Well my week has turned a little weird. So doing well with the writing that I have started. All stories that I have done so far have been cherrypicked and it has given me such a confidence boost. My husband doesn't understand why I get so excited when I see the cherries. My little boy who is only 8 years old has covid. He doesn't seem to be too bad. He is a bit pale and has a runny nose but I am so worried about him as his mum. He has lots of...

Another day has passed. I have not been able to write today as I have been working. Maybe I should explain what I do part time and what my husband does part time as we homeschool our son. My husband James does vinyl wrapping. Mostly furniture though he has done accent bits in our car. I am a community care assistant. My job is to help people stay in their own homes by caring for them. Personal care, food preparation and other simple home tasks...

Two thesauri, a tonne of dictionaries, Biographical Quotations, Modern English Usage, C. G. Jung's ' Archetypes and the collective unconscious ', Vogler's ' The Writer's Journey ', Will Storr with ' The Science of Storytelling ' and Brody's ' Save The Cat! Writes a novel '. It's all on my shelves and all remain unread. I see them there, all eager to tell me their secrets but it all seems too much like work. I can't get rid of them because that...

Jagger’s novel is about a poet, Noelle, having a meltdown over her second collection of poems. Being an outsider likely complicated Noelle’s life, considering she is around the same age as the author. (Jagger identifies as autistic and reveals she had been Catholic). A good match of world views with a vampire called Moses added. There are several kinds of coming-of-age novels. We have the traditional Bildungsroman . Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë...

Well now I have written a piece in the first time for years. My son is older and doesn't need my constant attention. He can use his time wisely now and seems to demand less of mine. I love him and it makes me proud that he can use his own time and not need constant attention. I can focus again on my writing and ideas for writng. I loved the feeling of writng again. It made my anxiety go down and made me feel alittle more human. A bit more of a...

Personal Background: Good morning my name is Robert Craven. I am the author of ten novels, my 10th, Malign Intent was released earlier this year. Firstly , I would like to thank Laurence O’Bryan and his team here for this opportunity to talk with you this morning. Secondly , if we have time at the end, I’ll be happy to take some questions from you, (the audience). Purpose of the Talk: Publishing is a very, very tough game, more so in fact over...

So today I read some really good stories by an author called Calwell. They have given me thoughts for maybe to start to write again. Not sure when or how to start but maybe this can be the start. I miss writing. It used to calm me as a teenager and a young adult. Maybe it can help me make up some more stories for my son who is 8 years old. I am trying to go back to my happier days before I had depression and stress.

Bloody Scotland, 14 th September 2024 I don’t go out much. When I usually do it involves watching Celtic and getting drunk. That’s Bloody Scotland for you. But this was a different kind of outing. Bloody Scotland inspired by William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw . Labelled the Godfather of Tartan Noir, the Glaswegian detective didn’t as much solve a crime as solve the world with his philosophical musings. Over the weekend of Friday, Saturday and Sunday,...

Fern Brady is a well-known comedian. I didn’t know that before I read her autobiography, Strong Female Character . She comes from Bathgate and planned to kill herself before she left school if she didn’t get the grades she needed to go to university. Call that overkill. That’s normal for her in a world of hypervigilance in which there’s no such thing as normal. For convenience all the information the reader needs is on the cover. ‘Fern Brady is...

I had the great pleasure of talking to Edith Zeitlberger of EZ Fiction about MALIGN INTENT and the background to the creation of Crowe. She is extremly warm and engaging and her podcasts have a very easy going vibe. It was an absolute pleasure to chat to her. Links below - MURDER IN IRELAND. YouTube Spotify https://www.robert-cravenauthor.ie Check them out!