Goodness, Kindness and Love Amidst Tragedy: Let Your Light Shine in the World

From out of the mouths of children… Last week I took part in “Experience Church”, a special event for children in St Mark’s Church, Leamington Spa.   The event was organised by Ros Davies our lovely and energetic Children and Family Worker. 130 Brownies and Guides toured four “stations” in our church, in groups ofContinue reading “Goodness, Kindness and Love Amidst Tragedy: Let Your Light Shine in the World”

People of Inspiration Part 8: Dan and Phillipa Munday, Helping the People of Nepal

Today’s post is number 8 in my series People of Inspiration (see below for links to my other posts in the series). Today I am inspired by two people who represent loving service to others, regardless of any artificial boundary that divides the people of this world. Dan and Phillipa Munday are two mission partners fromContinue reading “People of Inspiration Part 8: Dan and Phillipa Munday, Helping the People of Nepal”

What the Camp Comedian Has To Say to the Creative Writer

I love camp, on-the-cusp comedians who subvert gender stereotypes. A good example is Julian Clary who is above all a genius with words – playful, teasing, fluid, quixotic, suggestive, subversive – and he has an acute sense of irony. His camp public persona in itself subverts what I believe may lie much deeper in him,Continue reading “What the Camp Comedian Has To Say to the Creative Writer”

Angels and Supernatural Experiences: Book Review

Angel on My Shoulder: Inspiring True Stories from the Other Side by Theresa Cheung My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of those books where you feel the title and cover image give a misleading idea of the contents. An Angel on My Shoulder was passed on to me and I admit fromContinue reading “Angels and Supernatural Experiences: Book Review”

Staying Focused as a Writer: Learning From Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy, the author of the novel widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest, War and Peace,  not only crafted characters we love and  care about – Pierre, Natasha, Anna Karenina, and many others – but was also fond of sideways excursions into his theory of history during the course of a novel. SoContinue reading “Staying Focused as a Writer: Learning From Leo Tolstoy”

The Gatiss/Moffatt Post-StoryTelling World of Sherlock

We’re familiar with the phrase postmodern and more recently with the notion of post-truth. But now I think, for writers, it is true that there is a post-storytelling phenomenon – which moves beyond and over-turns current rules. And it’s illustrated in the scripts that Steven Moffatt  and Mark Gatiss create for their TV drama seriesContinue reading “The Gatiss/Moffatt Post-StoryTelling World of Sherlock”

Book Signings in Warwickshire this Christmas

I shall be out and about in Warwickshire signing copies of my two thriller suspense novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit at three Christmas Fairs in the next few weeks: Kingsley School Hall Beauchamp Ave Leamington Spa CV32 5RD 11am-2pm Saturday 26th November   Princethorpe College Princethorpe nr Rugby CV23 9PX 2-4.20pm  Sunday 27th November and KingContinue reading “Book Signings in Warwickshire this Christmas”

Beatles Shine with Passion and Energy in New Documentary “8 Days a Week: the Touring Years”

How young, innocent, and naive they were, aged in their early twenties: cheeky and endearing. As Paul McCartney puts it, “At the beginning it was all very simple. By the end it had become very complicated.” And in the Beatles new documentary “8 Days a Week: The Touring Years” we saw a transformation rather similarContinue reading “Beatles Shine with Passion and Energy in New Documentary “8 Days a Week: the Touring Years””

What does Eadfrith, artist-scribe of the Lindisfarne Gospels, have to teach creative writers and artists today?

Nothing much, you may think – because Eadfrith was a seventh century monk in a monastery on an island, and we live in the fast, materialistic, time-pressured world of 2016. I’ve just spent three days on Lindisfarne (otherwise known as Holy Island), just off the Northumberland coast, where Eadfrith sat in the monastery scriptorium and scribedContinue reading “What does Eadfrith, artist-scribe of the Lindisfarne Gospels, have to teach creative writers and artists today?”

Heatwave Inspiration – The View From Broadway Tower in Bright Sunshine

What do you do in a heatwave? We headed for the Cotwolds and one of our favourite places, Broadway Tower. The last time I was there a cold gusty wind and a heavy damp mist greeted us. But on this visit, the sun blazed out of an azure sky,   and it was an idealContinue reading “Heatwave Inspiration – The View From Broadway Tower in Bright Sunshine”