My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
Lots of people have asked me to blog about this year's Christmas dinner. I intended this year's Christmas feast to be a celebration of vegan food, with imaginative and delicious differences in each dish.But you know what happens, by half three you have had four gins and a couple of ports plus some dodgy homemade …
Continue reading Christmas vegan dinner… or eat your roux with a difference
It doesn't matter what you call it: flu, man flu, fever, viral infection - it's not serious, there's not much you can do about it, but it feels miserable. Symptoms include a high temperature, fatigue, headache, sneezing, coughing, diarrhea, abdominal pain, sore throat. I have all of these symptoms, plus aching joints, aching ears, swollen …
Continue reading I got those viral infection blues. Thank goodness for cats.
I have been massively impressed by the recent efforts of Planet Rock's DJ, Wyatt, who has cycled over a thousand miles in the bitter cold and raised well over forty eight thousand pounds for CALM. Not only was it a plucky journey in punishing conditions, but it was also an excellent way to raise awareness …
Continue reading Winter blues? This will help to sort it out.
I've just read three novels, all literary fiction, which are really enjoyable and memorable, albeit for different reasons. Whether you just like a profound and meaningful narrative, or whether you're inspired as a writer by well-conceived and well-written novels, there three are highly recommended. We are all Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler, is …
Continue reading Three excellent novels I’ve just read all prove that Larkin was right.
I've finished editing my second novel, for now. Of course it's impossible to finish editing, ever: there's always more to upgrade and revise and rethink, but I wrote this one, currently titled The Matter with Men, from August to November. It was an exercise to see if I could write within the CWF genre. I …
I totally love this book. Without doubt, it will be my book of the year. The blurb on the front cover predicts that it will be a classic in years to come. That's a huge claim, so I began reading it with interest and a bit of scepticism. But it is out there with the best. …
Continue reading Absolutely the best novel I’ve read this year
I've never had writer's block.Smashing out three thousand words in a morning isn't difficult. I started my second novel towards the end of the summer and I'm now on over 65 thousand words. Writing is like plastering a wall: slosh it out and then sand it down and paint it later. Or like making a cake: whack …
Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings is about the brutality of slavery in America's deep south, at the point when some attitudes had started to change. The novel charts the period between 1803 to 1838 and the first person perspective moves between Handful, a ten year old slave, and Sarah, the girl to whom she is given …
I've never been a real crime novel fan although I did enjoy Into the Fire by Manda Scott, mainly because of the sustained tension and the gripping and likeable characters. I heard about The Widow from Madeleine Milburn at a writers' conference and she lauded the book because of its immediately interesting and arresting voice. The …
It's something I hear quite often and I don't mind at all when people say it. 'It must be really hard being a vegan' 'You have to give up so much.' 'I could live without meat but exist without cheese? Never.' I can understand why people make these comments. I'm less anarchic than I used …
That quintessence of dust 