About ten years ago I visited Scotland for the second time. I took a six day small group tour right around the country, which included a day in the Orkney Isles. The neolithic village of Skara Brae still has to be one of the most remarkable sites I've ever visited. Talk about endurance. The remains … Continue reading Endurance: Ring of Brodgar
It's all happening in our Dungeons and Dragons game at the moment. All. Happening. The previous two posts gave alternate accounts of how we first found and then lost the Left Eye of Varrien (after two and a half years of searching!). The first account was from Zillah (my ranger) and then Calwyn (mage), both … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: What was lost is now found
There's a book meme doing the social media rounds and I've decided to devote a blog post to my response. Why not? Just pick 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. They don't have to be classics, they don't even have to be that good. They just have to have made an … Continue reading Book meme: 10 most memorable
I like to think of myself as adventurous. It's probably one of the reasons I love fantasy so much -- with its quests and great sweeping landscapes. And it's definitely what drives me when I travel. The above photo epitomises adventure for me -- I'm sharing for the weekly photo challenge. Last year my desire … Continue reading Adventure in the rain
And now for more Travelling in the 90s -- tripping back in time to 1994 and my road trip around the UK. Last installment from my travel journal saw us in Scotland and we've now come south again to hang out with family friends on a quaint little farm near Lincoln in northern England... [Monday … Continue reading Travelling in the 90s: cool places like Sherwood Forest, York, moors
Today Calwyn, rat-fearing magic-user and master strategist, is my guest-blogger extraordinaire. Calwyn is the only living character of our original D&D party (not counting the first group of dunces who got themselves killed all together in our second session), and as such holds all the memories of past adventures and accumulated clues about the Eye … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: The (left) Eye of Varrien
I talk a lot about how much I enjoy the novel revision process. And I really do. I love building the story up and out and working in the detail, weaving the strands together, making them sing. As with nailing a well-tuned harmony, there's a thrill in getting it right. But... sometimes it can be … Continue reading Monday Journal: Revision rumblings
ZILLAH After our encounter with the wraith last evening, we are solemn and wary as we break camp in the dim shadows of dawn. We know what we are about do is dangerous, but all signs indicate the Eye of Varrien (or one of them, at least) lies within the barrow yonder... and to retrieve … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: In the depths of the barrow is a wurm and an Eye
I make no secret of the fact that I drink a lot of coffee. And, since I live in Melbourne, why wouldn't I? Not only are we the world's most livable city (for the fourth year in a row), we have the BEST coffee. My signature beverage is a large (double shot) skim flat white … Continue reading Nothing beats a Melbourne coffee (or an Australian red)
I've said this before and I'll say it again: my creativity well needs refilling on a regular basis. Sometimes it's easy to focus on producing all the time -- more words, more efficiency, more discipline, more more more. It's easy to forget to stop and reflect and breathe in life, embrace experiences, learn new things. … Continue reading Songweaving on retreat
Ellen Gregory 