Category: On Writing

  • Writing prompts

    Do They Work? A while ago, I visited a prompt generator online and, among several incentives, got: The poisoned Rose and The Mysterious Yacht. I’ve forgotten the rest. Couldn’t find anything else that was remotely interesting. It made me wonder if some of these sites are condescending and expect that you’re unable to think for…

  • More Reviews

    Lally Brown, The Countess, Napoleon, and St Helena Fact and Fiction Mixed with Memoirs ‘The Countess, Napoleon, and St Helena’ is a strong minestrone. This kind of soup is a good opportunity to get rid of scraps and it can make a delicious dish. The question is if it works in literature. Honestly, I’m not…

  • My First Reviews 2022

    Val Penny, The First Cut (Jane Renwick Series) A Case Hanging on the Perpetrator’s DNA Jane Renwick, born Smith, carries a troubling childhood with her but has pulled herself out of trouble and achieved a good life. She’s found friends and colleagues, including her wife Rachel Anderson, at her job as DC in Glasgow and…

  • Artistic Freedom?

    Is it up to you? ` You never know when a project is ready to publish, but it will be ready at the right moment. It is finished – when edited and checked through and revised many times – and not a moment before. It will be ready, and that’s what counts. With research and…

  • My Last Reviews of 2021

    Debi Ennis Binder, Summerbird Rises Fairy-Tale with Bold and Strange Creatures Summerbird Asii lives in a village where magic is banned, and it is dangerous to know herb lore. Castle and village guards scour the streets in search of offenders. Those caught will suffer vicious punishment. Nobody knows who lives in the castle menacing the…

  • Reviews Revue

    Sue Barnard, The Missing Years, Heathcliff Inspired Historical Fiction Despised by his beloved Catherine, uneducated Heathcliff goes to Liverpool. There he finds his way to riches and achieves knowledge of the world. In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is an almost diabolical enigma. No doubt, he is a tempting subject to analyse in literary form. No doubt,…

  • Newest Reviews

    Kevin Ansbro, The Fish That Climbed a Tree Literary Tour de Force of Magical Realism Henry Drummond is a man that proves that every notion can be turned upside down. How? He is born with a manly endowment that hints at the original Priapus but has a character and an integrity that, in Greek sculpture,…

  • Review Update

    David Toft, A Gift of Butterflies Paranormal Thriller Four young people venture into the woods at night. When they wake up, they have received a gift – or is it a curse? A Gift of Butterflies focuses on Mark Aldridge and Susie Philips and the ordeal they must face. The butterfly gift forced on them…

  • Review Segment

    Joseph Ferguson, Shillelagh Law Questions of Life and Death. Snakes and Snails and Puppy-dog Tails – growing up agonies   Rock and Roll – a rock-climbing extravaganza                                                                          Incident on a Boring Afternoon – a troubling garage-door                            My Favorite Christmas Tree – teenage pranks                                  Shillelagh Law – an Irish misfit                                                                            Morpheus and the Mayor – politicians and…

  • New Reviews

    JG MacLeod, Abalone Domestic Violence with a Vengeance Liz is a reticent and shy girl who manages to be a good student regardless of her difficult home life.  James is an older boy with apparent learning difficulties. Possibly, his problems are down to a lack of interest in getting an education as he seems reckless…