Author: Morton S. Gray

We had only just arrived at the dance hall when I noticed him. Tall, with dark, closely cropped hair and a stature that suggested authority. All of the men were in uniform, it was after all a dance to celebrate the efforts of our forces. There was some indefinable difference that made him stand out.… Continue reading I Only Met Him Once

I read Maisey Yates’ blog this morning http://www.maiseyyates.com/?p=847 and it struck a chord with me. My sister’s husband had a life improving operation on Sunday and I swear she had already written the eulogy for his funeral. He’s fine by the way. As Maisey says, why do we always imagine the worst? As a trained… Continue reading Striking a Chord

It is a bit disconcerting having a seven year old looking over your shoulder and reading out your manuscript. Thank fully I wasn’t working on a racy bit! I’d forgotten how my time disappears when Daniel is on holiday. Hubbie is working from home at the moment too, so I seem to have become a… Continue reading Present Dilemma

In the warm summer days of 2010 when I agreed to do a talk to the local WI on 14 February 2011, it seemed ages away. I woke up this morning realising that it is not far away at all! My subject is “You and Your Family History” and I have an hour. I’ve done… Continue reading Quick Panic

I managed to avoid it during November, as I was too busy with the Nanowrimo writing challenge, but now I feel firmly on the Christmas rollercoaster (and a little out of control!). Little son breaks up from school next Friday (10 December), which feels obscenely early. While we will have fun though doing lots of… Continue reading Rollercoaster

I completed my Nanowrimo challenge to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I actually rather enjoyed it and am still continuing to write the story. Whether anyone will ever want to read it is another matter. It was good to allow myself to write whatever I fancied, rather than trying to conform to… Continue reading I Did It!

My friend Ellie Swoop and I have identified a problem with Nanowrimo. We are doing wonderfully well with our word count, keeping up to date and with lots of plot ideas, but we have both noticed an unforeseen consequence. Our bottoms are spreading with all this sitting down! In my case, at least, this is assisted with a… Continue reading Writer’s Bottom

There I was, sat on the bank at the back of the school. It was a sweltering hot day. I mean really, really hot. Rivulets of sweat ran down the back of my least favourite school dress. (I was always told that ladies don’t sweat. “Horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glow”, but rivulets of… Continue reading Memory From Schooldays

My latest production, Pendle Cottage, which is the working title for my Nanowrimo novel, involves a fair amount of witchcraft, herbal remedies and poison. I was a bit disconcerted to find the research books I wanted to buy filed under a big notice ‘Witchcraft’ in Waterstones. I stood there hoping no one would recognise me.… Continue reading Burned at the Stake

Has anyone else discovered David Whyte? Ellie Swoop and I first met him at Ledbury Poetry Festival in 2008. He is an inspirational poet. During his performance, in which he read his poetry in a very different way, he captivated us both. He reads his poems very slowly to give you time to digest them and… Continue reading Discovering David Whyte