Still Life With Cat

Here's a thing I've just noticed about this week's copy for the column of short book reviews I'm currently writing for the ...

On the grounds that it's never too early to start worrying about something, I have been worrying about a keynote speech that I don't...

As of Friday morning when I filed my weekly copy a day and a half late, I have more free time than I've had since the beginning of Decem...

are all I'm good for at the moment. * Am up sharp pointy end of Adelaide book, lurching from one paragraph to the next as deadline loo...

Book reviews: 3 down, 1 to go. Honours theses: 9 down, 7 to go. Words about Adelaide: 25,159 down, 24,841 to go. Gonna stop now, have ...

We're now into September (we're almost a week into September; gah) and that means that I'm getting up towards the pointy end of...

If you have to write short reviews of the four novels you've read in the last week and you find you've mislaid one of the novels and...

Can't make an omelette without breaking eggs; can't knit a book review without gathering wool. That's my story and I'm stick...

Writers' Week is about to start and I have to do a few things at it, so there's not been a lot of time to blog -- too busy trying to...

TO DO (in order of importance) Pull oneself together Accept the fact that it's going to be 41 degrees today and suck it up; everybody...

When writing first drafts I will usually bung in instructions to myself as I go along, most often [CHECK] where I have relied on memory for ...

There are four kinds of book review. There's the good good review , which is both favourable about its subject and skilfully, knowledgea...

She was wondering whether it would be nosy to ask Miss Foot why she was on the ship when her companion said, 'I am travelling to New Yor...

For those of you who may not remember Leonard Bast, he is the failed aspirational with whose shabby umbrella the heedless Helena Bonham Cart...

Marking can be a terrible chore, so it's always nice to have an assistant.

... but only just. For all of this week and half of next week, I attend all-day meetings by day, do the reading and note-taking for said mee...

Last time I whinged in this my OWN PERSONAL ONLINE SPACE about feeling crushed by the workload, some drive-by psycho, a species of which I s...

It's been a difficult couple of weeks and it's about to get worse; in addition to the usual four novels a week I have a fifth novel,...

I love working at home. I do. Anyone still toiling in academe will see that lovely phrase 'working at home' and feel their heart rat...

Perhaps you remember the story of Ariadne , who saved Theseus's bacon when he went into the labyrinth to search for the Minotaur. She st...