How important are our memories? No, not our ability to remember – I know this becomes an issue with the passing of years – I’m talking about all those precious memories stored up inside each and every one of us. Some will be exciting, happy, bubbling, while others will be filled with other emotions, sadness, loneliness, perhaps ever fear. But I think our survival instinct allows us to hold tight to the good memories and often lets us put … Continue reading
Me and gardening have never shared any affinity. In fact, for me, gardening isn’t even just a chore. It’s something to be avoided at all costs. I run a mile to avoid any gardening work. Gardening should be in my blood. My mother was a terrific gardener. In her later years, probably the last forty of her life, she would spend most of her daylight hours poking around in the garden. When I was a kid, our vegetable garden wasn’t … Continue reading
Learning to self-publish my stories has been my intent for a couple of years now. But with Covid and lockdowns and a general slump in my interest in anything writing, my research has been very spasmodic. But I now have a resurgence of interest and determination. If the three books I regained my rights to are ever going to see the light of day again, learning to self-publish, and understand all that involves, is essential. For a procrastinator like myself, … Continue reading
It’s that time of year for our annual fun reunion. These reunions began fifteen years ago. After the death of a friend, some of my husband’s Navy intake pledged to meet once a year. The alternative appeared to be meeting at funerals. So we take turns to organise an event. Every Feb/Mar we travel from around the North Island to somewhere and spend a weekend together. Always a long-anticipated and fun reunion. For this year’s reunion, we congregated at Ohope … Continue reading
To share the joy of writing with others is something I get such a buzz out of doing. To see a person understand playing with words and creating a story is exciting. I love the enthusiasm that lights up in them. Whether the story is short or long doesn’t matter. Nor does the genre. Writing and developing an imaginary world is fun. That’s not to say it might be hard work too. Serious writing is not suited to everyone. But … Continue reading
Come in and meet Ben, the husband in my latest story “Marriage at Risk”. I realised something immediately I decided the role Ben would play in this story. He was going to appear less than heroic. After all, we know in a romance our heroes have to be the biggest and the best of all things. And here I was planning on writing a story with the hero about to ditch his wife and kids on the first page. I … Continue reading
The idea of jetboating sends an immediate rush of adrenaline through me. I’ve never been a particularly adventurous person. The idea of bungy jumping or bridge swinging fills me with a sickening sense of vertigo. I don’t hanker to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane, or fly though the air attached to a few thin cords. But jetboating? Now there’s a thrill I can enjoy. I found the Wairaurahiri River jet boat service while surfing the net prior to … Continue reading
A history of my Shetland roots arrived in the mail recently. A cousin sent me a copy of “The Sandness Story” compiled by the Sandness History Group. It tells the history of the small town of Sandness, where my great grandmother originated. I felt like I waited for weeks for it to travel across the world. Perhaps not as long as the ship carrying my ancestors took to get to New Zealand but when I was excited to read it, … Continue reading
Is researching necessary for the completion of a good story? Yes! But I guess the genre one writes largely dictates how deeply that research has to be. Along with the level of knowledge a writer has about any particular subject. Some writers may avoid researching prior to or during their writing. Others may spend a huge time perfecting the knowledge they wish to share. I admit to being lazy regarding research. The need isn’t so great because I write contemporary. … Continue reading
In my new story “Marriage at Risk” Alex Newton is the female lead. I hesitate to name her or her husband as the protagonist or antagonist as they both fit either definition. I’ve found a basic definition of these words. The protagonist is the main character, often the hero. The antagonist is the character who opposes the protagonist, often a villain. In “Marriage at Risk” I haven’t written either character to be the “main” and they are definitely both opposing … Continue reading