Villains and Villainy
A piece of writing advice that has always stuck with me is: ‘Fiction needs a bad guy.’ OK, sometimes the bad ‘guy’ isn’t a person acting with volition but fire, a flood, or maybe a virus, but even the soppiest, … Continued
Musings
Reflections on the Plague Summer
So how was it for you? I doubt any of us knew quite what this plague summer would be like – would we still be caged and cut off from the ones we loved? Would the creeping advance of fascism … Continued
Italics, Languages and Dialect
In the course of a complicated Twitter discussion which I missed most of, this video popped up (by Daniel Jose Older who doesn’t write erotica but nonetheless appears to be an interesting chap). It got me thinking, firstly about one … Continued
Buy #justonebook this week… but not from Amazon
Most of us have something of a love-hate relationship with Amazon. Yes, all that convenience and so on, but much of it at the expense of hugely underpaid warehouse workers and delivery drivers. If you are an author, particularly a … Continued
Road Trips and Resolutions
Now that I can, I’m hitting the road more. Yup, mask on, of course. And hand gel in every pocket. And my normally odd posture is getting odder as I hold conversations while leaning backwards. But I am Out There. … Continued
Not Cool For Catfish
Authors writing under pseudonyms is fine and always has been. Same as musicians, actors, comedians and performers of any kind. It isn’t even a terrible crime, for an author or anyone else whose work doesn’t involve physical contact or presence, … Continued
Written On Your Body: text tattoos
It looks as though they are going to allow tattooists to open up again pretty soon. I doubt I’m the only one waiting for the chance to get some new ink – OK, it has been the best part of … Continued
Have mask, will definitely travel.
There seems to be a steadily-increasing amount of evidence to the effect that face-coverings reduce the spread of the plague. A combination of mask-wearing, hand-washing and staying outdoors – or at least in very well-ventilated spaces – looks likely to … Continued
Pet Names and Honorifics: What Do You Call Theirs?
(I just can’t face any more of my own political ranting, so if you’re looking for something else to think about or write about…) There are several terms of address within BDSM circles which have tremendous resonance, both for the … Continued
A Paean to Pubs
(I’m a writer, I’m allowed to use Big Words). Pubs will be one of the last things we get back, perhaps unsurprisingly – they are, after all, enclosed spaces where people mingle, and you can’t really sink a pint with … Continued