Somehow, we’ve arrived at January 9th, theoretically, my first day back at work, and I’m not ready. It’s not really my first day back, I’ve worked more or less through the break, taking care of business in the back office. As well as tidying it, I’ve done some analysing and assessing of my websites, newsletters […]
Happy Holidays 2022!
Here we are again, approaching Christmas and the excesses of the season, in my ninth seasonal greeting. I feel like I’ve done it all before. And I if this particularly manic holiday season has anything in common with those in the late 1920s. A kind of eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die […]
Christmas Conflagration
If Christmas under the hot Australian sun isn’t twisted enough, this story will turn it up a notch or ten. Matilda May McDonald, so-called crazy-cat-lady. Owner of four dogs. Trapped by her past. Perhaps this Christmas offers more than salvation. “Christmas Conflagration” by Alexandria Blaelock is free on this website for a month. If you […]
The Smell of Wood Smoke
The other day, a rare for this year sunny day, we took Clever girl for one of our longer weekend walks around the neighbourhood. There was a beautiful blue sky, and the temperature was warm, but not too warm, with just a lazy wind. And the smell of woodsmoke. These days, on a summer’s day, […]
The Shadow Thieves
What is the long shadow of war hiding? Under a blue sky. Bathed in the yellow late Summer sun. The smell of camellias. The sound of birdsong. The war seems a distant nightmare. Until you turn a corner to see bombed out houses full of rubble. Sadie Phillips is an ordinary country girl. Making her […]
Onslaught at New Mir
A blast from the past Warrant Officer Vivian Ashe. Busy Adjutant getting stuff done on New Mir Station. Old friend Admiral Queenie Baley. Ferrying diplomats on the FFC Argonaut. In a past versus future clash of cultures, who will be the last woman standing? “Onslaught at New Mir” by Alexandria Blaelock is free on this […]
Christmas is coming
I saw my first Christmas decorations recently, and I suddenly realised Christmas is coming. It came as quite a surprise – even though I’ve just done my quarterly plan, (or maybe because), I was still thinking I had all the time in the world before Christmas got here. There’s food and drink to buy – […]
The First Rung
The new broom sweeps clean… Dot Sayers sat at her desk, huffed on the plastic card that was her new class A Private Security licence, and buffed it with her sleeve. She was now a fully licensed private investigator! Problem is, she knows there’s something wrong with a background check. Can’t explain it. Needs to […]
Little Seal Pup
We managed to get away and took Clever Girl for a long walk along the beach. While we were there, we saw a little seal pup. As we walked, we saw a big black lump on the sand, and I wondered if it was a dead seal. Mainly because we’ve met dead seals on the […]
Too Late Now!
I admit it – now and again; I get annoyed with Clever Girl and want to send her back. But I recently realised it’s too late now. We can’t let her go. Where I live, pet regulation leans heavily toward desexing. Not that everyone does it, but that it’s more common than not. Clever Girl’s […]
Daffodils in Bloom
The other day, I happened to notice the daffodils are out. It’s not as exciting as when I lived in the UK – one day nothing, the next masses of them, but then again, mine have only been in the ground for a few years; not long enough to naturalise. But the thing I love […]
Dance of Death
When you die far from home An abandoned Australian outback town. Pulled by four skeletal horses, the ghost of a Cobb & Co carriage careens down the street. A light breeze blows red dust from one side of the road to the other. Li Quan is far from home. The last person in town. Grows […]