Category: Writing

Why a Super-Sh*tty Review Can Rock

July 16th, 2020

The Review Cycle for a Writer? 1. Notification of review: butterflies in the stomach 2. A good review: butterflies flit, you fly 3. A bad review: (a) Possibly has you in a flap. Not progressing. or (b) Sees you regressing to the pupa stage. It’s a better option. Why? Read on. There’s Value in a… See More

Big Brother … Big Deal?

March 16th, 2019

Hack Off! My computer was recently hacked. Or so it seemed. Some nebbish with no life and in need of a hug sent me an extortionary email. It was all the more disturbing because my computer login password was in the subject line! He said if I didn’t pay him in bitcoins he’d send my… See More

Book Sex—Clean or ‘Dirty’?

March 7th, 2019

Slut-Shaming the Protagonist? Women! We’ve fought long and hard to liberate our sexuality from the shackles of shame. Yet, it now seems there’s a bit of an upsurge in the return to the literary chastity belt. The bedroom door has been slammed shut. Again. ‘Clean’ romance is the amour du jour. Book sex is getting… See More

The Poetic Slicence of Plastic Surgery

October 31st, 2018

My, What Big Ears You Have … I’m in awe of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park. I love their warped humour and their characters—foul-mouthed, politically incorrect bunch of yobs. I admire Stone and Parker’s ability to satirise. Apparently, I do a bang-up job of this myself, according to an Amazon Hall… See More

I’ll Show You My Mess If You Show Me Yours!

October 23rd, 2018

Utter Clutter Nutter I ♥ mess. Yyeah, baby! But wait up … that doesn’t mean I’m a slob/slug/layabout/slack-arse. I’m not. It’s just that once you have kids, any sense of structure, order, and control goes down the crapper. Pre-ankle-biter days, I was anal retentive. Example: the bathroom of our very first house had a stainless-steel… See More

Bye-Bye Alpha & Beta-Males. Meet the Best Man!

September 18th, 2018

Is a Beta Better? They say there’s a new man in town. I say his days are numbered! A stereotype called the beta-male is roaming the streets. Unlike a former holder of the post, the alpha-hole, Mr Beta is not cruising to pick up a one-night stand. Mr Beta has likely got a leash in… See More

Political Correctness or Man Up?

June 25th, 2018

Correct Me If I’m Wrong Who the he’ll hell doesn’t love autocorrect! This software feature delivers us from the scutwork—from having to type all those pesky little words like ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘of’ or ‘or’. But it can also put a spanner in the works. A cute little story in a magazine several years ago tells of… See More

A No-Bullshit Approach to Clickbait?

May 4th, 2018

Memory Lane: Closed Lately, my memory is taking too many naps. I keep forgetting stuff. It’s nothing serious … Or is it? I don’t think it’s age-related—tweenagers are complaining about the same thing—and my neurons are getting a daily superhero workout. As an author, I’m always writing. And I’m having to stretch myself to do… See More

Are You a Kick-Arse Woman in Your Own Life Story?

April 30th, 2018

Meet Ms Perfect … What woman doesn’t love the quintessential female protagonist? Who doesn’t aspire to emulate a wonder woman—a fit ’n’ healthy, perfectly-sculpted chick with an hour-glass figure (but leaning towards lean), lustrous locks, flawless skin, a sense of her own self, assertive in the boardroom, a tiger in the bedroom? A gal who… See More

Dear Writers (& Everyone), Size Matters …

October 4th, 2017

And How—The Bigger the Better! In the modern I‑♥‑quantity mindset, size matters. Yessiree, Bob! Gimme an L! Gimme an O! Gimme a T! Gimme an S! Gimme LOTS LOTS LOTS! In the Digital Age, the implication is that I must be okay if I have lots of whatever; the subliminal message—my worth depends on it…. See More