Freedom From The Mundane

Image: Franklin Regional Middle School

The advent of yet more school holidays has seen me working my day job mornings from home this week. Honestly, the amount of holidays kids in Edinburgh get leads me to conclude why a large percentage of Edinburgh University’s intake comes from outside the city. There seems to be more of [...]

May 19th, 2010 | Tags: acceptances, Anthology, Books, Day Job, e-zines, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, education, lit-zines, magazines, novels, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, publishing cycle, Ranfurly Review, Reading, rejections, school holidays, Scruffy Dog Review, Submissions, Val McDermid | Category: Books, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Editorial Comment, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Reading, Writing | Leave a comment

Image: John Cooper

A Scottish quack has called for chocolate to be taxed in the same way as alcohol and cigarettes. Apparently, it’s required so we can tackle increasing levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Forward thinking Dr David Walker, a General Practitioner in Lanarkshire, said: “many people eat their entire daily calorie requirement in chocolate [...]

March 12th, 2009 | Tags: Britain, chapbook, chocolate, criminology, Doctor, e-books, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Editing, education, Eternal Press, Fiction, Fringe Fantastic, GP, novella, Poetry Super Highway, quick fix, society, Stella, taxation, Telford College, websites | Category: Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Editorial Comment, Fiction, Internet, Poetry, Politics, Publishing and Marketing, Scotland, UK, Writing Process | Comments (1)

Image: Elward Photography

Day job today was positively manic. I came into work to a succession of overnight problems needing help with, and with my own major implementation of critical software going in throughout the day, it made for some pretty hectic running around and a lot of brain draining activity. I was feeling good, though, [...]

November 11th, 2008 | Tags: Armistice, Day Job, education, NaNoWriMo, parenting, parents' night. children, Reading, Rememberance, school, teachers, teaching, Two-Minute Silence, World War, Writing | Category: Day Job, Editorial Comment, Writing | Leave a comment

I’ve had a great day. Last night’s culinary treat and relaxation paid off dividends, as I woke this morning feeling great. I woke at a very reasonable time and had a most enjoyable breakfast with my wife. Laura, who has been at her friend’s for the entire weekend, left behind two calm and relaxed parents, [...]

October 19th, 2008 | Tags: assignments, DI Lennox, education, Fiction, Muse Conference, NaNoWriMo, novel submission, Short Stories, Slick, Sunday morning, Writing | Category: Fiction, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (1)