And Relax...

As we get older, it appears that time speeds up. I seem to start every Christmas letter (and yes, I do write one of those dreaded things, but it only goes to a few friends that I know want to catch up on the details of our lives) with the words: where has the year gone?

Well today I am saying instead: where has the month gone? Four weeks ago, I posted about taking part in this year's NaNoWriMo. Fifty thousand words to write, thirty days in which to do it - plenty of time!

A Broad Abroad: Home is Where The Heart Is

Not long after the Soviet Union collapsed, I was asked to visit Kabardino Balkarya to carry out a technical due dilligence on a funding bid. A local businessman was hoping to convert a defunct electronics plant in to a factory for the production pharmaceutical infusions (large bags of sterile fluids) and had applied for a loan from an international bank to finance the project.

There Are No Words...

...to describe what most people must have felt when the news broke of Friday's atrocity in Paris. Angry, or distraught, or frightened, or belligerent, or heartbroken; they all seem terribly inadequate somehow.

Elizabeth Chats With...Terry Tyler

Two months ago, I interviewed my wonderful proofreader, Julia Gibbs. Now I'd like to introduce you to the woman who first put me in touch with Julia—her sister. She is a prolific author of contemporary novels described by her fans as a mix  of drama and romantic suspense with the occasional bit of rock fiction. She is also a book reviewer, blogger and originator of the highly amusing Zodiac files. This month, I am chatting to Terry Tyler. 

It's All About Quantity

November is the month when hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world challenge themselves to write fifty thousand words in just thirty days. It’s sometimes hard to explain to a non-writer why we would want to turn out a large quantity of what is quite often garbage. Because, National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) is very definitely about quantity not quality.