Halloween retribution

It’s been a busy week with the development of my new YouTube channel ‘Val’s Tales.’ Covid-19 has caused delays with the logistics of combining people and equipment but where there’s a will, stubbornness comes into its own. 😊 More news as it progresses. The post is one day early this week, as I thought it …

Social Media – Facebook

Wearing my Writing Guru hat, I thought it might be fun to look at the use of various forms of Social Media in the life of an author. Facebook, blog, web-site, Twitter, Instagram, author page, newsletters, give-aways, paid advertising – the list is endless, and no sooner have you conquered one than they change the …

Zombie’s dilemma

A friend woke from a weird dream about a zombie invasion, and only having her cooking utensils with which to defend herself. She thought no one could follow the plot of her dreams. Here’s one I made earlier. 😀 It wasn’t fun being one of the undead. Since I’d been killed in a robbery gone …

Plagiarism advice and story

As a new author, probably one of the last things you consider is protecting your masterpiece once you’ve typed those immortal words ‘The End.’ Copyright varies between different countries, but it’s always worth using the International symbol followed by your name and the year for any new piece of work you produce. Other options include …

‘Listen to Love.’ – “Johnny remember me.”

For many years I've had foxes visit me in my back garden. The first one was Cheeky, so named because he felt at home wandering into the conservatory,  and making himself comfortable on the chairs. They've still got the marks to prove it!  I'm not sure if he's admiring my books, or thinking the curtain …

Romance, YouTube and inspiration

If you think about it, February is an odd month to be associated with romance. In an English winter, the image of enticing, seductive lingerie is in practice more likely to be comfy PJs, a warm dressing gown and furry slippers. It’s surprising that in the English language there are not more options for the …

Birthdays, Unicorns and Rhunicorns.

I’m not sure how my fascination with unicorns began. I’ve never been a 'pretty in pink, girlie party-dress' type, and my interest began way before unicorns became trendy.  A few years ago I discovered they were descendants of the rhino, and thought how wonderful that a great, grey lumbering beast could be related to a …

The Causeway and Listen to Love

News of my latest release below, but first a short story. A friend was travelling across a causeway when the weather broke. Her eerie selfie inspired this story, 'The Causeway.' After a lovely day, the weather broke as I was halfway across the causeway. Torrential rain pounded onto the roof of the car, and the …

‘I think I’m going back’ and sign-up

Is it time for another story?  This one from my song title series was released by Dusty Springfield in 1966 When I was sixteen, we moved from the little village where I was born. My childhood was full of happy memories until my father died in a car crash when I was fourteen. I remember …

Supreme Baker and 2020 Changes

My aims for the blog this year are to experiment with the format, and provide a greater variety of content. This will include updates on my writing career, hints, tips and guest posts, as well as the traditional short story. The end of 2019 saw the republishing of my first book 'Changes' (originally published under …