Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today, I am delving into the topic of red herrings, so without further preamble, let's get to it. Red Herrings Have you ever read a mystery novel that kept you guessing until the very end? Chances are, the author used some red herrings to throw you off track and keep you on the edge of your seat. What is a Red Herring?A red herring is a literary device deployed to mislead readers or characters within a story. Typically, it's a false clue which leads the audience down the wrong path, diverting their attention from the actual solution or outcome.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I’m sharing my review of Washington Irving's classic spooky short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Click the image to find the book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was originally published between 1819 and 1820 in the essay and short story collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by C.S. Van Winkle and is 54 pages long. The PlotThe story takes place in the small village of Sleepy Hollow, where we encounter Ichabod Crane, a lanky and awkward singing teacher, who becomes entangled in a peculiar love triangle.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today, I am sharing another poem with you. I hope you enjoy it. Healing Healing comes from many things;From deep and thoughtful talks,From words written in a journal,And from gentle morning walks. It can come to you from laughter,Or from the lyrics of a song,And progress may take many years,Or it may not take you long. For me, it's still ongoing;I'm not sure when I'll be done.I've been at it for a while now,But still feel I've just begun.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Wednesday, and it's time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you'd like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2025 here, and if you'd like to read others' responses to this week's topic, you can do so here. Popular/Famous Books I Don't Plan to Read War and PeaceWar and Peace is not for me; at 1,225 pages, it's just far too long. I had planned to read it at one point, but I kept putting it off.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well! Today, I’m exploring creative non-fiction. What Is Creative Non-fiction?In basic terms, creative non-fiction is a genre that tells true stories with the techniques and excitement of narrative fiction. It’s factually accurate yet artistically rendered. Writers use elements such as plot, character development, and rich imagery to make real-life events feel engaging and emotionally resonant. I like to look at creative non-fiction as crossing a bridge. On one side, you have journalism and academia (fact-driven and straightforward), and on the other, traditional fiction (inventive and immersive).

Hi everyone, I hope you're all well! I've been a busy bee lately, which is nice. I always think it's better to have lots to do rather than nothing. I'm sharing a poem with you today - another one inspired by a particularly intense episode of sleep paralysis. I hope you enjoy it. Footsteps on the Stairs Sometimes when it's late at nightWhen you're all tucked up in bedWhen the house is filled with darknessAnd sleepy thoughts fill your head In the moment just before sleep takes hold…

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I’m sharing my review of Rachel Ekstrom Courage’s Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery. Click the image to find the book Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery was published in 2025 by Hyperion Avenue and is 304 pages long. The PlotIn this cosy mystery, we join Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia as they find themselves entangled in a murder investigation. While Rose is orchestrating a traditional St. Olaf-themed wedding for her niece, Dorothy ventures into the world of VHS dating services to find a companion for the day.

Hi everyone! How are you all? I am sharing another poem with you today, and I hope you enjoy it! Heart of Pyrite You always flash your toothy grin,And you're always so polite,But you don't have a heart of gold —Your heart is made of pyrite. You speak niceties face to face,But then go and whisper lies.Your words offer false confection,But they're really shit with flies. You'd like me to think you're lovely,And your heart is filled with light,But your heart is nothing special —

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Wednesday, and it's time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you'd like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2025 here. If you're interested in reading other people's responses to this week's topic, you can do so here. Books I Would or Wouldn't Reread and Why There are several books that I reread semi-regularly. 'A Christmas Carol'. 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas…

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. I’m sharing another poem with you today. I hope you enjoy it. Being I was born "being".I am me—this is myself.I cannot be anyone else.I'm here—I exist—I am "being". I live life from moment to moment,From a to b.There's no other way for me to be.I'm just living, just "being". I've gone through life afraid of "being"—Fearful of what others might think or say,But we're all here on earth "being" together.So let’s try—let's all just "be". Start today. Thank you, as always, for reading my words. It means a lot! Until next time, George © 2025 GLT

Hi everyone, I hope you're well! Today I'm going to share some tips for marketing yourself and your work. As an author, it's important to be able to market yourself. It's how you'll sell books, build up an audience and get noticed. However, getting noticed is no easy feat. In fact, it can be pretty slow going for lots of writers, especially if you are self-publishing your work.Authors who are traditionally published generally don't have to worry about marketing and the like because the publishing house will usually take care of that side of things.

Hi everyone, it's looking very autumnal where I am right now, and I've been inspired so I thought I'd share this poem with you all. I hope you're all having a smashing day! My Favourite Time of Year When the nights are drawing inAnd only street lamps warm the airWhen mornings start off clear and crispThat's my favourite time of year When all the colours begin to fadeBut there's still beauty everywhereWhen sleepy trees drop their golden leavesThat's my favourite time of year When the…

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today I am going to be exploring that pernicious little weed we call Self-doubt. Ignoring Self-doubt I talk a lot about practising your craft, and that's because it's true; by writing, we become better writers. When you look back over some of the older pieces you have written, you'll be able to see how much you've improved, which makes all of the time and energy you have spent trying to be a better writer worth it. However, writing is hard and no matter how much you practice, sometimes it can feel as though you're treading water, and that your skill level is not increasing at all.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. This week, I am reviewing the novelisation of the 2003 film Freddy Vs. Jason by Stephen Hand. Click the image to find the book Freddy Vs. Jason was initially published in 2003 by Black Flame and is 256 pages long. The PlotFreddy Krueger, the blade-handed dream demon of Elm Street, finds himself weakened and fading from the memory of the children of Springwood. With no one to fear him, his power diminishes. Enter Jason Voorhees, the machete-swinging psycho from Camp Crystal Lake.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Wednesday, and it's time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you'd like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2025 here. If you're interested in reading other people's responses to this week's topic, you can do so here. How I Handle Bad Days I’ve struggled a lot over my life with poor mental health, especially these past few years. Those of you who read my posts regularly will know I’m still in the grasp of…

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today, I’m sharing some more tips for reviving an old or abandoned project. As I discussed in last week's post, sometimes we can fall out of love with a project. Sometimes, we feel as if the creative fire that once fuelled the words has become a pile of smouldering ashes. But it needn't necessarily be that way. If your story has gone stale, you're not alone. And you're not stuck. Refinding passion for an old project is absolutely possible. With that in mind, here are:

In my previous post, Worldbuilding I rambled on a little about what worldbuilding is, mentioning, in passing, a few essential elements that are required to make your story world feel real. However, there is a little more that goes into creating a whole world out of nothing than that, and I thought I would write down one or two elements that are - at least in my opinion - required for constructing an imaginary reality for your characters to inhabit. For me, there are two types of detail when it comes to creating a story world from scratch.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I am sharing my review of Davide Cali’s children’s picture book Vote Wolf. Vote Wolf will be released on 28 Oct 2025 by Moon & Bird and is 36 pages long. The PlotThe story unfolds on a farm where it’s election time, and the animals who live there must elect a new leader. So, do they vote for Peter Piglet, who wants “Mud pie for everyone”, Jane Chicklette, who declares “I’ll meet your egg-speciations”,the Mouse Brothers, who run on the promise of “No Fleas!

Many of us have struggled our way through writer's block at one point or another. It is a condition, or rather a state of mind where the brain seems to have decided to stop cooperating and enters a sort of creative shutdown. At least it feels like that. Some people don't even believe that writer's block exists. After all, there is no physical blockage occurring in your brain which prevents the flow of ideas from getting to where they need to be; it's literally all in your mind. I don't agree with those who poo-poo the idea of writer's block.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Wednesday, meaning it's time for another post in the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews. If you'd like to participate in the challenge, you can find the list of topics for 2025 here. If you want to read other people's responses to this week's topic, you can find them here. Authors I Wish More People Knew About George TakeiI only discovered that George Takei wrote books recently, but I wish I'd known sooner. I’ve only read his graphic autobiographies, ‘They Called Us Enemy’ and ‘It Rhymes With Takei’, which detail his life from being held in Japanese internment camps (in America!) during World War II, his career in Hollywood and his activism for equality.

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today, I'm sharing some tips for breathing new life into a stale project. We all have that one project, don’t we? The one that started with a rush of excitement—the characters were vivid, the plot was thrilling, and the possibilities were endless. It poured out in a continuous flow of pure creativity. But somewhere on the way to your masterpiece, the spark diminished. Now it just sits there, in a drawer, half-finished, staring back at you whenever you get the urge to look at it.

Worldbuilding is an essential part of the writing process when it comes to fiction and storytelling. The 'world' you create for your story (or 'story world' as it is also known) is where your story takes place. It is where your characters live and die and where all of the action happens. Often, people will confuse the story world with the setting, however, although they are similar in some respects - namely that they are places where things happen and where people live - they are in fact two entirely different and separate parts of the story.

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today I'm exploring the subject of fairy tales. Come along and discover what a fairy tale is and why it's vital that we still tell them, even today. Fairy Tales: What are they, and Why are they Important? Whether you grew up reading them or watching movies based on them, you're probably familiar with fairytales. But what is a fairy tale, and why are they so important? What is a Fairy Tale?A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features magical creatures like fairies, goblins, trolls, and witches (hence the name "fairy tale") and often, but not always, ends happily ever after.

Hi everyone, as you may have guessed from some of my recent posts, I've been experimenting with poetry. Well, I've been at it again and so I wanted to share this piece I wrote with you all. I hope you enjoy it. Waiting She lies waiting for his nightly visit For his presence kills her pain he’ll stay until the darkness passes Then return to some other plane Each night he comes and takes her hand And they talk about the past About how they’d weathered sixty years When nobody thought they’d last…

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. This week, I’m sharing my review of Jake Biggin's picture book, Words of Friendship. Click the image to find the book Words of Friendship will be published on 6th November 2025 by DK Children and is 64 pages long. The PlotWords of Friendship is the second in Biggin’s Words of Love picture book series, where readers of the first book, Words of Love, are reintroduced to Sunny, a small yet wise sausage dog with a huge heart who acts as a kind and loving friend, addressing common childhood anxieties and questions about friendship.