Most fiction writers are immeasurably chuffed when people write to us indicating that they have entered our imaginative world and been engaged by the characters they met there. This is the writer’s equivalent of applause, and is just as heady. Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Review of The Laughing Princess by Janoa Willsie on Apt613
Write On Ottawa: Dragon fables for all ages Written by Janoah Willsie on Saturday August 1st, 2015 An illustration by Shirley MacKenzie from The Laughing Princess. Seymour Hamilton writes the kind of children’s stories that he would have wanted to read as a child. … Continue reading
Should I make an audio version of my book?
Reading (and recording) your novel is the best investment you can make in editing your work. Continue reading
The Elopus in the Fishpond
“Your Majesty. There’s an elopus in the palace fishpond, eating goldfish!”
“Goodness me,” said the Queen. “A chimera with the head of an elephant and the body of an octopus? Well, you know what to do.” Continue reading
The Setting of Historical Novels
I wrote this piece at the request of Jess Wells, who published it first on Jun 19 2014 on her page at Red Room, http://redroom.com/member/jess-wells Elmore Leonard’s 9th rule of writing is, “Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.” … Continue reading
On Writing at 73
Today a questionnaire arrived in my email offering services to writers. Here’s how I replied:
Today is my 73rd birthday. The present that arrived from my publisher this morning was a quarterly royalty cheque — for $1.98. Economically speaking, my writing is more than a bust, it’s a major liability. However, in terms of personal satisfaction, writing has done me no end of good. Continue reading
The Beauty of Mathematics
Globe and Mail Dec. 03 2013. “Results from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveal that almost all provinces have seen large increases over the last decade in the percentage of 15-year-old students failing the math test.” Recently, Canadians … Continue reading
The Classic Question: How do you come up with your ideas?
In 2012, I was asked the classic question via Goodreads. Message from Natasha Apr 29, 2012 How did you come up with the idea for The Astreya Trilogy? and did you get writers blocks, if so how did you get past … Continue reading