A rugged path leads to the summit of Caldy Hill. This morning promised a glorious spring day, and so I went for a walk over Caldy Hill.  My two dogs kept me company, of course, as the likelihood of any human member of this household being able to head out for a walk without taking Emily and Ygraine along too is pretty slim.  Not unless you'd want to endure hours of grumpy yapping and sad-eyed sulking, that is.  The light wasn't too good for photography, really - Wales, on the opposite bank of the River Dee,  was totally obscured by haze - but the golden-yellow gorse is looking too lovely for me not to attempt a few shots.  It's a pity readers of this blog can't share the gorse's perfume...  Think of warm honey, with a dash of sharp lemon and you'll have a reasonable idea of the fragrance hanging on every slight breeze.   Most of the trees here are deciduous and it's still too early in the season for leaves, but every branch is covered in...

One of my Dark Fantasy stories has been nominated for the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2009 Award. Called Old World Magic , this was featured in   Ruins Metropolis , an anthology published by Hadley Rille Books. In this tale, a visit to her local New Age shop brings Tracy into conflict with the notorious fae of Caldy Hill, Wirral. Vote for my story here:- http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstorysf.shtml Nominations are listed by story title, in alphabetical order. Voting closes on January 14th, 2009.

Information taken from Amazon, just now! Barren Worlds Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,895 in Books Publication Date: July 1, 2008 Ruins Metropolis Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,393 in Books Publication Date: May 19, 2008 Ooow, that is goooood! Congratulations to the publisher (Hadley Rille Books) and my fellow contributors to these two anthologies. At Riverside Writers’ last meeting, the subject of constructive criticism was raised. Some of the members felt that they would like more feedback from the group after readings of work. Previously, Tim and I had backed away from giving too much crit as we’re only too aware that while people say they want criticism, most just want to hear “good” things. So we’ve tended to praise the good bits and stay silent over the not-so-good. Silence can say a lot. However, this can also lead to feedback being of little productive use. Before the group had its current resurgence of membership, some ex-members had been more critical – but while t...

I am pleased to be able to announce the publication of Ruins Metropolis , which is a collection of thirty-five Fantasy and Sci-Fi stories. This is the third in Hadley Rille Books’ Ruins series, and is edited by Eric T Reynolds. This collection also features my 3,000-word story, Old World Magic . A trip to her local New Age store brings Tracy into conflict with one of the notorious Fae of Caldy Hill. I hope you enjoy the collection!

The vet has just phoned me to say Emily's operation went well, and I can collect her at 4pm. This house feels so empty without "Little Mouse" leaping all over the place! (We nicknamed her that when she was a very young puppy, because she wasn't much bigger than a mouse - well, a hamster, perhaps). I can recite all the phrases about responsible pet owners and unwanted puppy litters bla bla bla, but I still feel like a total meanie, booking her in to be spade by the vet. I know she'll be frightened and in pain, and wondering why I've "abandoned" her... Poor little mite. ***   "I don't like Wuthering Heights," Cat said. "It's soppy." Then we coaxed her to watch Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Bi noche in the lead roles. She likes it now. "Isn't he the one who played Voldemort ?" she asked. "Yes," I said. "He looks different with a nose."   ***   4.20pm, and finally I get to re...