Author Archives: literarylad
Why do we stand for the national anthem?
Double meaning intended!I’m old enough to remember the queen’s silver jubilee. That at least was tempered by some robust criticism, as a friend recently reminded me (my own memory being only marginally better than that of a goldfish) by the … Continue reading
Flash Fiction: The Streets Ran Red…
Flash Fiction is not a format I’ve tried before, but on holiday in Spain last week, I was inspired to have a go. Here’s the result… Cold, damp and windy; strange weather for a holiday in the sun. At the … Continue reading
What Can Writers Do About Climate Change?
It’s hard to comprehend the ability of supposedly well-educated, intelligent people to shut out the blatantly obvious. Britain holds the Presidency for COP26, and at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow at the end of last year, our leaders … Continue reading
Top Ten Songwriting Tips…
My first forays into writing, around four decades ago (a frightening amount of time) were as a lyricist, and I’m still writing songs, now and then; when I can spare a little time. So I thought, why not share with … Continue reading
Nero fiddles, while Rome burns…
So, it’s over. COP 26 – possibly the largest gathering of world leaders, advisors, scientists, lobbyists and general hangers on the world has ever seen. Indicative of what was to come, some of the first reporting was of Joe Biden’s … Continue reading
What was it I came upstairs for…
I used to think the old folk were making something out of nothing when they complained about forgetting what they went upstairs for. I used to think I’d always done that, even when I was young. Let’s face it, we’ve … Continue reading
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
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
literarylad 