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Author Archives: literarylad
Isn’t it our deference to religion that let the Taliban in?
Could it be that the Taliban’s greatest strength is not ruthlessness, lack of compassion, or their powerful external backers, but instead, their subservience to what they consider to be an unquestionable ideology? And surely then, the Western allies’ biggest mistake … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Religion
Tagged Afghanistan, freedom of expression, religion, Taliban
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Seventy thousand words and counting…
At the risk of repeating myself, writing a novel involves a lot of work. Like setting up in business as a funeral director; it’s a big undertaking. Progress on my latest novel has been slow, and frequently been put on … Continue reading
They’ll be Burning Books next…
Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and particularly important to us writers. But the government in Britain, as elsewhere in the world, is increasingly legislating to restrict this freedom. It began with the idea of making offending someone … Continue reading
Not Enough Trees…
I moved to the country because I wanted peace,I wanted quiet; I had specific needs.The trouble with the country is there’s not enough trees.Not enough leaves to rustle in the breeze,And mask the sounds of the farm;The roar of machinery, … Continue reading
Don’t Expect Us To Mourn
A famous person has died (to quote Spitting Image). The Establishment is in mourning (to mis-quote Spitting Image). And we’re all expected to mourn too; expected to bow our heads in honour of our beloved leaders. So much for living … Continue reading
The Antidote to International Womens’ Day
On a day when we are asked to consider the disadvantages of being female in the world today, would it be unreasonable of me to point out, for the sake of balance, that in the pandemic currently ravaging the world … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Covid – The Writers’ Dilemma
The not-so-brave new world of pandemic pandemonium we’ve been living through for the last nine months poses a specific problem for those of us writing cotemporaneous novels. What do we do with the new, very restricted ways of living people … Continue reading
Why you should consider joining the National Secular Society
On Saturday, for the first time, I attended the AGM of the National Secular society. It isn’t easy for me to get down to London, where they ‘re normally held, but this year, because of the pandemic, it was held … Continue reading
Book Review – ‘You Beneath Your Skin’ by Damyanti Biswas
I first came across Damyanti Biswas through her blog Damyanti Writes, which is full of useful information for aspiring authors, mostly in the form of interviews with industry insiders and published authors. I’ve been following this blog for a few … Continue reading
Posted in reviews, Writing
Tagged author, book review, Damyanti Biswas, novel, Writers, writing
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Work in Progress…
Writing a novel takes time – lots of time. For me, one of the most difficult things about the lockdown has been hearing about how much time everyone has on their hands. The media (social and otherwise) has been full … Continue reading