It's been a bit bonkers here in London with the tube strikes. Journey's taking 2.5 hours rather than 45 minutes and TFL overcharghing me £30. Haven't met any one person who approves of the strikes so how the unions let it go ahead is a mystery. Looking forward to things getting back to normal.

Feeling a bit low this morning as my crown fell out again last night. So frustrating. Hate it when teeth are troublesome so decided I needed flowers. These ones are from my son's wedding. Spirits lifted. Will wait for 9.00 then ring that dentist, again!!!

The Gathering (Netflix) (4) has everything a mini-series needs—who could fail to fall in love with Kelly (Eva Morgan) or Adam (Sonny Walker)? The story is wonderfully crafted. The pressures on young elite athletes chilling, whilst at the same time awe-inspiring. And Liverpool is looking lovely.

The Guest on BBC One — a mini-series in the domestic noir camp. Eve Myles plays this complex character brilliantly, with Gabrielle Creevy offering an equally adept foil? adversary? victim? Loved the twisty-turny story, the acting, the gorgeous accents, and the sheer wow of the Gower Peninsula.

Just joined with this free book promo for thrillers. Who doesn't love a free read? Please do check out the link. Really impressed by the quality of this promo. My ARC novel is The Shadow of the May Queen. Happy reading. books.bookfunnel.com/thrilling_cr...

Didn't manage to get a summer holiday this year, didn't work out that way. But not a problem… In my mind, I am here, enjoying a little peace whenever I get the chance. Wishing you the same. Painting by Yash Godebski.

Really enjoyed this yesterday. An imaginative look at what a collaboration between Shakespeare and Marlow might have been like. Two enigmatic and powerful actors. Great insights into Elizabethan history. Wonderful words. I came out buzzing with excitement and wanting to know more.

I've been away (studying) for so long. Just surfacing out of the books. Hope to be reading for pleasure again soon. Image by Angela McKay. Yes! this is the thing to do on a glorious day.

Morning, Bluesky. Currently reading through, fine-tuning, & formatting my PhD. It takes so long! Thought this painting by Dunja Jung captured the feeling perfectly. Actually found myself thinking “My brain hurts,” & it’s only 9:40 a.m. Then again, I’d rather have brain-ache than eye strain. Choices!

Window boxes not at full loveliness, but getting there slowly, slowly.

Just went swimming. I try to avoid it on a Saturday as it can be a bit of a scrum. Not quite as bad as this image from an Italian sports magazine in 2022, but you get the gist.

Good morning, Bluesky. I loved this image but I'm not sure who it's by. Some say Edward Hopper — not sure. Anyway, just loving that light. Wishing you an illuminating Saturday.

Morning Bluesky. Just found myself in a rabbit hole, chasing images on Pinterest of morning light. Had to pull out and give myself a little calm. Maybe I’ll go back — but I need time to explore properly. Wishing you a flight-of-fancy style day, where your creative projects get wings.

Morning, Bluesky. Glorious outside the windows today. I've got lots on my plate: reading the first draft of my procedural novel, re-reading the final chapter of my PhD, and a little forward planning for the autumn semester. Wherever your journeys take you today, wishing you a fruitful journey.

Good morning, Bluesky. Would have loved to have seen this yesterday. The Coldstream Guards travelled by rain from London to the regiement's birthplace (Berwick-upon-Tweed) To mark their 375th anniversary. Love traditions & public transport actually!

This is John Philip Falter's 'Tidy & Sloppy Neighbours' 1961. I feel there needs to be a middle ground. Also, Mr Tidy has a bit of sound pollution going on there with that TV set in the background. Just saying—nobody's perfect.

Hope you had a lovely weekend. I now have the 1st draft of my crime procedural novel (took about 8 months) This is my first shot at the genre. So feeling pleased I got there. There’s a lot to do to pull it into shape, but the bones are good. Hope your creative projects are going well. Image FreePix

Goodnight, Blueskyers. This image is a little out of season (perhaps), but I thought it was so pretty that I had to post it. It's by Paul Evans. That really is a golden hour.

Are you unemployed and interested in joining a creative community where you can further your skills as a writer? There’s a FREE creative writing course run by industry professionals available in Liverpool. Link below. Please share :)

Morning, Bluesky (not 'blue' in London today!) This came up on my FB feed–what an amazing wedding photo. Have you seen the guests! But the image is edged with a heavy-dose of hindsight-sadness. Poor Paula. The lady was a real fire-brand & fashion icon. Don't burn out ladies; the world loves you. x

Wishing you a lovely evening. This is Amsterdam after dinner — not my photo, taken by Bobby Jack. Wherever you are, I hope it’s peaceful or fun, depending on the mix you like

I wrote my last novel at speed, only two months. Feeling high on success, I reopened a (shelved) WIP. What a different experience! Writing is going so slowly. Kinder was certainly more plot-oriented than character, but I'm amazed & exhausted by the difference in the process. Image Franz Blacksmith

Good morning, Bluesky. Wishing you a glorious day. This image by Anthony Burch shows Sudbury in Suffolk. I tend to miss the county when the weather and the light are as gorgeous as they are right now. Wherever you are working today, I hope you can see something beautiful.

Hope you are having fun today, celebrating the ordinary. This lovely old photograph is from Paul Almasy. Paris, of course. Makes me want to visit. In the absence of a train ticket, I shall just dance around my kitchen.

Good morning, Bluesky. My beautiful son got married on the weekend. What an absolute joy, a small wedding & reception for 24 people close to him and his lovely new bride. They both looked amazing. The flowers were fantastic. The speeches were short but meaningful. The love and respect were obvious.

I am feeling a bit nostalgic today, so thought I would post this short film nine years ago. I wrote, produced and directed, and mostly edited the piece, with an incredibly talented cast and crew on a micro-budget. It was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyG1...

The monthly newsletter just went live with reviews of BOOKS: Blue Sisters & Great Big Beautiful Life. TV: I recommended: (Netflix) The Secrets We Keep, Poker Face and (my fave) Project UFO. FILMS: it was a hands-down-win for Sorrentino's Parthenope. With links to bargain & free books bit.ly/43oYH4O

Good morning, Bluesky. Up early today and still feeling like my head is half full of dreams. A little like this painting by Jane Fisher.

With Kinder written and out on ARC reads, I reopened my ‘shelved’ work in progress The Cruelest Month’ today. As you know I like having images to prompt me. These were ones I used to mark out the first beats.

Fancy a TV treat tonight? Try The UFO Project on Netflix. Just loved it — gloriously quirky.

The latest Wes Anderson is nothing but a disappointment & I'm normally a fan. Don't waste your money. Indulgent & smug with very little story. A waste of great actors & set design. This is not me hiding in the shadows wondering how Wes could get it so wrong, but you get the idea–Art by Edward Hopper

Good morning, Bluesky. Here's wishing you a creative day. I am on the final throes of the third complete edit for my WIP Kinder. Feeling creative. Just like these lovely ladies from Andrea Kowch's An Invitation. (2019)

Wishing you a lovely evening wherever you happen to be. This beauty is from Maynard Dixon (1935)

Good morning, Bluesky. Loved this image by Jeffrey T. Larson (1962). Who doesn't love fresh laundry pulled from a line? And the light here is so gorgeous—a celebration of beauty in domestic acts.

Good morning, Bluesky. Wishing you a wonderful wide-horizon bank holiday Monday with this gorgeous image from Titus Poplawski.

I am part of a cloud appreciation group on FB. Those people really know their clouds and post some truly incredible pictures. This image is from Hesham Suleyman. The natural world is so seriously beautiful. Wishing you all a wonderful evening.

Good morning, Bluesky. Wishing you a wonderful Sunday. This image is from Dave Allen and shows the Southern Appalachian Mountains in spring. As always, loving the flowers.

This photographer's work came up on my FB page today – Titus Polawski. I found the image really haunting, so I thought I would share.

I just entered Kinder for the Bath Novel Award which is exciting. They want a 5,000 word extract and synopsis. You must have a finished novel (as the turn around is pretty tight). I got Long Listed many years ago with The Insect House. Crossing fingers this year I get to the short list.

Good morning, Bluesky. Wishing you happiness wherever your Saturday wanderings take you. This image, from Cathay Pacific, shows the Cotswolds—a truly lovely corner of the UK. When I was first married, we lived there in the most magical cottage perched at the edge of the escarpment.

After playing around with ChatGPT, I finally got a cover I like. I'm not sure yet if I will self-publish or try to go for a traditional publisher. It's sci-fi, so I often self-publish these. Either way, I really like having an image to focus me on the story, and I think this one works pretty well.

Saw this today when out in London. Made me smile.

I've finished the second round of edits on my WIP grounded sci-fi Kinder and asked ChatGPT to design a cover. So far, we've got the one attached. I do kind of like it, but it reminds me a bit of The Great Gatsby with the eyes...

Good morning, Bluesky. Wishing you a productive Friday. The image is of the watermeadows by Salilsbury Cathedral in the UK. I have always loved water meadows; they are such magical places.

Good morning, Bluesky. I'm ploughing forward with my grounded sci-fi Kinder. Tried the Manuscript Analysis with ProWritingAid yesterday. I don't feel it was as good as the analysis you can do with Claude. I'm sure it will get better, but I wouldn't currently pay for it. Love PWA for spelling, though

So, I've finished a draft of Kinder, & put it through pro-writing-aid for spellings once, & listened to it through speechify once. I then went back and tweaked chapter one. Think I need to do this again, but have put into PWA's new manuscript analysis feature. So that's exciting. Will let you know!

Good morning, Bluesky. Woke up to rain this morning — this is a good thing. I took this photo yesterday on Blackheath. As you can see, the sky was beautifully blue, but the grass was drying out. Take your umbrella today. I am being thankful for the rain we so desperately needed.

Just read Kathleen Schmidt's Substack—turns out a Chicago Sun-Times article was written using AI. The journalist didn’t bother to fact-check. A lot of the books don’t even exist. Didn’t check them, didn’t read them. Call me old fashioned, but aren’t you supposed to read a book before recommending?

I uploaded my screenplay to Claude & asked it to draw me a map of the house & write some code I could use in Chat, so that I could also ask Chat to draw me a map. The Claude map was accurate but a little boring. The Chat map was gorgeous but not entirely correct. Rabbit-hole writers stuff!

Good morning, Bluesky. A shot of the English countryside in spring from Honourable&Bold. May has to be one of the most perfect months. Enjoy.