Astrology I’ve never really paid any attention to the signs of the Zodiac other than a mug I have with my own star sign and this mug is so old I’ve forgotten how I came to own it, but it’s always been there. It’s never been used for drinking tea or coffee, and has stored … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 215
Paris As I sit here writing this I can see from the newsfeed the protests currently taking place in Paris, and other areas of France. I’m just back from Paris and decided to jot down a few thoughts as a holding position as I’m forever slipping behind with new posts and I have a lot … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 214
Writing Update In Part 196 I outlined what I expected to be doing over the next few months. It didn’t work out as I imagined, but that’s okay. To quote John Lennon, ‘Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans.’ The book market has certainly changed dramatically this year, notably with … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 213
Trieste Trieste is the capital city of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. It’s a port city, situated on a thin strip of land between the Adriatic coast and the border of Slovenia. It is where the Irish writer James Joyce lived and worked between the years 1904 to 1920. Having read his … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 203
Electronica Part 2 I recently visited the Modern Art Gallery in Edinburgh. This was long overdue as I hadn’t attended for a couple of years. I regularly visit the venues in the centre of town, but the Modern is about a half hour walk from the National Galleries so I could never go during my … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 197
New Novels It’s been awhile since I’ve provided an update. Circumstances have changed and I find myself retired from the frontline of cyber security, and attempting to adjust to life with the possibility of time to write on a regular basis. Many folk have noted before, that the reality once it comes around, is never … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 196
Are you a footballer? Playing catch-up here, but I did visit the Whisky Experience at the top of the Royal Mile recently. I’ve been before, but it has changed a bit and was a really enjoyable experience. Also tried the Bowmore 20 year old single malt in the bar later on which was a real … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 193
Robert Burns Portrait I took a trip to the National Gallery in Edinburgh to see what is described as the lost portrait of Robert Burns. As a fan of his work this was quite an occasion. I was fortunate to be able to find a space to see the painting as the lunchtime queue for … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 192
2025 I can’t believe it’s February already and I haven’t written my review of last year. So here it is. It was a good year. I had writing plans and didn’t manage to stick with them, though I did manage to produce some work. It happens. I suspect it’s the same every year. I blogged … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 190
Strasbourg Back on the Rhine, the next stop was Kehl, in Germany. From there a bus journey took me over the border into France and the city of Strasbourg. This has to be seen to be believed. I can imagine looking up the word picturesque in the dictionary and see the name Strasbourg. It is … More Inside the Fiction Factory – Part 172
