Category: Books & Fiction
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Writers, Authors, Designers: Where to Get Free Fonts Online
Do you use Windows supplied fonts? If so, stop right there because you don’t have to. These fonts are – and have always been – pretty basic and uninspiring. They’re supposed to be as they’re designed for general use like writing emails, word processor packages and so on. But if you want something a bit […]
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International Men’s Health Week: Pandemic, and My Mental Health
I was planning to write this article in November for International Men’s Day. After learning that this week is International Men’s Health Week, I decided to bring it forward. If you know anything about mental health, you’ll know men commit suicide at three times the rate of women. Men are more likely to turn to […]
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The Cult of Productivity & “Do Nothing” Guilt
As awful as the pandemic has been, a lot of people have used the time to do stuff they’d never previously done. The running joke is that we’re all now banana bread master chefs and massively overweight from all the cakes and biscuits we’ve made and eaten. It’s great some have taken the time to […]
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Exploring Class and Society in Carnival Row and Snowpiercer
NB: I know Snowpiercer season 2 is currently going up on Netflix so I’m going to limit discussion of it to season 1 alone. Carnival Row on Amazon Prime and Snowpiercer on Netflix are two vastly different TV shows. True, they have some big name actors (Jennifer Connolly and Sean Bean in Snowpiercer, and Orlando […]
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This World Mental Health Day, Give Yourself Permission to be Creative
It’s 10th October and that means one thing – World Mental Health Day. Last year, I essentially “came out” to my family about my own struggles with depression. It took me a long time to come to terms with the mood swings, the inexplicable low periods, the periods of anxiety and especially the SAD. Now […]
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Frank Herbert’s Dune: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.”
Science fiction is often about technology, yet there are some fictional universes where some technologies we take for granted are taboo. Let’s take computers, for example. Religious dictats are as prevalent in one world as strictures against Muslims and Jews eating bacon are here, today, arguably even more enforced. That is the world of Frank […]
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Do You Believe Book Buying is a Choice of Monolithic Amazon vs Plucky Indie Bookshops? Think Again
Since the lockdown started in the UK, there has been a move to help small businesses. When non-essential retailers were permitted to reopen across the UK this week, it began a wave of “Don’t buy from Amazon! support your local indie bookshop instead!” Ultimately well-meaning and driven by a desire to help the smallest businesses […]
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Microsoft Word Tricks and Hacks for All Writers
Hey writers (professional and hobbyists)! Are you making the most of your Microsoft 365 subscription and using these Word tools?
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I Made Inauthentic Roman Honey Cake – My Excuse is “Research”
Anyone who knows me will know I am a big dessert person. Since 2015, I have made a Christmas Pudding every year without fail. I also occasionally feel the need to make a Spotted Dick or Jam Roly Poly. After watching the Fantastic Beasts Harry Potter prequel I made my most ambitious yet – Apple […]
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