Rae of Light

Believe it or not,  it is entirely possible to benefit from the many avoidance tactics us ASc sufferers use . One prime example which springs to mind is a recent escapade where I agreed to dog sit for a friend who was going away. This little adventure took me deep into the heart of Neasden, a country where I have never been before.  So, I got my passport ready and booked in at the doctors for all the requisite jabs. While I have friends who live in North London, I only know specific routes for getting to their homes and then I usually high tail it out of there as soon as it gets dark. There be beasties in Highgate Woods I hear tell. But I digress – a little quirk I picked up from Cervantes . The thing is, while out in the wilds of Neasden I discovered a little piece of India smack bang in the middle of housing and industrial estates. The Neasden Temple . It is a wonder to behold. The turrets reach for the heavens and a stairca...

Recently I've been restless and finding it extremely difficult to sit down and just do that thing called writing. Usually I'm like one of those relentless androidy things in Terminator . I sit down at my netbook and the words just go from my fingers, through the keyboard and onto the screen. But every once in a while I seem to be engulfed by Avoiditis Scriptoris. This little known medical condition refers to a writer's inability to put pen to paper. Also sometimes more commonly known as Writer'sBlock . It's a term I personally disagree with due to the use of the word “block” which always seems to suggest you should be eating more bran. When my entire being is subsumed by Avoiditis Scriptoris, a whole host of things become enticing, even Lorraine Kelly . Tuning in to the Lorraine competition is vital so that I can answer the extremely difficult question to WIN the damn car, money, vouchers etc... I contracted ASc while...

Us writers are always working on ways to make our characters jump seamlessly from the page into the reader's mind. We do this in various ways of course. But for me my characters always seem to stem from some part of myself. In Sun Worship I touched upon how I try to experience the things my characters do.  Well, within reason of course. If anyone's read SixDead Men I'm sure they're very worried right now. See for yourself...  Terence Ire shifted his position swiftly and the knife was suddenly more securely in the grasp of his right hand. He slid the blade beneath Marc’s rib and felt the tip puncture the heart. He smiled at the look of surprise on the dying man’s face and pushed the knife as far as it would go before he twisted it expertly. He felt Marc’s body shudder against his holding calves and thighs. As Marc’s eyes rolled back in his head Ire released his left hand from Marc's mouth. He wiped the saliva and snot on the glov...

I've always been a highlighter. I can't resist a neon coloured pen. And when they come in a range of designs with flowers on them or cute ears on the lids which make you think of pandas ... Well, I think there are many people out there who will agree – stationery rocks and cute stationery rocks like Hugh Jackman.  There are definite similarities as far as I'm concerned. When I was at Uni my notes were covered in a range of florid colours which needed an elaborate key to be understood. At times I had to study the key and commit it to memory just in order to understand the notes I'd made. So imagine my excitement when I discovered the highlighter on my word processing package came in a range of dandy colours, but sadly, no panda ears. This little resource should not go to waste I thought. But Sharp Dark Things (2 nd novel, in case you've forgotten) did not require a great deal of highlighting in the text. My embryonic...

My second novel – Sharp Dark Things (desperately needing 3rd edit and hoping to be published on autharium.com ) contains a description of my character sunbathing her eyelids in the early morning sun.   And because I know you're wondering why:   I t's her moment of epiphany.   In the spirit of living with my characters I thought it only right to emulate her actions – feel what she felt, hear what she heard... blah di blah blah. I stood there, eyes shut, head tilted to meet the day and promptly sneezed humungously.  I recall this happening to me as a child.  It appears I'm still afflicted. Why does this happen?  I pondered  So I G o o g l e d it. Because:  a) the laptop is in the next room  b) it can be accessed even with one hand still wrapped around a cup of tea and c) I think a trip to the library for this sort of diversionary tactic is a little excessive And discovered an actual syndrome called P...

I'm in the process of applying for jobs, yet again.  And I can tell you, I'm thoroughly fed up of it. But the thing is, I have this disgusting habit which requires me to beg, steal, borrow, sell my body or do some bloody work to fund it. Yes, I'm talking about my Writing Addiction . I acquired this deliciously dirty little pass time in my teens.  I wrote awful poetry.  I'm sure you know the sort I mean.  And I dabbled in short stories, but also began my very first novel. It was called Panthra and was about a man who transmogrified into... yes, you guessed it, A PANTHER.  I was fourteen.  Don't laugh so hard.  Okay, go ahead.  I'm howling too.  Then, check out the uTube clip so that you know my idea was not altogether crazy. Well the upshot of all this is that I'm still here, 32 years later, supporting my little habit. I've tried various methods to cure me of this sinful addiction . Rae's Writer's Anonymous 8 step programme...

For some time now I have wanted to enter the world of blogging and create “an online authorial presence”.   Why? With one e-novel, Six Dead Men , already languishing on Amazon and another waiting in the wings for its much needed third edit, it stands to reason that I want to increase my online presence.   24,000 words of a third novel is also inching its way towards completion of the first draft. An idea for a fourth novel is already tapping away at my skull and... This is what all the writing magazines and workshops say I should be doing if I'm the serious author I claim to be.   But I confess the thought of having to become a techno-wiz overnight thoroughly terrified me.  So I told myself I would hang fire and wait for the right moment to come along. And it did!   The wonderful generosity of my good writing buddy Sydnee Blake found me attending a Blogging for Beginners workshop run by Emily Benet .  I lef...