21 Feb 2012 No Comments

Whodunits

Don’t you just LOVE a whodunit? I’m an addict of Midsomer Murders (especially the written version by Caroline Graham), Poirot and Lewis and I just love losing myself in a good detective story. Last year I spent a few weeks in Greece, one of my favourite countries, and so when I saw The Athenian Murders, which is [...]

by in Adventures, Mystery, Reading, Whodunit Tags: , , ,

09 Feb 2012 No Comments

Writing and scrapbooking

On Thursdays I tutor at the local U3A but not in writing as you might think; I tutor in scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is another passion of mine and one I don’t spend near enough time doing … because I love writing so much. But what does scrapbooking have to do with writing? Well, in scrapbooking our writing is [...]

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21 Jan 2012 No Comments

Other worlds …

Who could ever forget Platform 9¾ at Kings Cross Station? Disappearing through a wall might seem like a weird way to board a train but when the train is the Hogwarts Express and it’s taking Harry Potter into a world of witchcraft and wizardry, then it all seems perfectly normal. Harry’s world is very different [...]

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10 Jan 2012 No Comments

First books

I have just finished reading first books by two very talented authors. A Penny in Time (published by IP Kidz) by Australian author Anna Bartlett is a look back at the Penny (coin) over the decades. These factional stories based on Australia’s history are entertaining and thought provoking; and the growing relationship between an Australian grandmother [...]

by in Children's books, Young adult books Tags: , , , , , , , ,

02 Dec 2011 No Comments

Children’s Books – a universal language

I have only recently returned from a glorious seven weeks in Greece, Italy and Paris where the history and scenery were magnificent and the food and wine were pretty good too. When we left I had visions of spending several of the twenty or so hours in flight catching up on my reading. But a [...]

by in Children's books Tags: , ,

23 Nov 2011 No Comments

The European Adventure – Part 1

  Penny at the Parthenon Writing a journal is better than not writing at all … Friday 23 September 2011 Finally, after 20 hours in the air and a couple of hours in Changi Airport (Singapore) we arrived in Athens. Launceston was 8 degrees when we flew out and the heat of Greece hit us as [...]

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14 Nov 2011 No Comments

Home is where the heart is

but Europe isn’t far behind. After seven weeks of travelling around I’m back to my home, and my routine; and writing of course! I’ve spent hours downloading and editing photos (all 2,000 of them) and entertaining our housesitters who have spent nine weeks living in our house and enjoying the food, wine, history and scenery of [...]

by in Short stories Tags:

26 Oct 2011 No Comments

Far, far away

I am currently in Paris, yes, Paris, France and enjoying the next part of our adventure after two weeks in each of Greece and Italy. I’ve not done any writing but I do have heaps of ideas for new stories so that’s something … However, children’s books are never far from my mind. In Italy I [...]

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14 Sep 2011 1 Comment

Books for Kids!

I guess I could write every day if only I could lock myself away, as I did a few weeks back. And when I’m not writing I’m constantly thinking about writing, and about the two unfinished manuscripts that are wallowing away on my hard drive. But taking a rest from writing actually gives me time [...]

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09 Sep 2011 No Comments

The old and the new

I’ve just finished reading two amazing books for young adults. Mara, Daughter of the Nile was written by American author Eloise Jarvis McGraw in 1963. It is the story of a slave girl in ancient Egypt who gets herself involved in both sides of the political argument surrounding Hatshepsut and her brother Thutmose. The novel was [...]

by in Young adult books Tags: ,

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