Dante Alighieri, widely known simply as Dante, is one of the most famous writers in the world. His Divine Comedy, is considered one of the most important poems ever written and certainly one of the greatest works of Italian literature. Watch our Italian adventures on our YouTube channel! Although mostly associated with Florence where he... Continue Reading →
With everything going on, I've not been on the ball with my shameless self-promotion. Well that stops now. During my recent writing competition blitz (or maybe spritz is more appropriate), I was fortunate to be shortlisted for the Hammond House 2024 International Literary Competition which also means I've been published in their latest short story... Continue Reading →
Walking around certain parts of Wiltshire you're very likely to stumble across some ancient monuments without really trying. But if you do try, you'll definitely find some. Like this one, West Kennet Long Barrow. Neolithic Britain West Kennet Long Barrow was built in around 3650 BC so it's older than the much more well-known Stonehenge.... Continue Reading →
This summer we took a trip to London, making a not-so-quick detour to Kensal Green Cemetery to find Wilkie Collins' grave. The Victorian author is most well-known for his mystery novels "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone", and was friends with Charles Dickens. Wilkie Collins was born in London in 1824. His father, William... Continue Reading →
Last year I managed to get to the "Magic of Middle-Earth" Exhibition at the Novium Museum in Chichester, two days before it closed. But I'm glad I did slide in near the end as it was a packed gallery with plenty for fans of Tolkien's work. For those of you who couldn't make it, here's... Continue Reading →
In my post "Taking Stock of 2024" I talked about how I'd been entering a lot of writing competitions, mostly for poetry and short stories. And I've been shortlisted for some too, which I'm pretty happy with. Recently I was thrilled to find out I've reached the semi-final in the Fabuly Writer's Challenge short story... Continue Reading →
T.E. Lawrence is known to most as Lawrence of Arabia. That's thanks in no small part to the autobiographical stories he wrote and the incredibly successful film made of them starring Peter O'Toole. Lawrence was a writer but had many strings to his bow. And much about his life (including those same stories) is shrouded... Continue Reading →
Most readers would choose a place they could read all day every day and it just so happens there's a town where you can do just that. Hay-On-Wye is located just over the Wales/England border and is self-described as the world's first book town. There are over 20 bookshops to visit - which is a... Continue Reading →
Misery - Writing can be dangerous Stories about writers often seem to end up on the precarious side of things. Writing, it's implied, is dangerous. "Misery" (by the man who loves writing about writers, Stephen King) follows a famous writer who's sick of his own creation (shout out to Arthur Conan Doyle) and kills her... Continue Reading →
Kenneth Grahame is famous as the author of one of the most iconic children's stories of all time, "The Wind in the Willows". This classic book was written in 1908 but has enchanted children for decades (myself included). Grahame was born in 1859. His mother died when he was just five and, as his father... Continue Reading →
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