First draft finished. Phew. #amwriting #writing #writers

Vancouver Night.

Needed a break from writing, so I painted some California Poppies.

‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’ William Faulkner

‘All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.’ George Orwell, Why I Write

David Lynch's writerly sensibility on show here.

What a joy to look at a blank page every day and create worlds. #writing #amwriting

Memories float in the air like wraiths, wisps of ether in flux, fleeting and hard to hold onto. They come from a foreign land, one that no longer exists. They leave no material trace. Only the photograph testifies that yes, this was all quite real.

I’m kind of pleased with the cover I designed recently for a collection of Memoir pieces that I edited and contributed to .

Word of the day is ‘librocubicularist’: one who loves nothing better than reading in bed. (Not easy to say, but I’m glad to know it exists).

Waiting for inspiration is how non-writers imagine writing. If you write, you know that’s nonsense. It’s all about hard work. To steal a quote from Edison, 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. #amwriting #writers #writing

So true.

Taking in all kinds of art really helps my writing process. In the past week,I've read through a number of memoir pieces for a collection I'm editing, been to the opera in Genoa and visited the National Portrait Gallery in London. Now bursting with ideas! #amwriting #womenwritersnetwork

It doesn't happen every day, but sometimes hard work pays off. Thrilled for our team and for everyone who works with us. #mentoringworks #elt

My current writing desk in Rapallo on the Ligurian coast of Italy.