One of the things I love about travelling is visiting sites that provide a glimpse into how people used to live. I think the oldest site I've ever visited is Skara Brae, a neolithic settlement (3180-2500 BC) on Scotland's Orkney Isles. But more recently I visited Grimspound, a late bronze-age village (~1300 BC) on Dartmoor … Continue reading INSIDE an ancient bronze-age village
So. Life after Ash. It's time to meet my new D&D character, Kae. (For those who weren't paying attention, Ash was killed dead a couple of weeks ago. Read the miserable account here.) Kae is also a female ranger with ties to the church of Emrys (god of the forest). She's young (21) and has … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Slaying in the rain
The main book I read during February was A companion to wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear -- a fantasy novel published in around 2008 (first of a trilogy). I found it a fascinating book, certainly memorable, in some ways familiar and in other ways not. It's about a youth (Isolfr) who is tithed … Continue reading Book review: A companion to wolves
Today I'm participating in a blog hop about my writing process. I was tagged by the inspirational Liv Rancourt, who writes paranormal and romance, often at the same time. Her novel Forever and Ever, Amen is published by Crimson Romance and she has several other novels in the pipeline. (Read about Liv's writing process here.) … Continue reading Blog hop: My writing process
For the past two months I've been on a self-imposed writing hiatus - partly to let my completed first draft rest a bit, partly to reassert control over the other half of my life. But now, this weekend, in a glorious writing retreat at Phillip Island, I'm allowing myself to look at the WIP again. … Continue reading Time to tackle that WIP again
Ash was a plainswoman, hailing from a remote village in the north. She trained as a ranger and loved the outdoors, but her life was calm and ordinary until a clan of goblins attacked her village and stole a sacred artifact. This caused her and her friend Alix to journey into the mountains in pursuit, … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Vale Ash
I'm rather fond of telling stories... but telling a story in three photos is a different challenge -- and also happens to be this week's theme for the WordPress weekly photo challenge. So today I'm going to tell you a story about the magnificant Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain -- one of the highlights of … Continue reading Three-picture story of Roman aqueduct
Bah! Dog. At least I think it's a dog. Smelly, yappy, panting thing. Here. In my house. On my couch. Polluting my garden. Drinking my water. EATING MY FOOD. It came on Tuesday. Its name is Buddy. It -- oh, all right, he -- has completely taken over the house. His stuff is everywhere, all … Continue reading Diary of a Devilcat: Canine invasion
I haven't come up with many 'I' words to do with fantasy, but IMAGINATION must be one of the big ones. Imagination -- the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. Fantasy comes in many guises -- but no matter whether you're talking … Continue reading A-Z of fantasy: I is for Imagination
Having finished the first draft of the novel I was working on, I've been taking a break from fiction writing during January and February... partly to get some perspective on the draft before I revise, and partly to focus on my other career for a bit. The plan is to balance both careers, of course. I'm … Continue reading Withdrawal and wishful thinking
Ellen Gregory 