February fings

Happy writing things lately!

Firstly, a visit to fabulous Fosseway writers group with Weathervane.
It was a real honour to read and chat with such supportive, interested and interesting folk. I first visited them in 2009 when I had the privilege of judging their horror short story competition and it was wonderful to be so welcomed back. And it’s always inspiring, and tons of fun, to read alongside Ian Collinson and Nigel Pickard. They show me how it’s done.

Also, I have a review out in the February issue of the magnificent the view from here magazine of Kenneth Oppel’s Half Brother – a YA novel, with wide-ranging crossover appeal about a family raising a chimp as a child in a unique linguistic experiment…

Meanwhile, at work, I’ve been figuring out workshops and writing with children, which has been brilliant. They're brilliant, imagination overflowing.

At home, I’ve been writing a new short story, which I don’t do so often these days, and which at the moment feels a bit, I think, like amateur topiary – there’s this massive hedge to shape and shears to wield and at times I’m so cack-handed I may well end up chopping that fuzzy green swan’s head clean off... Yet, I’m loving it – although if I ever do get it finished, I’ve no idea what I might do with it. But then, writing simply for writing is perhaps the very best thing of all.