Posted by on Jul 31, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

What I did with my Sunday I interviewed Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s! It was a hot and dusty day on Clapham Common, and Jerry was running late with all his interviews, but when my turn came I found out why. He’s one of the most unassuming, friendly people it’s ever been my pleasure […]

Posted by on Jul 28, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

Ambit 185 My contributor copies arrived this morning – it’s a wonderful cover! I’m going to sit down and read through this issue over the weekend, carefully avoiding my own story. I never read work once it’s published, because until I decide to send it out again somewhere else, I don’t want to think of […]

Posted by on Jul 27, 2006 in Uncategorised | 3 Comments

Titles I want to revisit the subject of titles because they are so important, and so few writers (me included) really bother with them as much as they should. Why do titles matter? This is why. The Great Gatsby” might have been called ‘Under the Red White and Blue’, then Fitzgerald seriously considered ‘The High […]

Posted by on Jul 26, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

Working Women: Stories of Strife, Struggles and Survival Second Call for Submissions: Please post or forward this second call for narratives, papers, and contributions to a book that focuses on the current global trends among professional women to survive in the workplace. Kogi Naidoo, B.A., B. Ed., M.Ed., D. Ed.Fay Patel, B.A., B. Ed., M.A., […]

Posted by on Jul 25, 2006 in Uncategorised | 2 Comments

Last week’s lottery numbers I’ve been talking to the editor of a new British webzine who’s already in despair about her submissions. They all seem the same, she says. I think every editor out there knows the feeling; you read dozens of well-crafted stories but none of them say anything interesting. This is why talent […]

Posted by on Jul 24, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

The excellent Sandra Scoppettone Okay, here’s the deal. Sometimes somebody will read a story of mine, go to the website or the blog and email me. And then – assuming they are not completely insane (as is likely with some of the material I write; it appeals to the lunatic fringe) I reply to them. […]

Posted by on Jul 21, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

Hook into her Heart This wonderful print is the work of Wuon Gean Ho, an artist and printmaker who was asked to respond to my story ‘Acorns and Conkers’, recently published in the Tales of the Decongested Anthology. It’s a superb image, in which Wuon Gean captures the darkness and manipulative nature of the protagonist, […]

Posted by on Jul 20, 2006 in Uncategorised | 2 Comments

Ever wanted £18,000 to write a novel …? Yes, me too. Which means I must be crazy to tell the rest of you about it. So call me Crazy Kay … MCNA is awarding an £18,000 writer’s bursary to an aspiring writer (novice or experienced) who would like to dedicate up to 12 months writing […]

Posted by on Jul 19, 2006 in Uncategorised | No Comments

Writing Flash Fiction If you’re like me, you find summer heat makes writing fiction difficult. Not only is it hard to concentrate, the computer is never in a good place to deal with sun and writing with paper and pen is a sticky, sun-tan lotiony, sweaty business. This is when I turn to writing flash […]

Posted by on Jul 18, 2006 in Uncategorised | One Comment

Statistics It’s amazing what you can learn from statistics. I’ve just been transferring my database from one computer to another and as a result I had to sit and look at various tables and charts I’d never really bothered with before. The first shock was to realise how much longer it takes to find a […]