying that there are some great writers out there. Even the stories that weren’t in the running for the top 5 were still entertaining and swept me up in their storylines. It’s terrib

I definitely owe Doug a coffee. Instead of joining my pity party about no-one reading my writing, Doug pointed out the bleedingly obvious; I don’t tell anyone about it. Apparently, I haven’t posted on my Facebook, Insta or Twitter accounts about my blog and website. I was somehow expecting the universe to just magically funnel readers to my site.   I have to confess, I rely on the universe to do a lot of things for me; give me story ideas, find my true love, direct traffic to

I haven’t worked on my short story for just over two months. It is sitting at 2,222 words exactly. The numbers-weirdo in me likes that figure, perhaps that’s why I left it there? Or perhaps I know I’m butchering the story and I don’t want to keep inflicting more damage?   I can’t even bring myself to open it and read it. I can watch the movie of the story in my brain at will, and it is great in the fully immersive experience of my imagination. But the written version is like