Welcome to this series of writing tips. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . Today, guest blogger Gemma Gaten shares her ideas about how to improve creativity. Every person is unique. We are all creative in our own simple ways but most of us haven't realised our full creative potential. Some people are trying to unlock their creativity while others give up trying to know in which field they are most creative. Being intelligent, hard-working, and having a nice attitude are not enough to become successful in your chosen career. More than these things, you must learn how to use your normal intelligence in doing creative work. Creativity is an element that is present in all fields. Whether you are working in a business, have a job related to the arts or technology and social media, your level of creativity plays a vital role in your profession. Enhancing creativity can impact upon every aspect of your life. That...

In the mid-1980's I was working for South Sefton Health Authority.  Based at Fazakerley Hospital in Liverpool, I was part of a small team of Health Promotion Officers who'd drive around north Liverpool in an old double-decker bus.  The lower deck had been converted into a creche, while the upper deck housed a tiny clinic area and an information resource centre.  For the most part, our team handed out leaflets and played videos  - anti-smoking, healthy nutrition, oral hygiene, etc.  One of the leaflets was the infamous AIDS tombstone leaflet intended to terrify people into using condoms to slow the spread of this rampant disease which would, it seemed at the time, lead to us all having to step round corpses in the streets. And while people certainly have died from AIDS, (or from the treatments given to control it, especially in those early years), many who now live with the HIV virus no longer need fear an automatic death sentence.  Apparently, a...

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! . The Feature & Follow has two hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each has their own Feature Blog. How does this work? First, leave your name here on this post, (using the Linky tools below.)  Then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and leave a message in their comments section. And today's question, set by the FF hosts, is:  What’s your favourite Thanksgiving Day food? If you’re not American or Canadian, what is your favourite holiday food? Here in Britain, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  This festival's historical roots can be linked to our ancient harvest festivals and the English Reformation in 1536, and while some people still celebr...

City Stories: Tales of Modern Liverpool ISBN: 9781310916939 Love, terror and 21st century life! From the heart of cosmopolitan Liverpool come nine thrilling views of modern living. Blood-drinkers, killers and secrets. Old sorrows and new beginnings. The light and dark of human life set against the glittering backdrop of a reinvigorated city. City Stories. Tales of life today. Featuring:- Tim Hulme William R Jones Caroline Hubbard Andy Siddle Jason Barney Jack Horne Adele Cosgrove-Bray Pick up your FREE copy today here! Other distribution outlets will follow over the new few weeks.

I spent part of the afternoon in Birkenhead.  It must be close to a year, or perhaps even longer, since I last wandered round the shops there.  I was surprised to see how many empty retails units there are in the Grange Precinct and in The Pyramids.  For the benefit of non-locals, I should explain that this small shopping mall has neither pyramids nor an Egyptian-themed decor; indeed the only remotely pyramid-like aspect to it is its name. The high number of vacant retail units show how hard the recession has hit, despite debate about whether double-dip or triple-dip recessions are myths arising from the interpretation of statistics.  The Daily Telegraph reported that 27,000 small businesses failed during 2009, when the recession began to bite.  More recent statistics proved difficult to find.  Eighteen shops closed every day during the first half of 2013, just two fewer a day than in 2012 accord...

City Stories, FREE ebook anthology   Contributors : Tim Hulme William R Jones Caroline Hubbard Andy Siddle Jason Barney Jack Horne Adele Cosgrove-Bray   Here's a preview of the front cover for the forthcoming City Stories ebook anthology, which is currently being proofread with help from Andy Siddle and Tim Hulme.  The photo on the cover depicts part of the Albert Dock in Liverpool, and was taken by my husband Richard, (who's currently trying to mend a broken stand for one of my Tangkou dolls).   Frog pond with pennywort, water soldiers, fairy moss and shy goldfish.   Who'd have guessed that fish have personalities?  To prevent the frog pond from becoming home to a legion of blood-sucking mosquitoes, my brother Eric suggested adding a few goldfish.  Three have been making themselves at home beneath the gradually-spreading canopy of pennywort and fairy moss.  They seem to like snoozing under the water soldier...

Shabby Chic - Toad Style!   One of our compost bins has been selected as a desirable residence by a toad.  Here he is, perched on top of an egg shell amidst a colourful squelch of veg and fruit peelings.  Toady seems entirely content, and has shown a distinct disinterest in moving on despite the lower edge of the compost bin having been propped up on an old brick so Toady can come and go easily.  Each time Richard or I go to the compost bin, we first have to check to make sure Toady has ambled off to one side to avoid being buried by a small avalanche of soggy teabags and kitchen peelings.   Location, location, location...  It's a handy spot for an amphibian.  The decomposing compost will help keep Toady warm in winter, and the thick recycled rubber walls of the bin itself will protect Toady from the worst of the winter storms.  The neighbours are edible.  And come spring, when Toady's feeling especially so...

Entering the Grove is currently #97,303 in the Kindle 100 Bestseller list, and #78 in the Inspirational & Religious list.  

Steep steps leading up to Mariner's Point, West Kirby. A doorway in the woodland realm.     Fabulous red sandstone - with a strange light behind the fallen branches.     Part of an old train, half-buried on the woodland floor.   Four old train wheels.     Heather covers the summit of Caldy Hill.     Just one of many tangled thickets in Stapledon Woods.     The fairy pond, currently no more than a shallow smudge of mud.   Woodland canopy above the fairy pond.   Rain rolling in to the Dee Estuary.   To view these photos bigger, simply click on an image then use the slideshow.   All photos (C) Adele Cosgrove-Bray, 2013.  

Emily and Poppi by the pond. I received a lovely email from someone who had noticed I'd deleted my old LiveJournal blog.  He had enjoyed the philosophical debates which had unfolded there, and was disappointed that the blog was no more.  I hadn't updated my old LJ blog since opening this Blogger site so I was a little surprised at this, but we all like to be missed, hmm? I'd like to reply properly to this person, but I accidentally deleted the email.  I've not blogged much on philosophical topics for some time, even though philosophy is a dominant part of my life.  Maybe I should?  Meanwhile, back at Maison Cosgrove-Bray, I've been busy creating a garden pond.  Earlier this year we were invaded by a huge number of baby frogs.  Apparently frogs don't reach maturity until they're five years old, and until their first mature spring season they don't spend much time in ponds.  However, we also have a small population of older frog...

Welcome to this series of writing tips.  If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . One of the frequently occurring ideas have met with, during my years with Riverside Writers, insists that there is, hidden away somewhere, a formula which guarantees success. People holding to this belief will invest much time and energy on courses, workshops, 'How To' books, endless research or the latest software searching for this formula. Courses may be interesting and educational, and the student may well graduate clutching a pretty certificate and a sense of personal fulfilment. Something similar could be said of workshops, and any gathering of like-minded people can bring an opportunity for networking. Both courses and workshops tend to be money-earning ventures, which is no bad thing in itself - most people like to supplement their income! - but remember that as educational establishments are now run as businesses, it is in thei...

I've gone frog mad.   I've now got a bee in my bonnet about making a proper frog pond, as our garden has been invaded by millions of baby frogs.   I tried making a small one yesterday only the DIY plastic liner leaks.   Who'd have guessed that, hmm?   I didn't see any holes in it, so  either I missed the holes or I picked porous plastic.   Oh well, as spontaneous bright ideas go, the principle worked ok even if it failed in practise.   No matter - I've now bought a proper liner and underlay off eBay for about £10, and I've been reading up online about how to build a frog pond properly.   I had visions of having to dig half way to the Earth's core, but apparently 25cms is perfect for the deepest point and gently sloping sides all round are supposed to be best as tadpoles like swimming about in warm shallows. The liner will be longer than the plastic I've used, but that's ok as I can easily lift everything out of the way and re-dig the pond a ...

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Welcome to this series of writing tips. If you would like to pen a guest post for this series, email me at ACBwrites@aol.com . The challenge of filling the blank space on a screen can feel daunting to some new writers.  They want to write but can't quite get going.  They can write, but don't know where to start.  They've a million ideas but what if it all goes wrong?  So they stare at the screen and wait for inspiration to zap some inspiration into their lives.  Meanwhile, the clock's ticking and nothing is getting written.  The more this hurdle is thought about, the bigger it seems to get. At Riverside Writers, we set a monthly writing project to give people a starting point.  This can take the form of a title, a location, a first line or a set of objects which need to be included in a story or poem.  We have been doing this for several years now and those who participate regularly have found it a very useful tool to help them get writing....