When tragedy strikes close to home

I’ve now lived in Canada for almost five years and although England will always be one of my ‘homes,’ my English and Canadian lives rarely intersect. Last weekend was different, though, and I was reminded that despite being geographically distant, my English...

Life and writing in lockdown

When this is all over… I hear that phrase often these days as everyone, me included, wants life in 2020 to go back to ‘normal’ as soon as possible, whatever that ‘new normal’ will be. For the moment, though, life (and for me, writing), have to go on in lockdown. As...

Celebrating women who have gone before

To mark women’s history month (celebrated in March in the United States, UK and Australia), I’m this month’s featured author on my friend Mel Greenberg’s ‘Notes from the Nest’ blog. I’ve written a personal piece about what ‘women who have gone before’ mean...

A different kind of Christmas

With less than two weeks until Christmas 2019, the few presents I’ve bought are still in a drawer, unwrapped. My holiday cards remain in their packaging and apart from a vintage Santa candle and musical angel, my cherished Christmas decorations are still tucked away...

In praise of ‘virtual’ friends

While I’m blessed with many friends in my ‘real’ life (including one who goes back to my high school years and often reads this blog), my author life means I also have many ‘virtual’ friends—people I’ve connected with via social media who, at the click of a mouse,...