Am I the only person who has trouble getting their plots to stand still long enough to be written? Do some titles – titles that you love – get set aside time and again because something more pressing gets in the way?
As the final edits of my next Bunch Courtney book is snatched from my reluctant hands by stern-faced editors and the layout process is set into motion I was forced to look at the title of next book in order to list it in the prelims. Continue reading
A few weeks ago we called in a professional to 
prune the vastly overgrown holly and prunus that were running amok at the front of the house. (Picture taken early this year – the lawn beneath the tree died in the summer heat and has not yet recovered)
The corner was an impenetrable thicket that was also home to a vast variegated ivy and though good cover for birds was causing damage. (It had already pulled down a brick pillar! illo)
There is also a wasp nest at the base of the prunus which is why I am holding back from full scale works. Waiting for those Jaspers to vanish for the winter!
Posted in Blogging, Courtyard Garden, gardening, Jan Edwards
Tagged Chaenomeles Speciosa, Courtyard Garden, flowers, Gardening, pruning, trees
I bought a new dressing gown – one of those super-soft velour kinds – and made the mistake of putting it on the end of the bed. I doubt it was there for five minutes (quite literally) before Oberon laid claim.
He is obsessed with velour of any kind!
We went to Marks & Spencer at Woolstanton, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffs today to get various items and whilst there decided to stop for a coffee and maybe a cake from what appeared to be a wide selection.
Peter chose a mince pie – all well and good – until I looked for a wheat free selection.
Oh dear…
My ‘choices’ were limited to
A/ some leaden scones. By that I mean that they weighed heavily in my hand and when I gave them a prod – through the pack I hasten to add – there was no ‘give’ in them at all.
Note to M&S chefs… there is absolutely is no call for GF scones to be so dense and heavy – I make them all the time at home!
B/ Chocolate Caramel Crunch (?) bars so loaded in sugar they made my teeth hurt just looking at them! (Not to mention the excess calories!)
Is it any wonder that M&S have such a reputation for being behind the times when this is all they can come up with?
The GF savoury range on offer was very equally poor – and in my book a bag of crisps so do not enhance the drinking of a mid-morning cup of coffee in any fashion.
When I asked staff about this lack of palatable Wheat Free options I was told that they were frequently asked this question but that Head Office did not have an answer.
This is supposed to be a flagship super store! Badly done Marks and Spencers. marks 0/10
Posted in food, gluten free, Jan Edwards, Wheat Free - Gluten Free
Tagged eating out, food, gluten free, Marks & Spencers, sugar, wheat-free
A very quick Courtyard Garden post today with a question for you all.
You know that thing where you bung bulbs in hither and yon and don’t bother to make a note of which is where? Well that is me all over.
Below is a picture of fresh sproutings in the top of a large pot.
Ignoring the pansies – I think the spikes of green pushing up through the soil may be Alliums of some kind.
Anybody?
Posted in Courtyard Garden, gardening, Jan Edwards
Tagged Courtyard Garden, garden bulbs, Gardening, plants
Having been in Chester for Fantasycon in October I am thrilled to announce that I am returning to the city to take part in the Chester Literature Festival.
The Chester Literary Festival takes place between 10th November and 1st December and has a huge line-up of authors!
I shall be a participant in the ‘Elevenses’ stream of readings at the Storyhouse in Chester. Local authors are being given the opportunity to read from their latest work, answer questions and sell their wares as a part of the larger event and I am very much looking forward to it! (Albeit with some nerves!).
I shall be reading from Winter Downs at 11am on 27th November – so if you are in Chester that day please do come and listen! (It is free!)
Now to go and start practising!
Q&A with Jenny Barber for Alchemy Press Book of Horrors #horror #fiction #alchemypress #anthology
Today it’s my pleasure to welcome Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards to talk about their new anthology The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors, the joys of editing, horror and short fiction!
Today sees the launch of your latest anthology The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors – what inspired you to choose the theme and what horrors can we look forward to seeing in it?
Peter: Besides the very general theme ‘horror’ the book has no theme. I feel that stories in themed anthologies, especially tightly themed ones, can become too similar. I enjoy variety. I enjoy coming across something unexpected. In this I mirror the views expressed by Mark Morris, editor of the wonderful New Fears series.
I use the word ‘horror’ as a wide catch-all net. What you will find between the covers is 25 well-written yarns that will hopefully chill you, or at the least make you…
View original post 2,182 more words
