The February Blues

I’ve never really liked February.  January you expect to be long and dark after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.  But February, although it leads us a bit further along the path to Spring, has little to recommend it.  Damp, dark, depressing.

And this year I seem to have the February Blues worse than ever.  Over the last two weeks, I’ve only managed to move Singles in India along by seven pages.  Yes, dear Reader, seven pages.  It pains me to admit that.  I’d written loads but then re-read it and started to edit what I’d written and now I’ve … Read the rest »

The Next Best Thing

Here is an interview I did about Singles’ Holiday for writers’ website The Next Best Thing, having been tagged by Joanne C Hillhouse – see her interview at http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/the-next-best-thing-.   

Please enjoy!

Singles' Holiday

TNBT:  Where did the idea come from?

ES:  From my experiences as a tour leader with a UK singles’ tour operator.  While the characters are all from my imagination and the resort and company are also fictitious, I have been able to write convincingly about a singles’ holiday because I know how they operate, how people behave and the dynamics between them.  Too often singles’ holidays are portrayed Read the rest »

I’ve Forgotten….

I have always been forgetful.  My whole life I’ve had to leave anything I need to take out with me the following morning right at the door the previous evening so that I’ll have to fall over it in order to be able to actually leave.  And this has always been at odds with my recall of events from years back, which is excellent.  I can remember conversations I had with people years and years ago word for word.  I know that my life is busy and it always has been and that perhaps plays a part in my forgetfulness.  … Read the rest »

One Billion Rising on Valentines’ Day

On Valentine’s Day many years ago I opened the door to find myself facing the biggest bouquet I had ever seen in my whole life.  It was a real garden’s worth of the most beautiful flowers imaginable and they had my name on.  The florist who’d delivered it smiled – why wouldn’t he?  He’d just earned a whole week’s takings with just one delivery – and he commented on how much my Valentine must love me to send me such a bouquet.  The neighbours who had been all-agog watching him struggle up the steps with it called out their congratulations, … Read the rest »

Being Entertained

Well, hello again!  It’s nice to be back blogging after my short break to finish the Amazing Adventures of Maisie and Em (from hereon known as TAAOMAE) scripts, which have, indeed, been completed and sent off to the production company.  Phew!  But my deep gratitude to Joanne C Hillhouse for guest-blogging for me.  She still has one final guest-blogpost for us to enjoy which will be posted early next week.

So in the couple of weeks since I last blogged it hasn’t been all nose to the grindstone – I’ve been out and about to a few things.  The first … Read the rest »

Calling all Antigua-lovers!!

For the next part of Joanne C Hillhouse’s guest blog she’s sharing some insightful, informative, interesting info with us about her (and my!) beloved Antigua and Barbuda while tying it into her latest novel Oh Gad!  It makes great reading – I especially love the piece about mangos, which are my favourite fruit – so enjoy and give her some feedback!

Here are the links:

http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/antigua-and-barbuda/
http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/antigua-and-barbuda/antigua-and-barbuda-page-2/
http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/antigua-and-barbuda/antigua-and-barbuda-page-3/
http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/antigua-and-barbuda/antigua-and-barbuda-page-4/
http://jhohadli.wordpress.com/antigua-and-barbuda/antigua-and-barbuda-page-5/.… Read the rest »

On-line Coaching. A Guest Blog by Joanne C Hillhouse

I know you’ll enjoy reading this great piece on on-line mentoring  and coaching by my guest blogger Joanne C Hillhouse.  Great stuff!  Thank you Joanne.

Adventures in Coaching

By Joanne C. Hillhouse

I’ve done script critiques, workshops, literary presentations, and manuscript edits – and had all of the above done to or for me – over the years. But the coaching thing is a fairly new attempt to merge the skills I’ve picked up from those activities and as a literary lifer into a revenue stream. As I told a young girl I was informally mentoring recently, when you take … Read the rest »

Introducing – Joanne C. Hillhouse

It is with the greatest pleasure that I introduce you to Joanne C. Hillhouse who has agreed to guestblog for the next four weeks for me.  I am so very appreciative – and I’m sure you will be, too:

Thanks to Elaine for sharing some of her space on the web with me and for being a 2012 patron of my writing programme Wadadli Pen. Speaking of which come to http://wadadlipen.wordpress.com to check us out, and check out my page http://jhohadli.wordpress.com too when you get a chance. Bless. Joanne C. Hillhouse.

First, if you’ll indulge me I’d like to talk … Read the rest »

Maisie and Em – We Have Lift-off!

What a fabulous piece of news I had from my pal Heather Doram yesterday!

Regular readers will know that Heather and I appeared in the Women of Antigua production When a Woman Moans in 2011 and 2012 as two characters called Maisie and Em in two sketches I had written especially for the shows.  They were very well-received and feedback was that the sketches and characters formed a fabulous base for a TV series.  We both loved that idea – one we totally agreed with – and a young, dynamic Antiguan film-maker, Lawson Lewis, agreed to join us and we … Read the rest »

Toxic Friendship

Much of my last blog post was about the lovely time I’d spent with two girlfriends having catch-up lunches that went on for hours and what a great time I’d had with them.  I love and adore my friends and even if we don’t see each other that often I know they’re always there for me and when we meet up it’s like we last saw each other just a couple of days ago.  It’s particulary painful, therefore, to have had to let go of a lifelong friend in the last few days.

Those who know me can confirm that … Read the rest »