AN OPEN LETTER TO TWININGS TEAS Dear Twinings, What oh what have you done to my favourite tea? I bought a new box of Chai tea and, yesterday, looking forward to my usual brew of the morning, found two things that have left me scratching my head. That the individual packets are so tightly and… Continue reading
The Sandwich Run …
These are some of the places I walk past on the route I take up my street to head toward my favourite sandwich shop. Which is about a 10-15 minute walk past the historic Battlefield Park, to a road named after me {Ave. Wolfe} that leads to the Québec City Museum of Beaux Arts, and… Continue reading
Lorna Suzuki Dreams BIG
A FANTASY COME TRUE I am delighted to announce that one of our very own, Vancouver-based fantasy author, Lorna Suzuki, will be arriving on the Big Screen 2015. Well, not her personally you understand, but characters from the Imago Chronicles series of books. The marvellous half-elven character of Nayla Treeborn, the hero of the series,… Continue reading
Word Wrangling
Writers are not born; they are created through hard work. WORD WRANGLING Writing is about wrangling words to convey a visual in your reader’s mind. And, to do it well, you need to understand words and what they mean. You need to understand how they connect to one another before attempting to string them into… Continue reading
Frailty
The paint peels, the veneer cracks and—just beneath the surface of appearances—horrors crawl.
Writing a Synopsis
One question I am asked by first-time writers about writing a synopsis is, ‘How long should it be?’ The answer to this is, how long is your novel? The important thing is it should be short and succinct. Some writers manage this in less than 5 pages, others ramble. Remember: A badly-written synopsis is like… Continue reading
Wry Wit
This being a collection of things we wish really existed, and their meanings: BETELGEUSE – Instant space drink made from insects. FINAL SOLUTION – The universal solvent. VALIUM OF THE DOLLS – Robot tranquilizers. MASTER BAITER – The ultimate in handheld fishing gear. WHEREWOLF – Computer dating service for lycanthrophiles. CY BORG – The bionic… Continue reading
Edge of Darkness
A GAME OF DEADLY SECRETS Edge of Darkness, one of the best drama series ever written. I mean, ever. Was conceived and written by one of my all time fav writers, Troy Kennedy Martin. The series was initially rejected but then finally commissioned and produced by the BBC back in 1985 and, subsequently, received six… Continue reading
New Releases
Science Fiction Astounds! UK-based publishers, Solaris Books, has taken up the gauntlet {eh, was it ever, in fact thrown?} and is now publishing the excellent ‘Best Of Science Fiction and Fantasy’ starting with the latest in the series, vol. 8. Which, as it so happens, is edited by award winning editor, Jonathan Strahan. Featuring stories from… Continue reading