January 3, 2021

First lines aren’t the only thing that make me want to read a book but they are powerful. I love lines that give me heart palpitations. Lines that make me sit up a little and smile. Lines that dance around the corners of my mind long after I’ve closed a book. Here are some of my absolute favourite first lines.

January 17, 2019

I’m starting a new role at the beginning of February (still in the Caribbean) and as we dance into the unknown and take a leap into the future it has me thinking about writing when life around you is changing and uncertain. Here are some of my tips for writing when circumstances change:

December 31, 2018

2018 has been a wild ride for me. We stole palm fronds with rusty machetes down by the beach and danced barefoot around crackling fires underneath the stars.

November 13, 2017

Writing every day in November as part of National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) eventually becomes routine. You realise that you can actually do this, and do it well, and so you do. Normally, mid way through November I start thinking about after November. You might not be there yet but you’ll get there soon. So […]

November 2, 2017

Nanowrimo in the heat is v different from what I’m used to. Gone are the days of curling up in three, maybe four, blankets balancing a piping hot mug of tea on my lap along with a laptop and desperately trying to forget how cold I am as I type words towards my daily goal 🌨 […]

October 21, 2017

Okay so, this is not technically true.You see I’ve already moved to the Caribbean. But sometimes your adobe files and life don’t line up and that’s just the way things go. As with everything in this life, this story begins with heartbreak. A few bad decisions and couple of poorly timed jobs and I was […]

April 10, 2017

Critiques are great. People willing to let you know when and why something isn’t working for them in a book are gems. It doesn’t matter how great they are in the long run, though, because they’re also challenging. The very thing that makes a person creative can make them sensitive about their work. Pour your soul […]

March 8, 2017

Spring is kind of off-season for some writers because Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month, during which people set out to write a novel in 30 days or less) is in November and everybody needs a break sometimes and it’s not even Camp Nanowrimo yet. It’s not off-season for me, I like writing throughout the year, […]

March 6, 2017

I’m a fan of unreliable narrators. Not simply because I love having a story with duplicity in it but also because it creates intrigue and suspense in a story. Unreliable narration tends to happen most often with first-person POV, and all first-person narrators are unreliable to a certain extent, but those who lie in a big […]

November 23, 2016

I wrote something similar to this not so long ago but because it’s Nanowrimo — national noveling month — this felt especially important to talk about today. I know a little about this subject, working two jobs, an internship and querying my first novel this year along with climbing regularly as a hobby and doing […]

November 11, 2016

If you’re anything like me (a pantser!) you’ll have galavanted into Nanowrimo with little or no thought to planning things out. That’s cool. That’s the way we work. Thing is, around about now, I suddenly realise I need tools to help me do the things I want to do and oh! if only I’d actually […]

November 2, 2016

We’ve all been there, standing on the precipice of hitting send on our message, finger hovering as the cursor blink blink blinks back at us and we wonder whether this is a bad idea — maybe the worst idea we ever had. If you haven’t been there, or perhaps this is your first Nanowrimo, welcome […]

October 31, 2016

It’s Nanowrimo in a matter of hours — that time of the year where people across the globe band together and all try to write at least 50,000 words in a month. I’m excited and nervous because this year is so different for me. I try to write a lot in my ordinary life outside […]

October 3, 2016

Who to query is one of the most personal things you can decide! It’s like deciding who to be friends with or who to have a staring contest with or who to share a house with only not because this friend is also somebody you’re doing business with and they’re going to be your champion so […]

September 19, 2016

Hooray! Congrats! You’ve written a book! What’s that? You’ve edited to too! Oh my word! You’re ahead of the game! You’re ready for anything. You’re a superstar! There’s just one small thing now.  Just a tiny thing really. You’ll probably need a way of pitching this magnificent beauty. Just some kind

January 27, 2016

TY for everyone who took part in my 2016 kind of unexpected but totally fabulous planner giveaway! Remember you can still download it for free because everyone’s a winner digitally! The winners are Carla Domingo & Fatimah Mardhiah Omar! Congrats guys! I’ve emailed you so we can get the physical planners sent to you. Why to walk [&

January 13, 2016

Want a free 2016 planner? I’m giving two away! Enter my giveaway here by 26 Jan 2015 to win the planner that will change your year around! This is a little like asking whether writing is worth it or what is the meaning of life or sausages or cakes with those little icing flowers on […]