Rae of Light

As it’s my birthday month I’m going to indulge myself by telling you a bit about the 5 things which are guaranteed to put me in an exceedingly good mood and would therefore make excellent birthday presents. There’s something particularly satisfying about watching an excellent film then discussing it in detail with an equally enthusiastic film goer. I often do solo cinema trips as not many of my friends share my taste in celluloid. The ones who do live a little too far away for this to be a regular option. So when it’s possible, I’m a very happy me. Enjoying a great meal in the company of excellent friends is something difficult to top. Basically you’re getting a 2 for 1 deal. The well cooked food is there to be savoured and lingered over while the company is there to enhance the flavours. I’m blessed to share meals such as this regularly with ace friends. This birthday will be no different and there’s bound to be a plethora of these as I milk the fact it’s my bir...

I rarely make New Year’s resolutions as I’m so busy trying to finish off tasks already on the go. Everything tends to carry through to the next year, particularly when it comes to my writing. I know resolutions are meant to be about the personal but my writing and I are so closely linked that inevitably, it ends up being one and the same. This year is no different. I’ve got several projects on the go. My plan was to publish a Robert Deed Collection last year which puts all the Deed books into one volume. Unfortunately due to a spate of migraines during November and December that plan didn’t quite pan out. I am however very happy to report that the e-version of this collection is now available for you to buy. Since you are a select bunch you get the opportunity to purchase it at a reduced price from 1 – 5 February . This is because February is my birthday month and I love to give presents as much as receive them. So here for you is the link for this limited offer.  ht...

It was 19 December and I still had 17 books left to read to complete my Goodreads challenge. I was convinced I wouldn’t reach my 100 book target before the end of 2018. So I decided to indulge in a spot of cheating by raiding the reading closets and shelves of the students on my tutoring rounds. Anyone who has followed my blog will know I have a bit of previous in this regard. Exhibit A Once more, my students did not let me down. They brought their books to me like Wise Men offering their presents up to baby Jesus. Huge thanks to the Chowdury children for trusting me with their treasured collection. You set me on the road to achieving my goal when all seemed lost and gave me the opportunity to read my first ever Peppa Pig . Thank you also for handing over  Little Miss Splendid to boost my reading power and self-esteem. Due to this generous reading donation my unreachable target moved towards something achievable. My next stop was the children’s section of Tat...

Thank you for all your magnificent support this year. Without your encouraging emails and comments on social media I'd be a lesser writer.

  Completing a reading challenge can put a bit of a strain on your finances if you’re watching the pennies or are a struggling author trying to make her way in the world. Unless - you come up with some inventive ways of getting cheap or free reads. My 1 st port of call has always been Carnegie Library on Red Post Hill. Sadly that was shut down by my local council. Boo Hiss It’s a long story which you can read more about in my post entitled Crisis: Ruskin Readers & Carnegie Library . However, I didn’t let my short-sighted council stand in the way of my reading addiction. The whole borough’s library catalogue is available to browse online. This means I can order any book which takes my fancy, reserve it and for a modest 50p get a notice to collect it from a library of my choice at a time of my choosing. When you have a schedule like mine that’s pretty priceless. Using this method of book procuring has several advantages: Convenience You have a never ending s...

I had forgotten how much fun it is writing a children’s book or anything related to it. In the last couple of years themes and topics in my writing haven’t exactly been light-hearted. To name just a few: segregation, oppression and universal ecological catastrophe. See what I mean? Earlier this year I asked my Facebook followers to choose my next WIP and The Witch Adoption Project [WAP] came out tops. This sequel was bound to happen as I’d already been mulling over what was happening to the characters of The Lonely Dragon since I left them on Long Upon A Time world. In fact I’d been storing ideas in a folder I like to call The Vault. WAP certainly contains serious themes (issues faced by children in the foster system being one of them) but several of the characters mean I can explore a sillier side to my nature as I delve into what makes a particular character tick. Quite early on I began to feel the need to add the voice of Kastaspella’s cat Jinx into the sequel. Natural...