“Nothing is sacred,” said the vicar. Carys squinted at him. “That’s not what I expected you to say. It’s not very helpful either. I came to you for some spiritual guidance or something.” The vicar spread his hands. “It is…
Monthly Archives: January 2017
Non-fiction Review: Wikileaks by David Leigh and Luke Harding
If his commanding officers had listened to Specialist Bradley Manning (as he still was at the time Wikileaks was published), it would never have happened. When he first arrived at Contingency Operating Station Hammer in Iraq, he reported the poor…
Tagged with: Bradley Manning, Chelsea Manning, David Leigh, History, Julian Assange, Luke Harding, US embassy cables, Wikileaks
Posted in Book review: non-fiction, Wednesday Pontification
Posted in Book review: non-fiction, Wednesday Pontification
Oak in Winter
The winter sun is our friend. The kind that half-rises in the middle of the morning, makes a half-hearted effort to force some light through the iron sky for a few hours and loses interest by the middle of the…
Greater Minds: When writers wrote their writing tips
Elmore Leonard’s ten rules of writing are widely quoted. In 2010, 28 other authors offered their own rules for the Guardian. The value of technical rules depends on whether you’re trying to do what the rulemaker does. There are some…
Tagged with: AL Kennedy, Andrew Motion, Anne Enright, Annie Proulx, Colm Tóibín, Critique, David Hare, Diana Athill, Elmore Leonard, Esther Freud, Geoff Dyer, Guardian, Helen Dunmore, Helen Simpson, Hilary Mantel, Ian Rankin, Jeanette Winterson, Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Michael Moorcock, Michael Morpurgo, Neil Gaiman, PD James, Philip Pullman, Richard Ford, Roddy Doyle, Rose Tremain, Sarah Waters, Will Self, Writing, Zadie Smith
Posted in Greater minds, Wednesday Pontification, Writing
Posted in Greater minds, Wednesday Pontification, Writing
The Tricks
The evening didn’t turn out as planned. I’d polished my shoes and had my best suit dry cleaned. I splurged on a minicab so I wouldn’t meet her with a lump of chewing gum stuck to the seat of my…
Caresaway is being given away
Caresaway is a novelette about a man who recovers from depression by becoming a psychopath. Psychopaths never do anything that doesn’t benefit themselves so it’s fortunate that Melanie Nelson of Annorlunda is not a psychopath. In fact, she’s so far…
Inspirations: Bringing the science of fear up to date with PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder often affects people after traumatic experiences. Assault, sexual or nonsexual, is the trauma most likely to cause PTSD. Men are more likely to have traumatic experiences but more women have PTSD. High oestrogen levels or injections of…
Tagged with: Edna Foa, Fear, Fran Norris, Hydrocortisone, Mohammed Milad, Oestrodiol, Oestrogen, Piers Morgan, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Psychology, PTSD, Science, Shell-shock
Posted in Inspirations, Wednesday Pontification
Posted in Inspirations, Wednesday Pontification
I Remember Red
In the dark, I remember red that I cannot see. I remember the red dress she wore. I remember red staining the sky when we held hands and watched the sunset. I remember her red lips the moment before I…
Caresaway is Here
Caresaway will cure your depression. Caresaway will make you successful beyond your wildest dreams. Caresaway will make you into a psychopath. And more to the point, Caresaway is now published in hardcopy and Kindle editions. If you’d like to know…
Non-fiction Review: The Snowden Files by Luke Harding
This book should be subtitled The Paranoia Manual. But is it paranoia if they really are listening to every word? As you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t reasonably familiar with the internet superstate, you’ll already have heard of…
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Cockburn's Eclectics 