Words. Words. Words. 🥰 At 18, I wasn’t ready to move to a city university. I was a country girl. Keele Uni with its rural campus was the ideal solution and offered me the useful bonus of dual honours. I loved English lit and French and I didn’t know which one to pick, so IContinue reading “My career path may have changed, but words are still at the heart of it.”
Tag Archives: personalblog
Why having my own business means so much to me: the story of my husband’s deteriorating eyesight.
Jon’s deteriorating eyesight is, without a doubt, a factor in why I do what I do. But I’d still work with words regardless of his disability. It’s the self-employed working from home bit that’s helpful in our circumstances. Jon is my husband. A force to be reckoned with. A man who defies stereotypes and labels.Continue reading “Why having my own business means so much to me: the story of my husband’s deteriorating eyesight.”
The joy of accidental reading: how libraries are everything.
Accidental reading. Incidental reading. A chance encounter. A Sliding-Doors moment. It’s getting romantic now. Can you relate? 🥰 And it is romantic! You can meet your very own Mr Darcy this way. You can travel the globe! Or, at the very least, you can decide what to have for tea. Accidental reading can happen anywhere:Continue reading “The joy of accidental reading: how libraries are everything.”
What are your best misheard lyrics? Mondegreens and me.
🎵 Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright / Round John Virgin, mother and child.🎵 🤣 Who’s John Virgin? Is he rotund? Is he somehow linked to the Immaculate Conception? Or else he sounds like a snooker player. No, wait, that was John Virgo. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you aContinue reading “What are your best misheard lyrics? Mondegreens and me.”
What’s the last book that made you cry? James Rebanks’s English Pastoral.
📚 I read a book in a day yesterday. It’s been a while since I did that. And why was I so hooked? 🐄 Because it’s James. And because it’s Little Strickland. 😊 I genuinely feel privileged. I bet few people have the opportunity to read a beautiful, raw and moving book about the exactContinue reading “What’s the last book that made you cry? James Rebanks’s English Pastoral.”
Reflections on CIEP 2020. Day 2 at the conference.
Another busy but successful day. 😁 I managed to fit in two sessions of #CIEP2020. Total fangirl moment with Denise *the Scottish one* Cowle’s interview with legend of dictionary corner, Susie Dent. I learnt about the etymology of ‘quarantine’, why some words from this year are likely to have short shelf-lives (like quarantini 🍸) andContinue reading “Reflections on CIEP 2020. Day 2 at the conference.”
Reflections on Day 1 of CIEP 2020.
Day 1 of #CIEP2020. What a mood boost 😁 Loved meeting other fiction editors in the networking session this morning. Top folk! This afternoon’s session on style sheets was illuminating. I use them for all my edits yet it was really valuable to see how other people approach them. It’s made me think about aContinue reading “Reflections on Day 1 of CIEP 2020.”
Who’s excited for CIEP 2020?
🎉The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) conference begins tomorrow. 🖥️ Online, of course. 👩🎓 I’m excited to reflect on how far I’ve come since I attended my first conference with them in 2018. 🆕 Back then, calling myself a newbie editor made sense. I set up my business in the January and startedContinue reading “Who’s excited for CIEP 2020?”
Libraries in Lockdown report: ebook usage increased by 146%.
Wow. Fascinating reading from the Libraries in Lockdown report conducted by Libraries Connected. Ebook usage increased by 146%. That’s amazing. I know that we contributed to the numbers. During lockdown, we downloaded Borrowbox onto our devices and were thrilled by the selection of ebooks and e-audiobooks available. And, remember, the authors of the books youContinue reading “Libraries in Lockdown report: ebook usage increased by 146%.”
Can I make a living wage from self-publishing?
💷 A family friend awkwardly asked my indie-author husband: “But, is it a living wage?” For sure, not everyone who goes down the self-publishing route will make a living out of it. But, if you know what you’re doing, and you put effort into both the creative and business side of things, you can makeContinue reading “Can I make a living wage from self-publishing?”
CherryEdits 