I am a firm believer in The Secret. It changed my life. Even though I am artistically successful up until 2014, I don’t know whether I am coming or going. I feel venomous about the arts business. My heart is broken. I have therapy for the first time in my life.  2014. Hayley at number 1 gives...

I am learning a lot from Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer. Things my elitist brain thinks are below a creative. They are making me feel settled in myself. Better prepared for sending WALK INTO YOUR MADNESS book proposal to agents and publishers. I’ve blogged about these so...

Tribe. I am looking for my tribe. I am looking for people who speak my language. My entire artistic journey has been an odyssey to find that tribe. People who should on the face of it be in my tribe are usually assimilated to the dominant tribe. The dominant tribe is white, male, middle-class. Their...

Number 1. Money. By madness I mean your authentic artistic self.I am currently listening to The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman. These kinds of things get in my way and make me frightened. Money makes me frightened. I have been holding off being 100% me for years. Getting waylaid....

Platform I’ve finally understood what platform means thanks to these 2 great blogs.Anna Sproul-Latimer On "building your author platform" & the single most difficult mindset shift required for publishing success.Jane Friedmann A Definition of Author Platform.The image above is my idea of...

Last week I realise my book is more than 12-words. HarperNorth has a tiny submission window. I work night and day. Here is the introduction. Working Title: 4-dimensions. 8-stations. 12-words.  A pilgrimage to the oracle of you.  Sample Blurb:I love that the universe follows...

I've applied for a residency in Findland. Writing it has made me realise that my how-to-write book is not just about 12-words. But includes 2 other techniques I have perfected over the last 30 years. 4-dimensions. And 8-stations. The image that showed me my book is made up of all 3 techniques. Work...

I have began to write 12-Words. My book that teaches my 12-word technique. I'm doing 4 main strands of research. Book cover. Done a few deep dives on pinterest. This led me to old fashioned material feeling book covers. That house topics I loved as a kid. Like botany. And trees. And pressed flowers....

When I blogged last time, I was immersed in my Art's Council England (ACE) bid. But didn't want to miss my blog deadline. I'm supposed to do one a week. On Sundays. And hope someone finds me and tells others and we become a gang, a tribe.I don't do Social media in any form. I don't do any of it. And...

When I first hear Professor Adam Danquah speak, I imagine it is going to take a while to overcome our professional distance. Chancing my hand, I mention my mum’s drinking. By the tone of his reply, I know he has experienced the loneliness of a white woman ostracised, trapped outside of society,...

For an entire week I've been getting my triptych together. I'm almost there. Just a tiny bit of editing on the central panel. Just finished my covering letter. It's not good to send big things on Monday. People haven't woken up yet. Or Friday. People are winding down. I will send it on Tuesday.Hi CI...

I’m gonna start somewhere else. I’m gonna start with evolution and longevity. Stamina and manifestation. My first serious mentor David Gemmel says in my first serious writing retreat, ‘It’s not the talent, it’s the stamina.’ It seems like nice words. Words to make us, his students, feel...

3 months. 90 days ago. Using my Irish mum’s status, I declare myself the mistress of the Jamaican plantation my enslaved dad descends from.November 2024. Factory International. Beneath 4 family portraits, I descend Bette Davis stairs. Wearing a £2000 bespoke denim ball gown. Join my 12 guests at...

Gail Allott is the number one fan of the Reno memoirs, excavation, and Reno at the Whitworth.Saturday 06.05.23‘I received the book about 2 hours ago, already on page 54. Catherine's first chapter "I hate SA" blew my mind, so relatable, she had a fuckin lucky escape. I need to get up and do stuff...