The Girdle of Melian

wait. I'm supposed to have an ROW80 update, no? Does it count that I've read two more books from the Pile At Home That Never Seems To Diminish And Was Supposed To Be Done Before I Ordered More (and yet I caved and ordered some new releases)? Or that I have a new idea for a story (another one from a dream!)? New ideas are very exciting, but they don't count at all. There's one week to go in this round, and then when round three starts, I've got to edit something and get back on the query wagon. I always work better with deadlines; here's a good one: Carina Press is still open for submissions (last I heard they're closing for submissions in September) and I've got that paranormal romance Druid's Moon that just might fit... I love living in Europe for how easy it is to travel from one place to the next. We were in London for a weekend last month! Selfie! As Big Ben says on Twitter, BONG BONG BONG... Cenotaph for the Women of W...

he United Nations grounds are lovely! Lovely bouquet from a friend! I've got a guest post over on the A Round of Words in 80 Days blog, all about celebrating (yes!) the software you use. And here's an intriguing essay called Where the Exiles Wander: A Celebration of Horror , whose starting point is the summer of 1816, on the shores of Lake Geneva... Three weeks to go in this round of ROW80. I've been writing a wee bit, thanks to a writers' houseparty a few of my characters just visited! I haven't done any editing on any of my stories though. Meantime, I've been spending 20 minutes a day brushing up on my German and re-starting to learn Welsh, on Duolingo! It's not the best tool for language learning, by any means, but when you only have 20 minutes to spare, it's perfect! Which languages, if any, would you like to learn?

hoto tribute to our Sam: [ View the story "Sam, RIP, 5 August 2004-12 May 2016" on Storify ] A while back I created the Sam and the Food Bowls hashtag on Twitter (I think you have to be logged in to see the full collection), all about Sam's rock 'n' roll lifestyle. His band recorded two albums, Eat Drink Man Woman, and Litter Box of Love Songs. Over on the knitting blog we have: Sam finding the alpaca wool: Sam in a hat . Sam with the mini-Doctor Who scarf for mini-Alex :   Speaking of which, today is Insecure Writer's Support Group Day and mini-Alex would like to remind everyone to pick up an Insecure Writer's Support Group shirt ! I'm also going to do something I haven't done for a while...post a snip! It's very much a first draft, so I feel rather insecure... By way of background, Kedi (who was modelled after Frodo ) is the talking cat from my MG The Face of A Lion : " The Face of A Lion (midd...

ew books! Okay, I know my ROW80 goal of late has been to read all the books we own already. And I was doing really well. But how can anyone keep up when so many intriguing new books by already-loved authors are always coming out? I put in a book order yesterday for the first time in many weeks -- there's a new Joanna Bourne , a new Neil Gaiman, a new Claire Legrand , and a new Simon Tolkien coming out! Not to mention I'll soon have to order the new JK Rowling, the new Louise Penny, and even a new Beatrix Potter! 100 years on -- isn't that amazing? That's not the only reason I've been getting books -- I might be travelling to Kenya soon for work! I thought I should read a few Kenyan authors before I did so. And there are two new releases and a cover reveal this week! Discovering You by Brenda Novak "There was a bloody man walking down the middle of the road." What a great first line! "Can she ever trust another 'bad boy'?...