Race | Flash Fiction

“Dylan! Be careful with that car, will you?”

Dylan ignores his mother’s words and continues with his game. It’s an epic race up and down the steepest of hills and around the tightest of corners. His little red Matchbox car is the fastest there has ever been, but that doesn’t necessarily mean its destined to win. The car could spin out over the edge of a cliff and meet its brutal demise at the bottom of a mountain. It could flip in mid-air over and over and land on its roof, its wheels still spinning. It could careen out of control on a tricky chicane and smash into a great fir tree. Continue reading “Race | Flash Fiction”

Ash | Flash Fiction

The fortune teller doesn’t notice that her cigarette is slowly burning down to the filter, dropping ash onto her yellowed fingers and the table beneath them. Instead, she is mesmerised by the images in her crystal ball. Continue reading “Ash | Flash Fiction”

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin | Book Review

Elsewhere is a YA novel about Liz, a fifteen-year-old who is killed in a hit-and-run accident and finds herself on a boat to Elsewhere – the afterlife. There, she learns that dead folk begin to age backwards until they become babies once again, at which point they’re sent back to Earth to start brand new lives.

I love the afterlife setting in Elsewhere. It has a lovely, whimsical and peaceful atmosphere, which is exactly what any of us could hope for when thinking about what awaits us in death. When we end up in Elsewhere, we get to choose an avocation (a job we love rather than one we have to do), we can reconnect with long lost relatives and friends that died before us, and we can even check in with the folks still left on Earth via magic binoculars. Oh, and a lot of people speak Canine, which means there are talking dogs. Talking. Dogs. Need I say any more? Continue reading “Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin | Book Review”

To-Do | Microfiction

The to-do list beckons every day, waiting for its bullet points to be transformed into to-dones. Hours tick by and the to-dos remain, unsatisfactorily unmarked my big ticks or bold strikethroughs. Continue reading “To-Do | Microfiction”

Adrenaline Junkie | Microfiction

The view up here is just spectacular. I can see for miles. Keep an eye on my kingdom. Look out for trespassers and make a note of their appearance so that I can give them a good slap later. It’s perfect. Continue reading “Adrenaline Junkie | Microfiction”

And Now I Come Crawling Back | Blog

Oh, hello! I would say long time no speak, but it’s only been a little over a week. It feels like an age, though… I’ve missed hanging out in this little writerly corner of the internet.

First things first, thank you for all your lovely well wishes and congratulations on my last blog post. Your lovely comments have given me the warm-and-fuzzies and I really appreciate you taking the time to write them. Continue reading “And Now I Come Crawling Back | Blog”

I’ve Had Enough | Blog

This blog post is not nearly as dramatic as the title would suggest, I just fancied trying my hand at some clickbait. It’s as unfulfilling as I thought it would be. I just wanted to let you know that you can expect radio silence from me for the next week or so because I’m getting married in six days. Bloody hell…. six days!

My fiancé and I have been engaged for over 18 months and during that time we came *this* close to booking two different venues, actually booked a third one before cancelling it several months later (don’t ask), and then found ourselves spending weekend after weekend painting and DIY-ing and obsessively gardening to get our house in good enough order to host an intimate and “relaxed” wedding reception at home. It’s been quite a journey… Continue reading “I’ve Had Enough | Blog”

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare | Book Review

There’s been lotta hype surrounding the Mortal Instruments series and its author, Cassandra Clare, over the years. Some of the hype is good, some of it very, very bad. Clare has been accused of plagiarism in relation to this series, and I’ve read articles which reinforce those accusations and others which write them off as nonsense.

So what do I think? To be honest, I haven’t really read enough YA supernatural fantasy to really offer an opinion on which bits of City of Bones might be ripped off from somewhere else. However, I was keen to read a book which has sold millions of copies and been transformed into both a movie and a TV show – clearly there’s something about it that has people hooked and makes it such a talking point. I wanted to know what that something is.

And I still don’t know. Continue reading “City of Bones by Cassandra Clare | Book Review”

Wedding Music | Microfiction

“Everything looks gorgeous,” says the bride, as she gazes around a dining hall adorned with opulent silk drapes, beautiful displays of red roses, and strings upon strings of sparkling white lights. “You’ve brought all our visions to life!”

The wedding planner beams at her. “I’m so pleased you’re happy with it all. I’ll show you through to the private bar so that you can have a quiet drink together before your guests pile in. It’s nice to have some breathing space after the ceremony.”

“Hang on,” says the groom. “What about the brass band?” Continue reading “Wedding Music | Microfiction”

Making Friends | Microfiction

“Go on then, Jim. Go and play.”

Jim glares at Flossie.

“Don’t look at me like that. Go on! Go run off some of that excess podge. And make some friends while you’re at it.”

Jim wanders off towards a group of potential friends nearby and loiters at the edges, waiting for someone to invite him into their fold.

Flossie approaches her own pack.

“He’s not very sociable, your Jim, is he?” says a fluffy Pomeranian. Continue reading “Making Friends | Microfiction”