Hiatus

It's no shock that I haven't been posting here very regularly, and while I'm sure most people either haven't noticed or don't particularly care either way - that sounds very self-pitying and I don't mean it to, I just know how many other blogs there are that are updated far more than mine! - I think it's only fair that I announce I'm going to be gone for a little while.

I moved to a new city for a new job in February, to a place where I know absolutely no one, and the move and the new job have taken up a lot of my time. Not only that, but I've been reading both more than I feel like I was last year and not as much as I'd like to be and, most importantly, I've been writing my own fiction far more regularly now that I have my own space and a desk where I can work.

I've fallen in love with writing fiction again, and at that same I've also fallen out of love with blogging. The worst thing I can possibly do is force myself to blog when my heart's not in it, so I'm going to go ahead and give myself a break from it. I love blogging and I love talking to other people about books, but my focus right now is on my own work and that means I'm in less of a mood to read lots and write lots of reviews.

That doesn't mean I'm not going to, this definitely isn't a permanent goodbye, but I'd rather let people know that I'm fine and that I'm going to return when I've fallen back in love with blogging than leave my blog to stagnate. I'll still be reading blogs and commenting on them when I get the time, but for now I'm going to focus on my own work and enjoy it! I'm taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo this month as I work on the first draft of a novella that's been bouncing around my head for a while now, and very recently some plot threads finally came together and I feel excited to work on it.

Until next time, ciao!

Upcoming Hiatus... Sort of!

As you can see above, I call myself a writer. I am a writer. Recently, however, I've found myself writing more blog posts than stories - in fact I've struggled with fiction since I finished my MA.

For any of you who don't know, in December 2014 I graduated with an MA in Creative Writing, a year in which I dedicated my time towards a 30,000 word portfolio with a 5,000 word reflective essay. I chose to work on a historical/speculative fiction novel involving witchcraft in Tudor England, and I really enjoyed it.

The MA was fantastic because we had two two-hour workshops each week in which we critiqued each other's work, and my MA group were an amazing source of support and encouragement. In the end my work paid off because I came out of my MA with a Distinction, but since then I haven't touched my novel (one of the main reasons being some big aspects of the plot are undergoing a major overhaul, so I need to pretty much rewrite a lot of the stuff I originally wrote anyway) and I've barely written any short fiction either.

As I'm sure you can imagine, this sucks. I love writing, and I hate how frustrated I become when I find it difficult to write. I have so many ideas, and then when I sit down to put them on paper it's like my brain leaks out of my ears. Also, let's be honest, I've also become a bit lazy since the completion of my MA. Because I no longer have a group to submit my work to I've found it more difficult to write, and I hate that; I should be writing purely for my own enjoyment, not because other people are going to read it, but I can't deny that knowing other people would be reading my work made me work my butt off to finish something even when I thought it sucked. Now if I think I'm writing something crap, I just let me convince myself it's crap and that I have no talent whatsoever and I might as well just quit while I'm ahead.

Not only that, but now that I'm working full time I have even less time to write. When you work eight hours a day five days a week, it becomes more difficult to dedicate your time to writing everything you want to write, reading everything you want to read, and then still trying to have a social life and me time somewhere in between. And I'm currently learning how to drive and applying for a PhD... I have a lot going on, though I know that's no excuse.

So no more! Because I am a writer, and at times I'm even a good writer, and I want to work at becoming a better writer. The only way to do that is through practice, so in August my blog is going to take a backseat.

That doesn't mean I won't be posting anything because I already have some things scheduled, and I like to write book reviews soon after finishing a book so my feelings are fresh in my mind. All this really means is that I won't be taking part in posts like Top Ten Tuesday or My Week in Books throughout August, and if I go the odd week without posting anything I'm not going to let that freak me out.

So my blog's not going to be dead because I don't like extremes. If I say 'I'm not going to touch my blog once throughout August!' all I'll be thinking about is my blog. What it means is that from this post on and throughout August I'll be a little quiet, but I hope you'll stick around! If you leave me a comment (please do, I love reading your comments) and I don't reply I'm not being rude. I will reply to you, even if it isn't straight away.

I've found a few anthologies currently looking for submissions and a couple of competitions I'd like to enter, and I have a whole pile of unfinished short stories that I want to finish. I want to get more of my work out there and continue to build up my writing portfolio.

So yeah. This is just a little note to say I may be quieter than usual during August and I promise I'm not ignoring you. I'm just going to take some time to get myself back into the swing of writing regularly, and get some of these stories finished!

Monthly Wrap-Up | March 2015

I'm trying out something a little different today! Since I started blogging I've pretty much always done reading wrap-ups at the end of each month to share what I read that month and what I thought of the things I read. I still want to do that, but then I thought I might broaden it out and just talk about my month in general in the hopes of making my wrap-ups a little more personal.

Not only that, but I took part in the blog hop What's Up Wednesday until last week when the lovely hosts Jaime and Erin decided it was time for them to wind it down. I enjoyed talking about my writing progress and other more personal stuff during that blog hop, and now that it's over I want to continue to talk about it and what better way to do that than in a big monthly wrap-up?

So now, as well as sharing with you what I read each month, I'm also going to talk about things I've watched, things I've done and anything else in between!

(I'm also going to choose a different colour each month, because there are so many pretty colours out there. I think March is a very green month.)

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (4.5 Stars)

Reviewed here!

The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin (4 Stars)

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (4.5 Stars)

The Great God Pan and Other Stories by Arthur Machen (3 Stars)

Coraline by Neil Gaiman (4 Stars)

Reviewed here!

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (5 Stars)

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (5 Stars)

Reviewed here!

March ended up being a pretty good reading month for me. I'm glad that I've been able to consistently read, except for the odd couple of days, since my great reading start to the year in January. Signal to Noise was definitely the highlight of the month for me, and, alongside Rat Queens, has been my best read of the year so far. I absolutely loved it, and it's definitely earned itself a place on my favourite books list.

There are a few books I'm in the middle of I haven't gotten around to finishing yet, but I'm hoping to finish them in April!

Relic by Renee Collins

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

I'm much more likely to sit down and watch a film than I am to watch a TV show. There are some amazing TV shows out there, but I'm just really bad at watching TV; I have to work myself up to watching a new show because I really have to concentrate and I get bored very easily. If a show doesn't impress me within the first ten minutes then the likelihood is I'll turn it off. I'm very fussy.

I managed to watch quite a bit this month, though, including the entire first season of Penny Dreadful. Congratulations, Penny Dreadful, on keeping me interested for the entire season! I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with season 2. I think I'm a little bit in love with Ethan Chandler.

I also watched the first episode of 12 Monkeys and the first episode of Vikings, but neither of them left me feeling particularly interested. I'm much more likely to go back to Vikings, I've certainly heard amazing things about it as the series progresses, but I gave up on 12 Monkeys. I just thought it was rubbish.
Mockingjay: Part 1 is out on DVD! I treated myself to a copy and watched it for the first time since I saw it in the cinema, and I still like it. I know a lot of people really dislike Mockingjay, but I found the whole aspect of making propaganda and fighting a war with words - "moves and countermoves" - really interesting. I think Francis Lawrence is fantastic.

I also watched the film adaptation of If I Stay for the very time this month and really enjoyed it - I thought it was a really good adaptation. I didn't cry while reading the book, but the scene in the film between Mia and her grandfather in the hospital did make me tear up. Chloe Grace Moretz did a good job as Mia, too.

And on Sunday I went to see the new Cinderella film. I didn't love it - I didn't think it'd be possible for something to be too Disney, but this film was so twee I'm pretty sure I came out of it with diabetes. Or maybe that was just all the popcorn - but I did love the way it looked. The colours and the costumes were gorgeous; I want basically everything Cate Blanchett wore. Plus Richard Madden was a very adorable Prince; it was nice to see him fleshed out a little more, because so often the Prince in Cinderella is just a generic Prince Charming figure. Was he an entirely original character? No. Was he a cutie pie? Hell yes.

And it was nice to see him attend a wedding and live through it.

Saw some upcoming films that look pretty cool, too; there's one coming out about the Queen and her sister, the late Princess Margaret, in their youth who are allowed out for one night with a pair of chaperones. It looks like a lot of fun! There's also an upcoming adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd which looks lovely. I've never read it - I'm not the biggest fan of Thomas Hardy - but I would like to see that.

Pan also looks amazing, but I really don't want to see a film where Tiger Lily has been whitewashed.

Game of Thrones is back in April - I wonder who they're going to kill this time...

Work's starting to get a little busier - for any of you who don't know but are curious, I work at an independent publishers in Wales! - but I'd rather have plenty to do than nothing at all! I'm pretty much in charge of the blog now, and it's a lot of fun being able to write blog posts and get paid to do it, not to mention the fact that I'm also basically getting paid to use social media!

Last Friday I met up with a friend of mine who was on my MA course and who has recently moved down to South Wales. I've talked about this a little bit on my blog before - usually in my What's Up Wednesday posts - but I'm living back with my parents after finishing my MA in October until I'm more firmly on my feet. The only real problem is my parents live in South Wales, and all my friends live in the north of England. Needless to say, I've been pretty lonely since I moved back home, although I've met some great people through work.

I went round to her lovely new house and also met another friends of hers, who I'd actually already met, just not in person, because last year I did a little proofreading for her feminist Harry Potter magazine, Sonorus. Yes, this lady has a feminist Harry Potter magazine - and they're currently open for submissions!

We had a really fun evening involving pizza, dragons and Victorian lesbians. It was so nice to just be in the presence of one of my friends again, because I really miss them.

I may also be taking driving lessons again soon. I know what you're all probably thinking: 'you're 23 and you can't drive?' but the thought of getting behind the wheel of a car again terrifies me. I took lessons while I was in sixth form - I even took a driving test! - but unfortunately I failed, and then before I could take another one I was off to uni. Now I'm craving the independence that will come with being able to drive myself anywhere, but I'm still really scared. I have to stop letting fear hold me back, though.

Oh and, on a final note, my story 'Coffee Break' was published on Flash Fiction Magazine this month! Yay!

What did you get up to in March?

What's Up Wednesday! | 25/03/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've finished Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and it's definitely a new favourite of mine. I just loved it. I reviewed it here if you're interested in my thoughts on it!

I'm still reading Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and getting shocked beyond belief at some of the twists and turns, and I also started Dangerous Women Part I ed. by George R. R. Martin and Gardner R. Dozois, and then ended up putting it down after having to DNF Martin's novella. I've discovered I'm not a big fan of Martin's writing style, and the novella - 'The Princess and the Queen' - was so dull. I definitely want to return to the anthology, but it's a shame they decided to open it with such a boring story.

What I'm Writing

Y'know that short story I mentioned last week? Well there's a chance it's turning into a novella... 

Speaking of novellas, Twelfth Planet Press, who published Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, are currently accepting submissions for novellas. So if you have a completed story between 10,000-40,000 words that fits into the speculative fiction category, why not send it their way before March 31st?

Also my story 'Coffee Break' is being published on Flash Fiction Magazine today!

What Works For Me

Neil Gaiman? What are you doing in my falafel?

What Else Is New

Today is the very last WUW as the lovely hosts Jaime and Erin have made the decision to wind it down, because that's what's best for them. I'm sad to see WUW go - I've always found these posts a lot of fun and I've met so many wonderful people I wouldn't have otherwise met - but perhaps in their absence I'll get a lot more writing done. ;)

Thanks Jaime and Erin! It's been great!

What's Up Wednesday! | 18/03/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

I've read Coraline by Neil Gaiman and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson since last week - I haven't been reading very frequently recently, which isn't good when I'm in the middle of hosting a reading challenge!

I'd like to finish at least one of the novels I'm in the middle of this week, and I'm also aiming to read Fingersmith  by Sarah Waters for Week 3 of my Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge, where this week's challenge is to read a book with an LGBT protagonist.

What I'm Writing

Short stories! A little while ago I mentioned a new character who'd started speaking to me, a biracial dragon whose parents own a Chinese restaurant, and how, though she was telling me plenty of things to write down, I couldn't think of a story for her. Now that's changed! I'm finally working on a short story involving her, and once it's written and edited I'm going to see if I can submit it for publication in a magazine somewhere.

Sadly I didn't get 'Piranha' finished in time to send it off for the Mslexia competition - I just ended up having one of those weeks where I couldn't catch a break no matter how hard I tried to set aside time to write. I'm still going to finish it, though, with the hope of publishing it elsewhere - apparently Lightspeed Magazine will be opening for submissions again in June, so I'd love to submit something then!

What Works For Me

Brushing myself off, and getting back up. Several times a year I slip into slumps where I don't write anything I'm happy with, and I wonder why I'm even trying when I'll never be as good as all the other writers out there. I think it's a common thing we all experience from time to time, but the trick is not to give in to those thoughts. Let yourself worry and be scared and get upset, but don't let those feelings overtake the enjoyment of writing. In fact if writing is starting to become something you dread rather than something you enjoy, I think that's a sign you need to take a little break to refresh your creative pallet!

What Else Is New

It was Mother's Day on Sunday here in the UK, and I got my Mum some new earrings and a teeny boxset of baking books which she loved! Also uncovered this old photograph from the day after I was born:

That's me when I was a day old! Along with my Mum and Dad, and their early '90s hair, and my big sisters Vickie (centre) and Becky (left). 

It's so funny looking at that photograph. There's grey in my Dad's hair now - in fact he's adamant it was living with four women that turned him grey in the first place. Oh, and if you're wondering what's in the glass, it's Lucozade. My Mum's always had a thing for energy drinks, and she definitely needed one then!

What's new with you?

The Versatile Blogger Award!

I was nominated by Mallory @ The Local Muse for the Versatile Blogger Award - thanks Mallory!

Rules:

1. Nominate 15 other bloggers relatively new to blogging.

2. Let the bloggers know that you've nominated them.

3. Share ten random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

I'm going to be very naughty and not nominate anyone specific because I'm lazy I honestly don't think I know 15 relatively new bloggers, which means I need to discover some new bloggers! So if you want to do this then consider yourself nominated!

1. I've broken four bones, but I've never dislocated anything and I hope I never do.
2. I'd love to one day work as a staff writer for a magazine like SciFiNow.
3. I loathe indecisiveness. Especially when it comes from myself.
4. I deeply regret never taking any music lessons while I was at school. In fact I feel like I regret a few too many things for someone who's only 23.
5. I'm bad at watching TV.
6. Disney's Beauty and the Beast is my favourite film of all time.
7. I'd like to pass my driving test this year, even though the thought of getting behind the wheel of a car terrifies me.
8. I'm going to see Imagine Dragons in November and I'm very excited!
9. One year I'd love to go to a Halloween party dressed as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, I just need to convince someone to dress up as Jack and go with me first!
10. Speaking of The Nightmare Before Christmas, I think it's thanks to watching films like that one, Hocus Pocus and Beetlejuice that made me interested in spooky stories from a very early age...

Thanks again for the nomination, Mallory!

What's Up Wednesday! | 11/03/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've read The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin, Through the Woods by Emily Carroll and The Great God Pan, The Shining Pyramid and The White People by Arthur Machen.

I'm still reading Relic by Renee Collins, Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland - not because any of them are boring, but just because I've found myself with barely any time to read, still not entirely sure why, so I've been reading shorter reads in between. I also started Kindred by Octavia E. Butler which I'm reading for Week 2 of my Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge.

What I'm Writing

I'm still working on my short story 'Piranha' for the Mslexia Short Story Competition, and I've also started writing another short story, 'Stars Over Talsarn', which is set in 16th century Wales. I've been really into short story writing the past few months, I think mainly because I want to get more of my work out there, and also because reading My True Love Gave to Me over Christmas has awakened my love for anthologies and the more short stories I read the more I want to write.

What Works For Me

Reading. I feel like I'm cheating because I've said this plenty of times, but reading other people's work really inspires and motivates me.

What Else Is New

The weather was gorgeous at the weekend, like spring is finally on its way, and on Saturday I went shopping. I bought some new shoes for the warmer weather - they're really cool - and I picked up a few paint samples. I want to redecorate my room, but I can't decide what colour I want my feature wall to be. It's very frustrating.

On Sunday I found out that one of my flash fiction stories, 'Coffee Break', will be up on Flash Fiction Magazine on the 25th March, so that's exciting! And tomorrow I'm off to a new writing and reading group. A friend of mine introduced me to this fantastic site called MeetUp where people can find groups and activities in their local area and meet new people. There don't seem to be that many groups down where I am - I keep getting recommendations for groups in Bristol. I live in South Wales, why the hell would I travel all the way to Bristol?! - but this group is fairly new, the meeting I'm going to is only their second one. I'm hoping to meet some new people. I miss my friends from uni a lot and it gets pretty lonely down here.

At the start of the week I was very sad to hear that IdeasTap will be closing. For those of you outside the UK, IdeasTap is a charity which focuses entirely on helping people in the arts. Every year they collaborate with Sky and offer £30,000 to three artists (that's each, not between them) so that for an entire year they can work on a project they're passionate about and not have to worry about how they're going to pay their rent or where their next meal is coming from. Many people also use the money to travel; if a writer decides to write a novel set in Africa, they can afford to go and do their research in Africa.

It's also fantastic for its articles on creativity and inspiration, as well as for the events and scholarships it promotes and the jobs it advertises. For people looking to get a job in the arts in the UK, it has a brilliant job search that allows you to look for arts jobs by area or salary or arts sector.

Basically it's an amazing charity and I'm gutted it's closing. I'm hoping someone will give it the funding it needs before June. #SaveIdeasTap

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 04/03/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

It's March! March!

What I'm Reading

Well this week is the first week of my Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge - and it's not too late to join in! - and the challenge this week is to read an alternate history book. So I'm going to finish Relic by Renee Collins, and then I'm hoping I'll still have time to read Temeraire by Naomi Novik.

Since last week I've also read The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen, a Victorian Gothic novella by a Welsh author, Fairest by Marissa Meyer, Ms. Marvel, Vol.1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, and I'm still reading Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland; I'm aiming to finish it soon so my review can go up on Friday after Donna very kindly sent me an ARC.

I'm also in the middle of Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which is fantastic so far!

What I'm Writing

Well last week I wrote a blog post for work titled 'Top 5 Tips for Getting a Job in Publishing' aimed particularly at students and recent grads, and I'm rather proud of it.

I've also been working on some other non-fiction stuff; I'm taking part in the A to Z Blogging Challenge for the first time this year, so I've been getting those posts ready, and I'm also working on a mini essay I'm hoping to submit to the next issue of Sonorus: Feminist Perspectives on Harry Potter titled 'Tonks: Manic Pixie Dream Girl or Body Positive Role Model?'

What can I say? Once a Potterhead, always a Potterhead.

I'm also working on a short story called 'Piranha' that I'm hoping to enter into the Mslexia Short Story Competition.

What Works For Me

Visit your own setting. If what you write is set on Earth, and it's not set in a fictional town or village, then visit that place. I don't think it's often that a writer will write about a place that they haven't at least seen some pretty decent pictures of, but when writing historical fiction it's often easy to assume that every Medieval/Early Modern/Regency/Victorian village/town looked the same when we know that's not the case. Even if you're writing something that's set back in 10th century Britain and there are no buildings left for you to examine, you can still go and see how the land lies: what the weather's like; whether the ground beneath your feet is boggy or firm; whether it rains a lot; whether crops would be easy to grow; whether the coast is nearby, therefore making it likely that your characters eat a lot of seafood and worry about Viking invaders more than the people inland.

There's a lot you can learn from visiting the right places, even if it's just giving you a feel for what it's like for your characters to live there!

What Else Is New

Last week I won a giveaway over on Twitter, and my favourite magazine, SciFiNow, ended up sending me a box of 11 books. I've never won anything before, but recently I've won three different giveaways - I must have hit a lucky streak!

Signal to Noise is one of the books I won, and I'm pretty pleased with that considering it only came out last month, and I also won copies of Parts II and III of the Dangerous Women anthologies, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner R. Dozois, and featuring work by authors like Diana Rowland, Diana Gabaldon, Sharon Kay Penman, Robin Hobb, Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch... Needless to say, I'm very pleased and I ordered myself Part I from Amazon so I can own the entire collection!

Other than that, not much has happened. An old school friend of mine had a baby on Monday which is so weird; I still feel like a 15 year old who's just pretending to be a grown up and there are people I knew at school getting married and having babies. I have a lot of respect for anyone who decides to have babies in their 20s. I'm way too selfish.

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 25/02/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

My reading habits have been a bit all over the place this last week; I've found myself dipping in and out of things rather than just focusing on one book.

I started Relic by Renee Collins, which is one of those stories with an amazing premise that just hasn't been executed to the best of its ability. It's set in the Wild West during the 19th century, where the fossils of long-extinct mythical and fantastical creatures can be mined for magic. That's a brilliant idea! But so far the way the story's written just isn't living up to the plot. I think Collins' imagination is fantastic, but in my opinion this book could have done with more editing and a few more drafts because for the most part it feels quite juvenile.

I also started Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire. Seanan McGuire is the real name of author Mira Grant, and I think we all know by now how much I love the Newsflesh trilogy. Rosemary and Rue is urban fantasy featuring faeries; I don't tend to read many books involving faeries, but I'm enjoying this one so far!

And this morning on the bus I started Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland. It's released on March 3rd and Donna very kindly sent me an ARC, so I want to read it and schedule the review for the release date. I've only read the first chapter so far, but I think I'm going to enjoy it!

What I'm Writing

I wrote a blurb for my SNI. I know that probably sounds crazy because I haven't even started writing it yet, but writing blurbs really gets me pumped for a project. I guess this counts as my 'What Works For Me', too!

What Else Is New

Don't forget to sign up for my Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge! ;)

I finally got my own computer at work! Now instead of jumping onto whoever's computer just happens to be free, I have my own shiny new Mac. I'm still getting used to using them, and I think I'm always going to prefer PCs because I'm just old fashioned that way, but it's certainly a cool computer and I can't help feeling very professional and important. Even if I do just spend some days on Twitter.

(I'm not slacking, I promise - part of my job involves me being in charge of a Twitter account and a Facebook page, so I end up doing a lot of social media stuff...)

Speaking of which, the main reason I got this job is because Seren were looking for someone to help organise the centenary celebrations of Alun Lewis, a WW2 writer who died under rather tragic circumstances when he was just 29. I'm in charge of a Twitter account and Facebook page for his centenary, and I'd really appreciate it if any of you could follow the Twitter account and/or like the page!

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 18/02/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

I haven't been reading too much this past week. I'm still enjoying Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland, and at work I got to read Judas by Damian Walford Davies.

What I'm Writing

I think I'm going to start a new project. Famous last words.

I am by no means giving up on Bloodroot and Bracken, I still fully intend to finish it, but I've had an idea for another novel that's been rattling around in my head since the middle of last year, and a thought suddenly occurred to me the other day: what am I waiting for?

I like this idea, but I also like how completely unfamiliar to me it is. Like Bloodroot and Bracken it's historical fiction with fantastical elements, but it's set during a period of history I know little about, involving real historical figures I know next to nothing about, in an area of Britain whose history I know virtually nothing about, including fantastical creatures I'm surprisingly unfamiliar with. At its heart it's a story set in Medieval Wales involving dragons and girl power.

It's going to be a huge undertaking - there's a lot of research that I need to do - but I'm excited about it, and after how low I was feeling last week creatively it's so good to feel this way about a project.

So am I writing? I'm still working on short fiction and every now and then I chip away at Bloodroot and Bracken, but for now the majority of my writing is going to be research, because I need to start collecting a lot of it!

What Works For Me

Improv. When I was at school my favourite subject was Drama; I did it at GCSE and A Level and loved it so much, and to be honest I really miss those lessons.

Anyway, there have often been times where I know I need to write a scene in which something big happens, but I have no idea how to go about it or what's going to be said. So I do a bit of improv. With myself.

I know that probably sounds really weird, but I've mentioned before how I find talking to myself useful in that it helps me write natural dialogue because I can hear how a sentence would sound, and whether it sounds like something a person would actually say. This works in a very similar way; when you need to write a dramatic scene it can be really easy to slip into cliche language, so improv helps me a lot in finding that happy medium between 'engaging' and 'real'.

What Else Is New

I'm still hoping people will start signing up for my Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge! *wink wink nudge nudge*

Other than that, not too much! Work's starting to get busier now, and it's my sister's birthday - she's 34 today! I never know what to get my sisters when their birthdays roll around, but this year I got my oldest sister and I tickets to go and see Imagine Dragons in Cardiff in November. I'm really excited!

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 11/02/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've read My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland and The Earl and the Fairy, Vol. 1 by Mizue Tani. Both of them were pretty unexpected reads, but I enjoyed them; I loved My Life as a White Trash Zombie and I can't wait to read the other books in the series. The Earl and the Fairy I didn't like as much - it told more than it showed, meaning everything developed too quickly for my tastes - but I'm probably going to read the rest of the series because there are only four books in the manga, and I don't think I've ever come across a manga series so short. Plus the main character's a fairy doctor, so it's kind of cute.

Right now I'm reading Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland, and I'm loving it so far!

What I'm Writing

Still working away on short fiction!

What Works For Me

I'm not really feeling very inspired this week, sorry to be a downer. I'm having one of those existential crisis weeks where I feel as though nothing I ever write is ever going to be good enough, so why bother? I'll work my way through it, I just need to shake off the funk.

What Else Is New

Last Thursday libraries all over Britain were having Harry Potter Book Nights; Bloomsbury sent around a bunch of activity sheets, and I volunteered at my local library to help out with the event. I got to be Head of Ravenclaw House (mainly because I told one of the librarians I have a Ravenclaw shirt and a Ravenclaw scarf) and three other volunteers were the Heads of the other Houses. The kids designed dragon eggs, went on a treasure hunt, played 'Petrified Potters' (AKA musical statues), ate some of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans and there was a quiz, too, as well as prizes for the best costume. A little girl in my House won one of those prizes for her amazing Tonks costume; not only did she have a pink wig on, but she even had a name tag written like this: Nymphadora TONKS. It was really cute.

Slytherin came away with the ultimate House Cup, but Ravenclaw were a close second, and I think that's impressive considering there were only three kids in my House!

On Sunday my niece turned 4 - 4! I feel like she was only born yesterday! - and she had a big party where pretty much her entire nursery were invited. She also got a buttload of presents, I have no idea where my sister's going to put them all, and she had a great day running around with her friends.

My sister had the most amazing cake made for her. My niece asked for a unicorn and a rainbow, so that's what she got!

Then on Monday I announced the Forgotten Histories Reading Challenge! I've partnered up with Amy Bruno @ Passages to the Past to organise a reading challenge that's been created with the intention of encouraging people to read more diverse historical fiction.  You can find my announcement post here with more information, and I'd love it if some of you decided to join in or just spread the word! This is the first reading challenge I've ever hosted, so it would kind of suck if no one signed up.

Look how beautiful he is...

I've also been rewatching Inuyasha this past week, which ties with Fruits Basket for my all-time favourite anime, and it's been such a comfort. I first watched it when I was around 16 and I still love it just as much as I did then; one minute it'll have you laughing and the next minute it'll break your heart, but that's what makes it so darn good. I wish I could get them all on DVD, but each season is still around £25 each and there's no way I can spend £200 on anime!

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday | 04/02/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

It's February! Where did that come from?

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've read Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch - a really fun graphic novel that I recommend to any high fantasy lovers! - and I'm currently in the middle of Rurouni Kenshin, Vol.1 by Nobuhiro Watsuki, My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, and Half Bad by Sally Green.

I'm reading Half Bad with Shannon who I know has already finished it, and I'm hoping to finish it in the next day or so - terrible reader that I am, I let myself get distracted last week!

What I'm Writing (+1 Writing Goal)

I'm still working away on short stories for submissions and competitions, and I'm enjoying writing short fiction right now. It's been a while since I worked on any short stories - while I was doing my MA I worked on nothing but Bloodroot and Bracken for a year - and it's been really fun to write something that actually has an end in sight. There's something very satisfying about just bashing out a 3,000 word story and knowing it's finished!

I didn't complete my writing goals last week, which is really annoying, but I only have myself to blame. Over the weekend I didn't really manage to get much time in which I could work undisturbed. This week, though, I need to complete two of the stories I've been working on, because I have one competition and one submission deadline next week!

Writing Goal: Complete 'Dead Beautiful' and 'Mab' - URGENTLY!

What Works For Me

Making lists. This can be something of a double-edged sword because sometimes I can get so into list making and planning that I end up doing no writing whatsoever, but lately as I've been working on submissions for various magazines and competitions making lists as to which story I'm sending where and what the deadline is - as well as another list for stories that have already been sent off, where they were sent to and when - helps me to de-stress and makes me feel just a teensy bit more organised. And to be honest writing stuff down in my own list on Google Docs is a lot easier than having to find the competition submissions page every time I want to check the deadline!

What Else Is New

First off, thank you to all of you who sent my nana your good wishes last week, I really appreciated that she was in your thoughts, even if it was just for a moment. I'm pleased to announce that she's slowly but surely getting better; I mentioned before that along with the septicemia she'd already been ill for a while, and she was worried she had bowel cancer because her dad passed away from the same disease. Thankfully tests have shown that she's cancer free, and today they're letting her go home!

I haven't really done much this past week! I entered The Winston Fletcher Fiction Prize, and I've sent off a couple of short stories and various poems to some magazines that are currently calling for submissions, but other than that it's been fairly quiet here. Oh, aside from my book-buying addiction that has got somewhat out of control since I started working and earning my own money. I already have no room for books, so I really need to stop buying more! Am I going to, though? No. No, I'm not.

Today, because of our heating not working, I get to work from home where it's nice and warm, and has the added benefit of being able to stay in my pyjamas.

What's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 28/01/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

Since last week I've read The Meat Tree by Gwyneth Lewis, which is probably the weirdest thing I've read so far this year, and The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau. The beginning of the novel is a little slow - which you wouldn't expect considering the majority of the beginning takes place in the Tower of London! - but with a little patience things soon livened up. If you're interested in reading some female-led historical crime then I recommend giving this book a try.

On Monday I finally picked up Half Bad by Sally Green which I'm reading alongside Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight!

What I'm Writing (+1 Writing Goal)

Right now I'm mainly working on short fiction. There are a few competitions and calls for submissions that are ending in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure I enter/submit as much as I can. A few of the competitions I'm aiming to enter are the Mslexia Short Story Competition, a competition for women writers, the BBC Opening Lines Competition, a chance to get your story read out on the radio, and The Winston Fletcher Fiction Prize, a competition for people who work in advertising, marketing and any related businesses.

Over the past few days I also had a little brainwave concerning a plot point in Bloodroot and Bracken that's been bothering me for a while, which is just what I need. I love it when solving a problem rekindles my passion for a project that's been around for a while. 

I haven't forgotten my latest character, Mab, either; I'm hoping to use some of the notes I have to write something for one of the competitions I'm entering.

Writing Goal: Redraft 'Dead Beautiful', finish 'Crying Wolf' and draft something from my Mab notes.

What Works For Me

Deadlines. I wish I was one of those people who did work gradually and got everything done and dusted before the deadline, and once in a blue moon it does happen, but for the most part I have the tendency to leave things to the last minute. Most of the time I don't even do it on purpose, I'll try getting something done but I can't seem to be able to get into the zone unless there's a deadline hanging over my head that's slowly but surely helping me to develop a stomach ulcer.

This proved especially true for me at the end of last week when I discovered that, if I wanted the chance to apply for funding, I needed to have sent off my PhD application no later than the 23rd. So on the 22nd and the 23rd I worked my arse off until it was done and dusted.

(In my defense a) I'd never worked on a PhD proposal before so I was a little lost, b) pretty much the entire week before I was away at a friend's and didn't have time or access to my laptop, and c) I thought I had until the end of January. It's still no excuse, but it makes me feel better.)

What Else Is New

It's been a strange sort of week. On Friday I sent off my first PhD application - eek! - then my parents and I ate Chinese food and I introduced them to The Book Thief; I haven't watched the film since it came out in the cinema so it was nice to see it again.

Then over the weekend both my best friend and my nana ended up in hospital. My best friend is now appendixless after hers had the nerve to burst, and my poor nana, who in my eyes is invincible, has been poorly for a little while. My uncle took her to hospital after her leg swelled up and it turns out she has septicemia. She was very poorly, but now she's wide awake and she's regaining some of the weight she's lost recently and keeping her food down, so fingers crossed she'll be back to her usual self very soon. 

I'm back at work this week after my week off, and you know you enjoy what you do when you're glad to get back. I'm very lucky to have a job that I enjoy. I've mentioned before that this year I'm working on the centenary of Alun Lewis, who was a Welsh English-language writer during WW2, and this week I got to proofread something very exciting: his unpublished novel. What could make that more exciting? Being able to read and hold the original manuscript. It's very cool.

So what's new with you?

What's Up Wednesday! | 21/01/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for writers and readers to stay in touch!

What I'm Reading

I haven't done any reading since last week, so I'm still in the middle of The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau and Valour's Choice by Tanya Huff!

What I'm Writing

I'm still working away on the story with no story; my protagonist's still very talkative, and if nothing else I might be able to turn what she's telling me into a short story!

I also really need to get my PhD application finished, because the deadline's Friday - eek!

What Works For Me

Always having a notebook with me! I never go anywhere without a notebook and a pen in my bag, and it's saved me from losing ideas many a time.

What Else Is New

On Saturday I travelled up to Doncaster to visit a friend of mine from uni, and I just got back today! I had a great few days there that included skittle cocktails, rocking out to a live band's cover of Livin' On A Prayer, walking around Clumber Park, shopping, going to see Into the Woods (great film!), having a look around Cusworth Hall (and their tearooms!) and, the main reason I went, going to see Matthew Bourne's ballet production of Edward Scissorhands.

It was stunning. Matthew Bourne is a British choreographer who's well known for his dark ballet productions; he's done a production of Sleeping Beauty that involved vampiric faeries! You wouldn't think Edward Scissorhands would be possible in ballet form, but it was absolutely gorgeous and we had amazing seats - we were only on the second row, and right at the end of the show we got snowed on when they released foam from the ceiling!

If any of you have the chance to go and see it, go and see it!