Although I love the beach, the conditions required to actually get me into the water need to be pretty specific: hot weather, warm water and I have to be in the mood for a swim. As those of you familiar with Victorian weather can attest, those first two conditions can be pretty… sporadic. (Yes,…
Welcome to my annual ‘take a peek under the hood’ post about how I made money from blogging in the previous calendar year. I believe this is the fourth time I’ve written this kind of breakdown and I am fascinated by how much they change. The reasons often correlate to wider changes occurring in the…
Read / January 30th, 2017
I’d only read one Patricia Highsmith novel before picking up Carol, and as soon as I started reading this I thought to myself, Why haven’t I read more? The other novel was The Talented Mr. Ripley and both times I’ve admired her style – intelligent, observant, dark. If you’re unfamiliar with the story surrounding Carol‘s publication,…
What did I want in 2016? (Italics from this post) “The writing is simple: publish a book. If I want to get really ambitious, I’d like to line up a few more projects for release beyond that.” Without a doubt, last year’s largest priority was my offline writing. The first six months were about my…
I said this last January: “This year my attention will be on getting my body back into some sort of conditioning – it won’t be about the numbers on the scale, more about how my clothes fit. And I’d like them to fit… I’m down to a four outfit rotation. I don’t usually go in…
Before I launch into the post below, if you have a spare 30 seconds I’d love it if you would do this blog survey for me. A lucky person will be picked at random to win a copy of On The Many Shapes Bodies Will Take when it is released. The results will really help me…
Read / December 15th, 2016
When we went away recently, I brought along Creative Intelligence: How to Build Creative Confidence, Capacity, and Capitalism by Bruce Nussbaum thinking that I wouldn’t get through it. Turns out it was the only book I finished. (I’ve done much better this year for non-fiction than fiction and I’m not sure why.) Business books which delve…
It’s time again for the Christmas Card Challenge! I’m proud of the legacy of this (humble) little annual fundraising drive, but let me explain if you’re unfamiliar with what it does. Once upon a time, I used to write Christmas cards. But the paper waste bothered me (yes, I know they could be recycled). Then…
Read / December 5th, 2016
The Good People by Hannah Kent ($22.95) Kent’s second novel has already shot to the top of the best-seller lists and I think this is a good testament to her talents as a writer and her significant fan base. Here is the synopsis: Nóra Leahy has lost her daughter and her husband in the same…
