Medieval Romance JUSTICE: Book 1, Pendyffryn: The Inheritors Justice. Hard won. Easily lost. To prepare his daughter, Tanglwys, for a future without his protection, Meinor Hedydd contracts with Gwennan Pendyffryn to take her as an apprentice in the Invader’s Gaer household to learn skills that will be of use to others and a source of […]
Elementary, My Dear Writer
The Very, Very Basics of Writing Anything There are three fundamental elements of every piece of written work—including film, non-fiction and grocery lists. These three elements must be present or there is no point in proceeding. In non-fiction, the three elements forming the basics of a book are: Idea – the Topic Reason – Information […]
Dreams & Aspirations – Repost
During my tenure as director and editor for Honno: Welsh Women’s Press, I encouraged my mother to write her World War II memoirs. I presented my siblings and my sons with a privately published copy on her 90th birthday. These memoirs were subsequently published as an ebook, Following the Troops: Life for an Army Wife, […]
A Few of My Favorite (Seasonal) Things – Repost
This article listed some of my favorite films and stories at Christmas. In it I’ve mentioned Dylan Thomas’s story, A Child Christmas in Wales. This year, if you’re in San Francisco, on December 10th 2014 or Livermore, CA on December 14th, you can hear this delightful story read at Merced Public Library (near Stonestown, SF) or […]
Expectations 101
“Have no expectations. Have no disappointments.” – Often heard advice. “Do you mind if I do?” – Right response. Expectation is a powerful tool in a writer’s career. Without expectation of finishing the book, of finding readers, of publishing, of putting words on the page even if no one reads them and a host of other […]
Pen, Paper, Journal (re-post from Avalon Authors) with Addendum
Desperately seeking a lost manuscript (remember those, handwritten in ink, possibly on lined paper?), I came across a stack of my journals from years in college, traveling, first years of courtship and marriage. These journals – the diaries of old – have been replaced by digital explosions of shared communication in forms of blogs, tweets, […]
Memoir of an Army Wife, 1941-1945
I’m proud to announce that my mother’s long awaited memoir of her experiences and journeys during World War II is available at Smashwords, Amazon and Kobo. Soon on Barnes & Noble. My mother entrusted the stories in Following the Troops to me in 1991 while I was working on Parachutes and Petticoats. Although I was […]
Parachutes & Petticoats Cited
Parachutes & Petticoats, my second book with Honno, is cited in Alex McAulay’s Shelter Me. Pretty thrilling to be research material. McAulay used the collection of autobiographical writings by Welsh women and makes a reference to me and my co-editor, Deidre Beddoe. I stumbled across this when searching for my own titles. Nice feature this […]
Reflected Glory III
Congratulations to Solveig Frykman-Lloyd on her top award for her work with CDIC (Cwmni Dawns Ieuenctid Caerfyrddin / Carmarthen Youth Dance Company). Solveig’s work with young dancers is outstanding, innovative and challenging. She returned from a tour in China to this great news. I worked with Solveig for many years at Dawns Dyfed and her […]
Nurturing Pomegranate
In any other habitat, persistance and fertility are encouraged, not so in the cultivated garden.