I had a really pleasant surprise when I looked at my Twitter feed yesterday and noticed the word 'Pitkirtly' lurking in among all the politics and name-calling. I don't mind getting into an argument about politics on occasion, in fact as I worked on the family history book I've been writing this month while I …
Why do I do it?
Even by my standards what has happened this month has been a bit strange, to say the least. I would like to blame Camp NaNoWriMo, another of these writing months that I like to sign up to, but actually this time it is mostly my own fault. Unfortunately I went into April with two unfinished …
My Life, as managed by Dali
As well as being even busier than usual, my life has taken on a surreal tinge, and if I believed in a supernatural power then he would take the shape of Salvador Dali rather than the bearded deity people usually picture. While waiting for a family member to get ready for his custard pie, made …
Light-Hearted Greetings!
Once we get past the Winter Solstice, I find things begin to look up again with the gradually extending hours of daylight. Although I often indulge my tendency to hibernate during the festive season - and indeed this year I've stocked up up with an unfeasibly huge quantity of food that might last until Doomsday …
Déjà vu all over again
This post will have a certain ring of familiarity about it, as I attempt to explain why I'm not yet writing 'Pitkirtly XVI' but instead getting caught up in all kinds of other stuff, some of it to do with writing and some not! First of all, thanks again to everyone who has so far …
New Year, Old Loose Ends
First of all, a slightly belated happy New Year to all my readers! I'm afraid I may have set the tone for the rest of the year by delaying this message, but this time I do have a ready-made excuse for lagging behind, as I had an operation between Christmas and New Year and am just …
Writing about the 1950s
This post is part of a historical fiction promotion by a number of writers on the 12th and 13th of November 2016. Here are some links to take you to cheap and free ebooks that fall into the historical category: The 99cent Historical Fiction eBooks http://www.histfiction.com/history-blog/99-cent-historical-fiction-promotions The free Historical Fiction: Free Historical Fiction eBooks http://www.histfiction.com/history-blog/free-historical-fiction You …
Notebooks
I had a slight panic attack earlier this morning when I realised that my favourite notebook - the one in which I unexpectedly wrote 'Mysterious Pitkirtly' - had mysteriously disappeared, probably during The Great De-Cluttering of spring 2016. Last week I had to carry out an excavation to find the little case on wheels without which …
Gardens and parks
Thanks to everyone who has so far downloaded a copy of 'Death in a Cold Spring' - I am pleased to say it has two very nice five star reviews already. Unfortunately our real spring here is still a bit on the cold side, and the cats and I were sitting in the conservatory on …
Pitkirtly VIII takes shape
As usual, 'Pitkirtly VIII' is taking a slightly different shape from the one I expected. One of the characters - a new arrival - has decided to do something very silly. Of course that in itself isn't all that surprising. If characters didn't do anything out of the ordinary then novels would be extremely boring. I'm just …