I'm very lucky to have brilliantly creative friends. One of them has transformed The Pirate Tree into a kamishibai form, which is a form of Japanese street theater that became popular during the 1930s Depression and the post-war period. It's becoming increasingly popular again and it's no wonder because it joins the best aspects of …
The Pirate Tree free activities
During the lockdown, I was busy creating free activities for readers of The Pirate Tree. You can now download them on my publisher's website (scroll down). You'll find a crossword puzzle, a labyrinth, a fun board game and more. Have fun playing and creating and do let me know how you like them!
Lockdown activities
Now that we're all staying home during this global lockdown, my publisher Lantana publishing wanted to help children pass the time until they can return to schools and kindergartens. They came up with the idea of setting up a Lantana Book Club. As part of this book club, Lantana will share book readings on their …
Viva distractions
The 31 January was a magical day. I woke up in Swansea (in a terrible hotel, but that didn't manage to ruin the day). My PhD viva was scheduled for later that Friday. Needless to say, I was nervous even though I kept telling myself that I wrote the thesis so I knew what it …
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Last night I ended up watching a documentary about space. Space has always fascinated me, not just because of its vastness, but mostly because of the mystery that still surrounds it despite the incredible discoveries made by modern day scientists. With all our knowledge, technology and supercomputers we practically still know only a fraction of …
Postgrad conference
I was in Wales for three days last week and the sky was the clearest blue for the entirety of my stay. I'd say that's a small miracle. I thoroughly enoyed the postgraduate conference at Swansea University with a number of other creative writing students presenting their work. The atmosphere was friendly and supportive and …
Soldier #amwriting #poem #poetry
One of my pieces of writing I am most proud of is, strangely, a poem. I haven't written any poetry in a long while and even when I wrote poems on a daily basis, the process didn't feel as natural as when I write fiction. I struggled. I imagine every poet struggles to an extent …
Cover Reveal for SOMEONE ELSE’S SOUL #amreading #coverreveal
Someone Else’s Soul Meradeth Houston Published by: Bleeding Ink Publishing Publication date: May 7th 2019 Genres: Adult, Mystery, Suspense There are 14 strangers who share her face, and one company is determined to erase them all. Everyone has secrets, and it’s Diana Kane’s job to know them. It’s a talent–being able to see into someone’s …
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Sky In the Deep by Adrienne Young
Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, god-decreed rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: train to fight and fight to survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years …
What’s in a name? #pennames #authorlife
A recent conversation with a fellow author who publishes her books under a pen name opened an interesting question about pen names for me. I only know this woman by her pen name as we ‘met’ in an online writing conference. We’ve become sort of friends over the years. I say ‘sort of friends’ because …
