Hello! My name is Holly and I write under the pen name HL Bernabe. Sue so sweetly asked me to do a guest blog for her and I couldn’t say...

It’s easy to think this world is full of hateful people spewing vitriol or making plans to destroy, maim and kill. The news is full of...

One of the reasons I love the fantasy genre is because it takes you out of this world, with its wars, injustices, and strident opinions,...

When I first started writing, I gave up reading fantasy stories for reasons I explain here. I didn’t feel confident as a writer to able...

One of my favourite TV programmes is “The Repair Shop”. I am always amazed and seriously impressed at the artisans who can take something...

One of my best friends is my opposite in so many ways. She is young, athletic, and loves being outdoors. I’m a snuggly couch potato who...

December was a bleak month for me creatively. I found myself unable to write a blog post, let alone work on my novel. I had no ideas, no...

Writing a book is a painstaking process. From initial idea, to carefully and lovingly crafting each sentence, to the pain of editing,...

Today I achieved something truly amazing. I fully expected trumpets and confetti when I walked out of the Post Office this morning....

A few days ago, I was asked what sort of books I write. As always, I ducked my head, became a bit flustered, and muttered ‘stuff about...

You don’t have to be writing long before you hear about an annual event called NaNoWriMo. Short for National Novel Writing Month, the US...

I am coming up to another birthday and I have been contemplating ageing, and how my definition of “old” has changed as I have added to my...

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a pantser – someone who doesn’t plot the stories before starting to write. This means I am often surprised...

I saw something today that made me sit up in horror. Don’t worry. This isn’t a graphic blog of the baser nature of the human soul....

When I was a child, there was a drama on TV about a mining community in the north. called Sam. I remember the end of one episode very...

A couple of things had me considering the nature of time recently. First, a good friend wrote a blog post about her son moving up...

Whether you are fortunate enough to catch the eye of a publisher, or you decide to forego the long and potentially soul-destroying...

My mum used to be a home help – going into the houses of the elderly or disabled to do housework, run errands, and chat to the lonely....

Whenever an author writes a story, they inevitably share their values within the narrative. By values, I mean the principles that help a...

Like many readers and writers, I am in introvert. Sitting at home in silence with only myself for company, I feel at my most comfortable....