Some Daughters (in-law) Do ‘ave ’em

My co-author’s been up to something!

Paula Harmon

I have been very lucky with my mother-in-law. She treats me exactly like the daughter she wanted but never had, loving me, spoiling me, supporting me and periodically telling me to shut up when I’m talking nonsense.

One of her best attributes is that she never ever criticises the abysmal state of my house-wifery and says as long as I provide her with lovely home-cooked meals when she visits and she has a comfortable bed to sleep in and a book or three to read, a glass of wine and some lively conversation, she is never going to complain about anything as irrelevant as dust.  I happily manage my side of the bargain.

She quite appreciates, I think, the fact that after all years living in a male dominated home, she now has an ally. In general, she’s happy to gang up on her own son in my defence, although…

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Finding the Plot – Venturing Out part two

And here’s Paula’s take on the process!

Paula Harmon

What an experience my first writing collaboration has been.

We started on 19th January thinking we’d be finished by the end of March but we got carried away and the last words of just under 54k were written yesterday (10th February) at 5pm.

‘The Case of the Black Tulips’ (still a working title) is now closed. The protagonists are having a day off in the sun. Liz Hedgecock and I are putting our feet up having toasted each other in a virtual sense from opposite ends of the country.

We started with a series of messages and a woolly idea. I sent Liz a photograph of some notes I’d scribbled on the back of something else (see scrawl below) and she still wanted to continue. We both work on the ‘write first, research as you go along’ principle which meant that periodically one of us would disappear down a research…

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Avalanche – words complete!

Um, you remember that last post I wrote, about a week ago? The one where I said I was co-writing a book? WE'VE FINISHED THE DRAFT!!! Yes, I am rather excited. The Case of the Black Tulip(s) - still haven't decided how many tulips there will be - is a THING! Here are some stats: From start …

‘Schrödinger’s Relationship’ at Quantum Shorts

Just a quick post to say I have a short flash story up at Quantum Shorts. It's called 'Schrödinger's Relationship', so I expect you can guess where it's going (or not)! If you'd like to have a read, the story is here - and if you'd like to rate or vote, go ahead! There are lots of …

Up to something…

So, you may or may not have noticed that I've been a bit quiet for the last week or two. Not quite as many Twitter posts, a week off from Flash! Friday and The Angry Hourglass... When my kids are quiet, I assume that they're up to something and investigate sharpish. Same applies. I too …

Why Bitsa?

NB: This first post on the blog relates to the blog's original name, Bitsa. Please read A Case of Identity to see why I changed its name to Wordster.  What's a Bitsa? Naming this blog has so far been the most brain-racking part. I read various posts by the experts (see below for links!), who of …