I’ve been blogging for 4 years now and I think it’s safe to say that my blog has made very little impact (if any) on the blogging world. The voice of my ego (which happens to sound a lot like the voice of Ichabod Muffin) is incredulous and says: What! How can the world NOT […]
Why I blog, why I read (and don’t read) others’ blogs, and a giveaway. Read More »
Tomorrow my children will be going back to school. I will, no doubt, be experiencing a mix of emotions as I do the school run: sadness (I want to have more fun with them!), worry (will they get on okay in their new year?) and a touch of relief (I desperately need some
Ice cream, and other good things that come to an end Read More »
I’m not particularly worried about getting older, but there’s something about the number 40 that doesn’t particularly appeal to me. You see, in my quirky little overthinking brain, numbers have personalities. 5 is probably my favourite number because it’s a little bit curvy but it also has some straight bits. I consider it a
Turning 40 – some reflections Read More »
Just the other day I officially signed off The Forgotten and the Fantastical 2 with the printers. I am relieved. Very relieved. Ridiculously, I forgot how much energy, time and focus it takes to put a book like this together. With 17 stories by 17 writers, internal illustrations by Emma Howitt to incorporate and a
The Editor (and creative contributor) to Her Book Read More »
I’ve been thinking about grief a lot recently. When I begin to type ‘Marija Smits’ into my Google search bar one of the suggestions Google comes up with is ‘Marija Smits grief’. Strange. Only it isn’t, I guess, because I’ve written about grief in the past and sometimes I try to search online for my
Grief, and why it’s useful to grieve Read More »
I began this blog 3 years ago and I’m proud to say that despite all the busyness of home and work life I’ve managed to keep it going. Yes, I’ve only ever posted about once a month but keeping to a manageable writing target has been helpful and ensured that the blog isn’t a burden.
Three year blogging anniversary and a giveaway Read More »
As it seems to have been an age since I last blogged (though I’m still just about managing the once-a-month blog post!) I thought I’d go with a list to help me put into words all the big things that have been happening around here. HOLIDAYS Our one week away to Wales at the
On our summer holiday, reading, writing and having an epiphany Read More »
Welcome to the June 2015 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Talking to Yourself This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written letters to themselves. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the
Dear highly sensitive soul Read More »
I recently finished editing the manuscript of my first novel, which I started writing about 10 years ago. At this moment in time, my greatest feeling is that of relief. Yes, the MS needs to be given to my favourite editor (aka my wonderful husband) for feedback and, no doubt, it will need further editing
First novel thoughts Read More »
Crumbs. Where to start? Really, I should have written this post about a month ago when I was in the thick of writing a children’s chapter book, but of course work and family (and illness) kept me pretty busy, and every spare moment was taken up by actually writing the book rather than blogging
Crumbs. Or, the writer as lover… Read More »