All Blogposts

  • Dashing in and out of this blog

    I’m typing at speed today because I’m leaving for London soon with my 16 year old daughter, Kitty, to drop her off at a friend’s flat where she’ll be staying next week while she’s doing work experience.  I’ll miss her! On Friday, I wrote and sent off a job application for a writer-in-residence post.  I doubt I’ll… Read more

  • Seven/Seven: Where Were You?

    I was in the house I’m in now in Trowbridge, West Wiltshire.  We’d moved here from south London two years before.  Our children were six and four.  We’d left London because Andrew had been made redundant from his job working in IT for a large accountancy firm in the City and found another job which… Read more

  • Writing an author bio that won’t date (much).

    If you’re sending out your poetry or short fiction for publication in a magazine, online or in print, you’ll want to include a short, third person biography with your submission.  Not only is this a professional approach, it also shows consideration to the editor/s since not chasing you for the information will be one less administrative task… Read more

  • A busy few weeks

    If this blog was a room in your house, I’d be rushing into it, refusing your offer of a cup of tea, calling my news over my shoulder and rushing out again.  Various events have made my life busy recently, not least my teenage daughter finishing her GCSE exams, attending her Year 11 Prom (when… Read more

  • Two poems at The Manchester Review

    I have two new poems at The Manchester Review, a beautifully made online magazine of poetry, fiction, reviews and art. My poems ‘Holiday’ and ‘A Dream about Martin Scorsese’ can be read here. image from CinemaBlend Read more

  • Dear Editors – Here are my Poems!

      I had a bit of a chuckle at this Facebook post from poet and Editor of Prole magazine, Brett Evans: Are there any fellow editors out there who find submissions without so much as a hello rude? No cover letter or bio I can forgive but no hello! I know the work should speak… Read more