Nursing the flu, fighting crime

Apart from finishing my article on Bohumil Hrabal for Words without Borders, I have been out of action with flu for a few days. The financial crisis is hitting street level in the form of increased pickpocketing and burglary. I had my bag stolen in a store, my mother had her house burgled. Still we have a lot to be thankful for.

Continue Reading...

Online Novels

Yesterday I was contacted by Susan Crealock of Online Novels to post my novel Moldavite on her blog.

Continue Reading...

Back in Moravia

After a hectic but enjoyable few days on an education conference in Prague, I am at last back in Moravia to relax and write for a few days! Am currently very interested in Words Without Borders and Online Novels and looking forward to more comments from new readers of the first few chapters of my novel Moldavite on Smashwords. There is just such an exciting world of reading and writing out there. What fun!

Continue Reading...

Moldavite

A lot has been happening since my last post to this blog (too long ago!). Have been having some technical hassles with widgets on this and one of my other blogs. Those darn widgets and templates!
Before Christmas I finished translating African Tales by O.D. West from Czech into English (published by Triton in Prague) and this is now at the publishers.
I am also about to publish my own novel Moldavite. This is an exciting time for me!

Continue Reading...

Unlocking Shakespeare

On Monday I managed to make a rare connection between my day job as a teacher and the writer alter ego (or is that the other way round?) by attending a one-day workshop by Guy Roberts called Unlocking Shakespeare. What made this so great was that it appealed to me equally as a teacher and as a writer/wordsmith. Greatly to be recommended for erudition, inspirational value and incredible value for money. I have already started using the material I gained at the workshop for my English classes at school, and even seem to have convinced the sceptics among my students that Shakespeare is NOT an instant sleeping tablet, but a vibrant and thrilling opportunity to explore the heights and depths of human experience through the performed word. Can't wait to get my teeth into some more of those iambic pentameters.......

Continue Reading...