Friday 26 August 2011

Friday Flash - Crocodile Tears

A single tear
Image by Lisa Humes
As you may know, I moved yesterday, leaving London behind for my North Eastern homeland. The move went well and I'm glad to be home again.

Still, I pride myself on my organisational abilities so I had a Friday Flash written and ready to post at the weekend! Crocodile Tears is another Tale from Vertigo City so you can find it here. It's unrelated to my other tales so don't worry if you've never visited Vertigo before, but if you find you like it, my steampunk short, The First Tale, is still just 99c on both Smashwords and Amazon.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Seven Years


Seven is such a magical number, isn't it? Seven deadly sins, seven virtues, seven league boots, seven years bad luck...it seems incredibly apt that I would have spent seven years living in London. Still, the curse has been lifted and the errant word sorceress may now return to her home beyond the Wall.

As you read this, I am sitting on a train with my brother, heading north to my beloved homeland. Gone are the days of full time employment in office drudgery, and dead ahead lie the tumultous seas of PhD research, part time work and as much fiction writing as I can cram into my days. A few people have asked me how I feel about moving back in with my family but I get on really well with them, and it enables me to afford to study something I've wanted to do for six years. Win!

Still, I bear London no ill will for the fact that our love affair has turned sour. I did really enjoy living in London when I first moved there but the Spirit of the place has hardened towards its inhabitants. I don't regret the move down there, and indeed, a lot has happened in the past seven years. I got my Masters, I've been engaged twice, I've lived in three different flats, I've experienced redundancy, I had my first book accepted for publication, and I've met some wonderful people (special mention goes to the VERY awesome Jen Brubacher, who I just wish I'd met sooner). But it's time to move on. I don't consider my move back to my homeland to be a move backwards, but rather a step further along.

Let's see where the next seven years take me.

Monday 22 August 2011

Photo Prompt 47

Latest prompt, ready and waiting.

If you want to use the prompt, all I ask is that you include a link to this entry and a credit to me for the photograph, and that you post a link to your story in the comments box below so I can see what you've come up with! If you don't comment on this entry, then I can't comment on your story.

The 47th prompt is Window.

Stained Glass

All photo prompts are my own photography - you can find more of it on Flickr. You can also buy my prints from Deviantart. 20% of all proceeds go to charity - the other 80% go towards my PhD fees!