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
It was only a few weeks ago I was reading about the origins of the word SELFIE, which has recently made it into the lexicons (or nearly) as an official word -- meaning, of course, to take a picture of one's self with one's camera... And now here we are with SELFIE as the theme … Continue reading Selfie (with bronze-age village and purple hair)
It's been a while, so I thought I'd resume the tale of my 1993 journey through Greece. We pick up our intrepid travellers in the ancient town of Corinth with only a handful of days left in the country... (The Travelling in the 90s series of posts features extracts from my original travel journal with … Continue reading Travelling in the 90s – Mycenae, Mykonos and Delos
I've finished reading three fantasy novels this month -- that's much more like it! The slight drawback to this has been the wrecking of my sleep patterns. In my determination to find books to immerse myself in, I forgot the part where this means I keep reading to 3 or 4 or 5am... which in … Continue reading Three fantasy books by Aussie women for January
ASH My eyes feel as though they are clamped shut, but I force them open. At first the light is dazzling, but gradually the puckered faces of my companions resolve themselves. They are leaning over me, all four of them. Above is a dappled canopy of trees. The forest. Yes. I remember. The pressure in … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: In which Ash loses part of her soul and gains a wolf
Last October I took this photo in Exeter UK during our 'wall walk' -- a self-guided journey along the ancient Roman/medieval wall that once ringed the town, but which now meaders through the central city area. I love the composition of this image, which is almost exactly in thirds. It's a juxtaposition of crisp, living, … Continue reading Juxtaposition
Says Chenna the devilcat: Capricious. That's what she called me! Recalcitrant too. Like there are rules I'm supposed to be following. Where, may I ask, does it say I have to sleep in the same place all the time? Is there some lodging contract I signed? (No!) Is there a notice on the wall? (No!) … Continue reading Diary of a Devilcat: I’ll sleep where I damn well want
It’s been good to finally get my teeth into some contemporary epic fantasy in the form of Australian author Jo Spurrier's Winter be my shield (Children of the Black Sun - Book 1). From the very start this novel gripped me in its icy vices and – even if perhaps it faded a little in the … Continue reading Book Review: Winter be my shield
Ellen Gregory 