Every now and then I give in to the hankering to grow something edible -- knowing full well I'll abandon it to its own devices. No watering. No fertilisation. I'm shocking. Several years ago I succumbed to the purchase of two columnar apple trees. They're supposed to grow directly up and stay compact for small … Continue reading Apples for birds and butterflies
Today I came across an article on Daily Life that discusses how female authors should consider male -- or at least gender neutral -- pseudonyms if they want to have a higher likelihood of being a) published, b) reviewed, c) read by men. This may or may not be true... but what makes me feel … Continue reading Women adopting male noms: When will we be past this?
Our DM is trying to kill us. No matter where we go, what we do, death lurks around every corner. In the last two sessions since I've chronicled, we've battled giant beetles, a massive wolf, multiple orcs and goblins, enormous crocodiles, dog-sized venomous spiders, and scary vampire bats that sucked our constitution points away... And … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Doors and a Giant Staircase
Finally it is my turn to play The Next Big Thing and I'm a little bit excited. I was first tagged way back in November by Siri Paulson, but being in the middle of NaNoWriMo at that stage, I put it on hold. Then Sherryl Clark approached me in December and I couldn't see the … Continue reading The Next Big Thing – My Turn
I am really looking forward to 2013. I have no idea why the arbitrary transition from one year to the next should mean anything, but it does, and I always find myself identifying new challenges and revising goals (once I'm done reflecting on the year that was)... Often my plans for a new year involve a scrambling … Continue reading 2013 is here — let’s get to it!
I 'read' something like 30 books in 2012 (as far as I can remember). This isn't a huge total, but it's quite a few more than I suspected. 'Not reading' was one of my huge frustrations last year -- I couldn't seem to fit it in! Thank all the gods for audiobooks. Around two-thirds of … Continue reading What I read in 2012
All is quiet, calm. And then the clatter-scramble of little puppy feet comes as Buddy tears across the living room floor in chase of a ball, or a rag-toy. The sound makes me smile. Puppies are well known to be adorable and Buddy is no exception. He's a miniature Schnauzer, currently about three months old, … Continue reading The clatter-scramble of puppy feet
Last year I made a single New Year's Resolution: finish a first draft of the novel I've been working on. Hmm. I did make substantial progress on it though. In fact I'm fairly certain I wrote the most number of words I've ever achieved in a calendar year. So, although I didn't precisely finish it, … Continue reading Recap on a year of Word Wrangling
The Hobbit movie (part 1 -- An Unexpected Journey) has finally arrived. Given my love of the three Lord of the Rings movies, I have looked forward to this day with excitement and some trepidation -- could the dramatisation of this humble book possibly live up to the magnificence of LOTR? And what's with stretching it … Continue reading Thoughts on The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
I remembered something this week. Something significant. It happened on Christmas Eve, when I unexpectedly found myself singing Christmas carols in church. I love singing Christmas carols at any time -- possibly because they're among the few songs for which I can remember the lyrics. But when I found myself in the midst of a … Continue reading Remembering song
Ellen Gregory 