Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com It’s been a while since I last updated on here, so I thought I had better do so. It’s been about 18 months since I started freelance, and I have to say that I’ve done better than I initially thought I would. There is still the anxiety there, and being in between projects isn’t a good feeling, but I suppose that comes with the territory. However, I’m now on my second project from the Greek ELT publisher since meeting them in person in Athens, so

Virginia Woolf was such a prolific writer of intense thought and process, and often I see her quoted in memes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It was, of course, inevitable that over time and through use, the quotes would be misrepresented or misquoted, rather like the game of ‘Whispers’ from my youth. But what are these misquotes? 1. For most of history, Anonymous was a woman. Unfortunately, as much as we might use it (and I think I’m guilty here, too), this is not what W

Glinting under the glare of the softly flickering strip light, the blade taunts the very skin straining under the pressure. Years of painful self-loathing had finally come to this. A Sunday in the middle of spring in the house where it had all begun at least 34 years ago. It seemed ironic, no, hilarious that this room had barely changed since the beginning, Not strictly true – it had become crumblier – more cracked – more… dilapidated. The painted dull-yellow walls had lost t

Speculative fiction, poems, and essays on our tempestuous political times. Contributor to Tempest Published by Patrician Press, 1 March 2019. Book launch at Bookmarks Bookshop, 1 March 2019 and at Essex Book Festival, 5 March 2019 I am thrilled to be part of this collection, which is published today. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to the launch tonight – which, incidentally, is starting as I write this. My short story, The Walking Stick, is a dystopian take on what the future

Virginia Woolf in 1939 It was Virginia Woolf who wrote in her diary the following; ‘There’s no doubt in my mind that I have found out how to begin (at 40) to say something in my own voice; and that interests me so that I feel I can go ahead without praise.’ All I can say to that is lucky Virginia. It is no coincidence that I use Woolf as a quote to illustrate myself here. After over a year of research into her life in Richmond for a book which just so happened to be published

#gallery-1264-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1264-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 20%; } #gallery-1264-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1264-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */ Everywhere I see on social media, bloggers are putting up their top lists of the books they have read, so I thought I’d be a little differ

I can’t quite believe how much has happened since I left teaching. I count the year from January 2018 when I made the decision to go freelance, but of course, by then I had already started volunteering with Aurora Metro. Here, of course, is also a shameless plug for my website. And don’t forget to like my page on Facebook. Let’s start towards the beginning of the year (be aware, long post coming). Between January to April, I was completing training and trying to get jobs as a

After a year and a half of research, writing, editing and typesetting, the book is finally here and it’s beautiful. It’s available from many different places including Aurora Metro, the publisher. You can also get it from Amazon, both as a hardcover and an ebook! The following indie bookshops also stock the hardcover: The Kew Bookshop The Open Book, Richmond Lloyds of Kew Bookshop As well as Waterstones Richmond! I have to say a great thank you to everyone who helped, either

It continues to be busy in the freelance and part-time editing world, which is a very exciting time. This is possibly going to be a long post, so sit down with a cuppa and start reading. First, I’m very excited for the official book launch of The Original Suffrage Cook Book published by Aurora Metro Books. This will take place at The Exchange in Twickenham on Wednesday 26th September from 7pm. The How the Vote Was Won exhibition will @Larquick on Twitter) will be talking abou

Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com Well, it’s been quite a week, and I’m wondering what Monday has in store. First of all, I had an article published by Huffington Post UK on the Virginia Woolf Statue campaign. I was thrilled to have it accepted, and it shows my skills as a writer (hopefully!). This has been followed up by stories on the campaign featuring in Stylist magazine as well as the Evening Standard. All of this follows on from being mentioned on the Byte the Book websi

Hopefully I’ll be able to get around to more regular blogging than the last few weeks, now that the move has started calming down. The bank holiday weekend was lovely. We had my Mum come and stay at the new place, and we went to visit a National Trust property called Basildon Park. Absolutely stunning! Thanks to the staff for getting wheelchairs for my mum so she could really enjoy the whole experience. Even riding on the motorised buggy to the house was fun. Even though I’m

I’ve only recently started writing about my career transition from ELT teacher to self-employed editor and proofreader, but the responses I have got from the few posts I’ve shared have been positive. Encouragement in all forms is extremely welcome, and one person I’d like to thank Louise Harnby. She has a wonderful Facebook page which is more like an editor and proofreader community. It’s very welcoming and there is lots of advice for the experienced and newbies among us. I t