Last Saturday, over our usual morning coffee, my husband told me about an entrepreneur he’d been listening to on YouTube who was talking about the AI revolution-to-come. According to this entrepreneur, AI was going to be as disruptive to the internet/commerce as the printing press had been to society all those centuries ago. This entrepreneur […]
I am not a machine. (Some thoughts on AI and creativity.) Read More »
As with my writing, and art, my reading is fairly eclectic so below you’ll find eight books of various genres from among the two dozen I read last year. These eight books really did something to me – they made me think in different ways, or cry with happiness, or unsettle me with just how
My 8 favourite reads of 2023 Read More »
Last month saw the publication of my water-themed dark fantasy micro collection, Waterlore, by the ever-excellent Black Shuck Books. As Steve Shaw, the publisher, tends to publish these nifty collections in pairs, Waterlore was paired with The End by Kayleigh Dobbs, which was lucky for me because I got to read The End early and
Q&As with Kayleigh Dobbs, Priya Sharma and Steve Shaw Read More »
It struck me the other day that my November this year will be “bookended” by two book launches, and as this isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence, I thought it worth writing about. The first event was the launch of my debut short story collection Umbilical at Five Leaves Bookshop in my home town of Nottingham,
Umbilical and Waterlore – bookending November Read More »
Imagine going into your local Waterstones and browsing the nearest tables of books. What would you likely see on display? The latest Colleen Hoover or James Patterson? Lead titles from traditional publishers who have been singled out for success by Richard and Judy? The novels that made the Booker shortlist? A memoir by a celebrity?
Short stories: why read them? Why write them? Why analyse them? Read More »
Earlier this month, on the 17 March 2023, my wonderful father-in-law, Dr Laurence Bellamy, died. His death wasn’t completely unexpected – he’d been seriously ill for the past six weeks or so – but, still, it was a shock. A steady and supportive constant in my life had suddenly gone. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been thinking a
On loss and the language of loss Read More »
A part of me thinks it would be a good idea to record what I read during the year. Another part of me, the part that always rebels against any kind of straitjacketing, says NO! In the end, though, a lack of time settles the argument and so there is no comprehensive record of what
My 8 most life-enriching books of 2022 Read More »
Just the other week, Noel Chidwick and Mark Toner, the co-founders of Shoreline of Infinity, an SF magazine which is run from Edinburgh, announced that they’d be “stepping off the Shoreline of Infinity Spaceship” so that they could spend more time on their own creative projects and with their families. After the announcement, there was
So long Shoreline, and thanks for all the fish! Read More »
Back in 2018 I wrote a post about my daughter’s time at primary school coming to an end. It felt like a huge deal at the time, but now that she’s about to go into Year 11 it feels as though she’s an old hand at this secondary school business! However, last month my youngest
The End of (Another) Era Read More »
Although there are many articles that answer the question, ‘What is horror?’ (this post by Brian J. Showers is particularly insightful), I thought I’d add my thoughts to the mix since it wasn’t all that long ago I was saying I didn’t like horror. So what made me change my mind? Being a highly sensitive
What is horror? A few thoughts from someone new to reading horror. Read More »