Broken Dreams and Shattered Promises... the biography of a writer.

Just one warning - if you're looking for something happy, then don't read this. This is not Fiction.

When I was little, we lived in a cottage surrounded by cooking apple trees. We had a huge garden and a swing. I had a next door neighbour and my sister to play with. The fact that it was on an American airbase didn't encroach at all.

We'd go on outings to see Mum's family in Aldeburgh and I would have ice cream and fish and chips with my Nanny. I would play with my friends there and go to the beach, paddle in the cold north sea and make stone castles (the beach at Aldeburgh is shingle) with seaweed banners.

Sweets were fun - I could have a bag full of bananas, shrimps, flying saucers, cola bottles and jelly beans for 10p  that would last me all day. The comics were simple. Dennis the Menace and the Bash St Kids in the Beano and Dangerous Dan with his cow pies in the Dandy.

That all changed when I was eight.

Sunday Lecture: Crafting.... and Writing.

Those of you who know me, know that I have a lot of hobbies. Most of them are linked to my design training and provide a creative, calming outlet for those times when Puff (my meandering muse) disappears.

Warrior Pattern Choker 

People who've seen or received my creations seem to like then and I've often toyed with the idea of making it into a business... but I always come to the conclusion that it would make it less fun and take me away from my writing.


Still, I craft in whatever I do. The Design Principles have just as much bearing in Writing as they do in Crafting.


"What are the Design Principles?" comes a shout from the back. 


All right, I'll tell you...

1. The Initial Idea: Doesn't matter where it comes from, you just have to have it.Could have come from a Brief or just been inspired by something you saw.
2. The Research: This is essential to make sure that your product will hit the target market just right, and become a necessary adjunct.
3. The Development: Get the rough idea and smooth it out. Add some excitement and pizazz, slip in some features that will secure your product's place in the Target Market.
4. The Final Idea: Refine your development until you have the product that you would like to send out into the world.
5. The Finished Product: Make your product from the finest materials you can manage. Polish it until it shines like a shiny thing...

Of course, in the Design World there are a few more stages, but those are the basic ones that I teach kids in Design Technology. 

Can you see how they would fit into writing? Read them through again. Start thinking of your novel, story or poetry as a product that you are trying to sell to the world and you might get a little further than before...

From the FSS Archives... Suzannah Burke

I'm pulling a favourite writer out of my archives this week. Suzannah Burke is one of my heroes - she has been through so much, yet come out of it laughing and writing such wonderful things. So here is the interview I had with her and one of her brilliant flash stories...

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Sexy Deep Voiced Announcer: After a small Hiatus to try and get some writing done, our Leading Lady is back! Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for the one… the only… Tiger Princess!

AUDIENCE CHEERS AND APPLAUDS, STANDING UP AS THE TIGER PRINCESS ENTERS THE STUDIO.

Tiger Princess: Boy, is it good to be back – I’ve missed you, Mr. Announcer…

Sexy Deep Voiced Announcer: And we’ve missed you, M’lady.

AUDIENCE APPLAUDS AGAIN. TIGER PRINCESS MOVES TO THE MIDDLE OF THE DAIS IN FRONT OF THE CHAIRS

Tiger Princess: Today, we have a real Heroine of mine on the show.

Her heart rending biography “Empty Chairs” is being published by Night Publishing under the pen name of Stacey Danson and at times I found myself sobbing uncontrollably as I read it. For anyone to go through all that pain and abuse, yet come out so strong and wonderfully whole as an adult, is a true miracle.


My Guest tonight isn’t just about her experiences though, she’s also a beautiful person and a stunningly unputdownable writer. She has a delightful sense of humour, as seen in “The Dudes Down Under Series.”.

PAUSES FOR BREATH.

May I introduce to you, Suzannah Burke!

AUDIENCE CHEERS AND APPLAUDS, STANDING UP AS “DON’T CRY OUT LOUD” BY MELISSA MANCHESTER PLAYS.


SUZE SASHAYS DOWN THE STAIRS WEARING A SPANGLY, BLACK, FLOOR-LENGTH DRESS AND HOLDING THE ARMS OF TWO RATHER HANDSOME GENTLEMEN IN TUXEDOS.

Tiger Princess: Welcome to the Show, Suzannah.

Suze: Thank you for having me. Call me Suze; everyone does, even I do!

Tiger Princess: When / Where / Why did you start writing?

Suze: My very first foray into writing was when I was around twelve-years-old. I was living in a shipping container on the docks in Sydney with a bunch of other street kids.

One of them, “Jenny”, was only eight. She was a fragile and damaged little girl. Jenny began to trust me, and we had a little thing happening where I would write {Such as it was} a story on newspaper with a pencil, about an imaginary world where people were kind, and abuse didn’t happen.

They evolved into stories of fairies and elves. She needed one a day, and I read them to her at night just before she went to sleep. I left the group when I was sixteen and didn’t write again until 2007. Then I began to write, every day, at times I was writing for twelve hours at a stretch. I haven’t stopped.

Tiger Princess: How much writing do you do on a daily basis?

Suze: The amount of words depends solely on what I am writing. Flash Fiction is something I love to do, so I attempt to write 3 or so of those in any given week. Mostly for contest entries.

I am also working on the second book in the Dudes Down Under series. I write a 1000 words a day for that. Then I have the blog and I am also beginning the second book in my 3 part biography. All up I guess I write between 1000 and 3000 words every day.

Tiger Princess: If you could meet any writer (living or dead), who would it be and why?

Suze: For me that would have to be Australian Author Peter Carey.. he’s won the Booker twice with “Oscar and Lucinda” and “True History of the Kelly Gang.

I just love his quirky humor, he writes even the darkest of scenes with an edge of humor to them that carries the unmistakable Carey touch. His writing crosses genres so effortlessly. He is one author I would give anything to meet and talk to.

“Parrot And Olivier In America” by Peter Carey is also on the shortlist for this years booker.

Tiger Princess: What is your favourite music to write to and why?

Suze: I can’t listen to music while I write, any noise is a distraction, so much so that I write with earplugs in so that no sound penetrates. I have a do not disturb sign on the door and the phone switched off. I often forget to stop and eat as well.

I listen to music before I write to help set the mood I need, but only when I’m writing fiction.

Then the music depends on what I am thinking of writing.

For Comedy I listen to Rock ‘n’ Roll, the light fast stuff.

Drama...mmm gimme R&B.

Horror, well Black Sabbath and Deep Purple can set that up for me nicely.

Tiger Princess: Which do you prefer – Paper / Ink or Computer / Keyboard and Why?

Suze: Initially in 2007, I used pen and paper. A computer was way outside my disability pension budget. Then just before Christmas 2008 our then Prime Minister decided that all disabled pensioners should receive a one of payment of $1600.

Wow, what a Christmas that was!

AUDIENCE LAUGH.

I gave myself a laptop with wireless internet connection, a desk and a printer. I’ve spent the last two years learning how to use it. I love it now...and it’s an addiction. I can’t stand it when I run out of funds to top up and recharge the net. I budget carefully now to make certain that doesn’t happen.

Tiger Princess: And Finally – if you won the Booker Prize, how would you celebrate?

Suze: That is so far outside even my imagination... I really had to think carefully about it. I don’t know, perhaps have all the folks that helped me learn to write in the first place...and those that edited my work. Anyone that contributed to my writing in anyway...get them all together and have a huge celebration. Then start writing again for the next round.

Tiger Princess: Thank you for joining us. When you win the Booker, I’ll be round like a shot!

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Nice girls.

By Suzannah Burke.

“Is that it, Pop?”

“Yes, sonny-boy, that’s it.”

“It’s kinda beat up, huh?”

“Is it? Well…yes, I suppose it is now that you mention it. Didn’t used to look like that though, boy. There was a time when any young man taking his best girl on a date would’ve been mighty proud to have picked her up in that there car.”

“Is that the car you drove when you first met Grandma?”

“It surely is, boy.”

“Did you and grandma go on dates, for real?”

“No, boy …we dated by correspondence. Of course we went on dates! Things may be a little different these days, but boys still ask girls out, don’t they?”

“Sure…Pop. Sure we do.”

“And I guess boys still try to get girls into the back seat?”

“Pop!”

“Good God. You young folks seem to think we grandparents were born old and grey.”

“Pop, Its… I …um”

“Well that’s a hell of an informative observation, boy. Tell me now, when you go on a first date, with a nice girl, what do you do? Where do you take her?”

“I dunno. Out I guess.”

“Maybe you just don’t know any ‘nice girls’ hmm.?

“Pop! Gimme a break. I’m eighteen. I don’t wanna know nice girls, well not yet anyways.”

“So, you only date girls you don’t consider, “Nice?”

“Hey, no …that’s not what I mean. Some of them are real nice. But they also … you know… do stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Yeah, stuff?”

“Oh, so they put out.”

“Pop … that’s sounds, well disrespectful.”

“You call it by a nicer name?”

“Well, no, no I don’t. But it don’t mean I need to hurt their feelings.”

“So, you’re saying they have feelings? These not nice girls.”

“Course they do.”

“Ah, that makes it more interesting. So, these not nice girls with feelings…you take them to the movies maybe?”

“The movies. Um…no.”

“Then out to dinner, yes?”

“Well, not exactly…maybe McDonalds.”

“So, you buy a burger and then go down to the beach and talk, and watch the sunset?”

“No … well, we talk, maybe.”

“Face to face…or do you call em on your cell phone from the front seat to check if they undressed yet?”

“Hell, Pop … it’s just different now is all.”

“Son, that is the same damned bullshit I said to your great grandpa.”

“Oh. You did?”

“Certainly did.”

“And what did, Great-Grandpa say? I’m curious is all.”

“He said, "Sonny-boy, your ma was not considered a nice girl. I loved that woman so hard I couldn’t breathe when she was near me. So don’t be lookin’ in all them right places for somethin’ considered nice,…the greatest love of your damned life could be waitin’ on that back seat.”

“Wow.”

“Yep, that about covers it.”

“Pop…was grandma, was she…you know?”

“I loved her more than my life, boy. That’s all you’ll ever need to know. Understand?

“Yeah, yeah…pop. I think maybe I do.”

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Suzannah Burke first put pen to paper in October 2008. She had a long held desire to write, but the confidence was lacking. With almost non-existent formal education her knowledge of all things written was confined to her delight in reading.

Nanowrimo 2009 arrived and was completed, her book Dudes Down Under was born.

She recently signed a publishing contract for her biography "Empty Chairs" due for release in paperback later this year - written under the pen name of Stacey Danson.

Suzannah writes in many genres, accordingly she has different sites:

http://dudesdownunder-soooz.blogspot.com
http://staceydansonemptychairs.blogspot.com
http://sooozsaysstuff.blogspot.com

Rain, Rain, Go away,
Come again another day.
Life can always look so grey,
On the days rain comes to play.

Yes, it's raining. I don't actually hate the rain. Some days it's nice to be in a warm cosy house when it's tipping it down outside. The problem comes when I'm feeling a little blue and it's raining. That tends to be during the long dark teatime of the year that falls between Christmas and Easter.

I find myself searching for signs of Spring, things like bulb sprouts and leaf buds. Where I live, that happens around the end of February usually.

I also write a lot of poetry at this time of year. It's not always that good, so you're not likely to see much of it!

Good things do happen at this time of year though. For example: one of my writer buddies has just signed a contract for her book and my favourite Horror Webzine, The House of Horror is actually becoming a quarterly print Magazine!

Basically from Issue #20 onwards, they will be going to print and the website will become the details site. This creates a whole new paying market for horror and dark fantasy writers because HOH will pay 1/4 cent per word up to 2000 words!

Keep your eyes open for more news on that - I'll post it as and when it comes up.

Another piece of good news is that you can now find "Welcome to Wherever..." on Duotrope.com! I'm hoping that will make it easier to find submissions each month - I'm not doing too badly for february at the moment...

Toodles!

The Saga of NaNoWriMo.

It's November.

Anyone who has a writer for a partner or is a writer themselves will know what that means. Yup - it's NaNoWriMo time.

What? I didn't quite catch that... What is NaNoWriMo?

Ah, so you're one of them... okay, I'll explain.

NaNoWriMo stands for - National Novel Writing Month. It originally started in the U.S, but the madness has spread out internationally and now, in the thirty days of November, the writing world is put on hold while a horde of writers attempt to write 50,000 words.

And yes, I am participating. More fool me...

My word count stands at 23,183. I have over 26,000 words to go yet and eight days left to go. That means, I need to write 3.5K words a day to hit the finish tape. Why am I so behind? A little matter of Life, I'm afraid. A close relative died and between the children, consoling TOH and losing my muse a couple of times, I fell behind.

Several of my writing friends have finished already; one has reached the end of her story - and it's turned out to be a novella... Another couple have hit the 50K and are still going.

I'm determined to finsih the storyline to what I'm writing, but as far as hitting 50K on the 30th November is concerned, it's going to be a struggle...

Right then - time to get moving again! Wish me luck... I need it!

Drumroll Please... And the Blog Award goes to...

ME! Apparently... well, okay, I'm getting a little carried away there. Sorry.

Actually I did get the Blog Award (See the nice piccies under my mugshot?) from two of my fellow writers and bloggers - Noelle Pierce and T.L. Tyson !

Thank you for that, Ladies!

I’m not entirely sure why they did it (possibly an attempt to bribe me for the next FSS Contest…*grins*) but I am grateful they enjoy my writing and my Contest that much!

Now according to the Rules of the Awards I have to do a couple of things...

"Rules? What Rules?"

These Ones:

Here are the rules of the awards:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order…)

4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

So what's up next? Ah, yes, Seven things about me... Hmm - tricky! How do I avoid being boring?

1) I’m a Map Writer – no, not a Map Reader, a Map Writer…

Every story I write longer than 1000 words will get a map drawn for it. They help me understand the place and the people my characters interact with. The maps also allow me to go back to that world to write different stories.

2) I’m a simple person at heart, almost a child in my ability to trust and love people.

Be nice to me and you’ll get nice back. Be nasty and I will ignore you forever… I mean it.

3) I love Dragons.

I'm not joking when I say this. I love reading about them, drawing them, collecting them. I do believe that they are real - they've just gone into hiding so Humans won't hunt them anymore, like the Unicorns and Fae.

4) I like to write Speculative Fiction.

Speculative Fiction, for those who don't know is Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Horror... anything that is the product of a fertile imagination - which I have in an over abundance!

5) I have a Rainbow and a Cub in my house.

That's right - The Princess Terrorist became an Official Rainbow this week (despite having been on the list since she was eight months old and attending since she was old enough to walk.) and will be parading in the Arena at the Scout and Guide Fair on Saturday... as will Number One Son, who has joined Cubs recently and will also be parading.

6) I have been engaged for fifteen years.

Pick your jaws up off the floor - The Other Half and I have known each other since University. We got engaged in 1995 (he proposed in the pub) and I have been planning the festivities ever since. However, due to a number of events (both happy and sad) in the intervening years, we've been unable to get enough money together for even a tiny wedding. So we're still engaged...

7) I have been writing seriously for two years.

And in that time, I have made so many friends, all over the world that it would be impossible to thank them all on any acknowledgments page I could put into a book.

They have all had an impact on my writing, be it through refining my work; encouraging me to carry on writing when life got tough; cheering for me when I manage to get stories published or commiserating when I got rejected.

Thank you to everyone!

Now I get to have a bit of fun and award some genuinely brilliant blogs, a very well deserved award!

Poppet's Imagination Captivation - This is the blog of a superb writer, a knowledgeable and wonderful person and someone who has inspired and encouraged me for a long time.

Uphill Writing - Rik Scott is one of my favourite bloggers. He has helped and encouraged my writing from day one of knowing him on Webook. He is a brilliant creative writing teacher and a good friend.

Spirit Lights the Way - Nancy has a unique blog, one that is calming for the soul and thought provoking for the mind. This is a blog for first thing in the morning, to prepare yourself for the day ahead.

The Right Brain Ramblings - Okay, so she gave me the award in the first place, but T. L. has so many blogs, I sometimes wonder how she remembers which one she is supposed to be writing that day! *grins* This particular one brightens and entertains...

Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My! - J.A.Souders is another of my favourite bloggers. She is direct and honest - but is kind and caring with it. An agented writer, she fully deserves to be published and yet she spends her time helping the rest of us get an agent!

Tel's Talk - Terri Nixon is one of the first writers I met when I started out on the net. She's had some tough times, but has kept writing all the way through. I admire her as a person and love her work.

The Inimitable M - A hard working writer and publisher, Maggie is someone that I admire for being so strong and capable. We also share a cat (name) - my favourite orange and white moggie is named Gizmo. Maggie's little Cabana boy is nameed Gizmo - coincidence nes pas?

The Pat Black Experience - is just that - an experience not to be missed. Pat is an entertaining writer with an intelligence and dark comedy that begs to be published.

Godchecker GodBlog - Godchecker.com is my absolute favourite website. I can spend hours on there researching different gods, demons, saints, angels etc... So when they announced the creation of the GodBlog, it quickly became another stop on my weekly Blog Run.

Grumbles and Grins by Karen Bessey Pease - This is a relatively new Blog Run Stop for me, as I have only just met her via Slush Pile Reader. I can however recommend her Maine humour and charm as a damn good reason to read her blog!

The Writing of Dean Wesley Smith - Another new stop on my Blog Run, it's one of the best and most informative places I have been so far. Well worth a read!

Simon's Writing - I am... - Okay, it's not strictly a blog, but Simon Betterton is a fascinating person. He's off to Hong Kong (I think) soon and I hope he has a good time, because boy, am I jealous!

Joanne Ellis - Another Writer's website but one I think that regular Blog Runners would like. Read and enjoy!

Children's Circle - Here you can find stories that have been written by the Genius that is Sir Terry Pratchett and compiled by Steve Cohen, the editor of Bucks Free Press. I'll leave you to explore and enjoy the site, it's a fun one!

M.J. Heiser - One of several people who I would like to claim as a friend in person, she has encouraged my writing ambitions since we met on Webook and she was undiscovered. Of course, she's been discovered now, so she's slightly ahead of me - but never fear, I will catch her up!

And that's about it - I'm going to post this on my Website Blog as well; Noelle gave me the award for my website, T.L. gave it to me for this blog, so I have to answer both!

*grins insanely and shakes her head*

The things I have to do to make myself and my friends feel good - are worth doing well!

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Update on my Writing Life...

I've said before that I am a writer. I stopped writing about it on my blog because I started my own website and decided to blog about writing on there. This blog became my personal blog... hence my last post talking about my cats!

The thing is, writing is my life. I might have kids and be a teacher and make jewellery, but everything that is ME is bound up in my writing. When it's going well, I'm a pleasure to live with; sunny, happy and content. When it's going badly, I'm more like a storm cloud; dark, gloomy and liable to spark thunder and lightning at any moment.

Recently, I've not been doing a great deal of writing. I'm currently trying my hardest to find a teaching job for September and the search is getting harder. I have to use the time that I would be using to write, to fill out application forms and search through the jobs that are available.

When I can't stand the PC anymore, I go off and make things - jewellery mostly, although I did branch out into knitting. It changes my view of life and I can relax a little.

Anyway, a quick update on what has been going on...

My Flash Story Showcase Contest (FSS Contest for short) has taken off. In the first month I had four entries. In the second, I had six. This month, I have had the prompt up for two days and I have six entries already!

This is an exciting, worrying and entertaining - I get to read some superb stories and decide who has written the best one. Last month I couldn't decide who was the winner, so I put them both up - go take a look!

http://mandyeward.weebly.com/flash-story-showcase.html

If you are interested in entering this month the prompt is here - http://mandyeward.weebly.com/fss-contest-prompt.html

The Contest Guidelines are here - http://mandyeward.weebly.com/fss-contest-guidelines.html

I'd be glad to see you!

I'm currently a Guest Blogger on Richard W. Scott's Blog - Uphill Writing. I decided to do a series of pieces on the writing rules that successful writers use.

My first three pieces.. it's up at the moment - http://uphillwriting.org/2010/05/09/inspired-by-writers-pt-1/ if you are interested in reading my ramblings...of course you are - you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't!

Ahem... back to the point.

My first three pieces looked at Terry Brooks and David & Leigh Edding's rules to produce a good story / novel. I was then asked to expand on Terry Brook's rules, so I am doing that at the moment... funny how blogging for yourself gets in the way of writing anything for anyone else!

I tried my hand at Erotica Stories and failed miserably, but confirmed something to myself that was incredibly important to me - my path in writing lies through the gently rolling hills of the Young Adult / Fantasy / SF genres. Even my Horror writing is soft enough for YA, so that is the direction that I will be going in.

I suppose I have to now decide what pen name to use, Kira Morgana or A.E. Churchyard. I suppose I could use my real name, but I want to try and keep my Writing Career separate from my Teaching Career.

So I suppose what I am really thinking about at the moment is who am I? I'm a Teacher when I am in a School, a Mother and partner most of the rest of the time. The small amount of time I have left for myself, I have to squeeze writing, jewellery making, exercising and relaxing into...

*shrugs*

Just call me "Superwoman."

Spring in Rhoose.

We've had some beautiful weather recently - it makes it a little difficult to imagine the Volcano in Iceland, but I'm enjoying it all the more for that reason.

Walking the kids to and from school has been inspiring - I've written two poems in three days!

I thought you might like to see them.

_______________________________________________

Spring Sunshine

The humble fuzzy bumble bee,

Buzzing ‘round the flowering tree.

Sipping Nectar here and there,

Delivering pollen everywhere.

The elegant fluttering butterfly,

Hovers o’er flowers nearby,

Delicately tasting from each bloom,

Feeling no need to rush or zoom.

As the sunshine brings the sky to life,

Stop to look and forget your strife.

Remember peace is always near,

When you stop to look and hear.

___________________________________________________________

Spring Colours

Green tipped brown,

Reaches to blue.

Gold smiles down,

At white peeping through.

Yellow and pink,

Compete for the eye.

Red wins the day,

Looking up at the sky.

_________________________________________________________

I hope that you like them and they give you a sense of what I see when I wander about the village.

My Photography skills aren't the best and I have an old digital camera that doesn't get the fine detail properly, no matter what I do with Photoshop!

I love spring sunshine and sea air - the scent of the salt in the wind brings back memories of my childhood and relaxes me almost as much as sitting on the sea shore.

I wish I had a laptop so that I could find a warm sheltered spot in the sunshine and write outside. I'm sure that I would get a lot more done!

I hope that you're enjoying spring where you are... what is it like for you?

New Year Catch-up

Yes I know I haven't been on here for a while. I've been busy setting up my own website on weebly. I blog there most often, but I will come here every so often.

It's www.mandyeward.weebly.com if anyone is interested.

Hmm - catch up time...

I've managed to publish 4 stories since christmas. And now all my friends and family are saying "When's the book coming out?" - they mean Heir of the Dragon of course. To placate them a little, I have sent off one of my rhyming children's stories to Little Tiger Press - "Where are my Socks?" its called.

Heir on the other hand is being re-written from a novella into a novel. I've done the prologue (with a little help from Poppet) chapter one and two - I'm working on chapter one at the moment. Its sorta fun. I get to rearrange the story, increase various character's parts and attempt to make it a tighter read.
However, I am not having fun with my editing. I still don't get editing properly, which is why I get help from Poppet and JAM and all the others on my favourite websites. I much prefer to create.

So there we are - all caught up. And if the financial situation I am in continues, my writing will suffer - because I'll have to go back to Teaching and believe me, it's hard to be a creative writer when you have to write reports on unruly pupils etc...

Insomnia Strikes Again,

I'm prone to occasional attacks of insomnia for various reasons. Tonight I can't sleep because I have a cold, despite my body's urging that I actually need to sleep to get better.

Don't worry I don't have Swine Flu... at least I don't think so.

The first thing I do to try and sleep is play Puzzle Quest on my PSP. That and Sudoku work because they are easy to play, monotonous games that lull the active part of my mind to sleep. Or at least they usually work.

If that doesn't work then I try to meditate, cocooned in the soft warmth of my cotton encased duvet. Only tonight it's hard to do with a man snoring beside me.

My next step is to get dressed in something warm, grab a mug of G & B and take some Nytol or Calms. It usually works but it tends to take a little bit of time so while I wait, I write.

That's usually where Webook comes in. I write whatever takes my fancy and post it up for my friends to shake their heads over. Only today I wrote quite a bit on Webook and I hadn't been on here yet...

I am starting to yawn now. I can feel Sleep massaging my shoulders, urging me to go back to bed and snuggle down under my duvet. I might - in a bit...

Finding my way around...or not as the case may be!

I'm having a few problems today. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I use Firefox or that I use Word but I can't seem to cut 'n' paste any of my stories across for my reader's delectation and delight.

No doubt I'll work it out sooner or later but it truly is annoying.

One good thing though - I found one of my friends from Webook... or did he find me? I pretty sure that he found me! Jimbo is in much the same boat as I - he's newish to this and so am I - so he'll probably be able to help me with my problem.

Ah yes - Webook. That cornucopia of creative... oh, flip the alliteration! Suffice it to say, I Love Webook. I have lot's of friends there and we are all writers; it's paradise. The only thing that could make it any better would be to actually meet them. Of course, Jimbo already did that (ooh am I jealous!) but you never know what's around the corner.

I'm also a member of Authonomy. It's a completely different place. More serious and more about getting your work seen than anything else. It is fun though - just more like stepping into a bar and meeting your friends for a drink.

I am addicted to both. I freely admit that - I am addicted to Writing Websites!

Now if I could just get this place to work...