jasminearch

Well, it's been quite a while since I wrote one of these, isn't it? My my, where does all this time go while I'm not looking? I thought I'd put an update here, since I'm brewing up a few more projects.

Within the depths of a great pool of ink, a woman’s voice began to whisper about dragons. Then another. And another. They found each other in the darkness and merged into a single beast to explore their

So in case you hadn't noticed, February was Women in Horror Month. We are sorely underrepresented in the genre. We can be so much more than the victim, the scream queen, the set dressing. We are the hero,

For most of my life, I was convinced horror was not for me. The content I came into contact with was almost exclusively through film and TV and the images overflowed my dreams for weeks. When I let friends

Welcome to the INKreadables, season 1, episode 4. This month, we discuss a 1974 essay by Ursula K. Le Guin, called Why Americans Are Afraid of Dragons. Along for the ride, were Rowena Harding-Smith, who

One of the earliest non-fiction podcasts I tuned into was The Creative Penn. It was the ever cheerful voice of Joanna Penn that first introduced me to the many and varied opportunities available to indie

I could never watch a horror film without suffering nightmares for days. Weeks even. Still can’t. And so, for a long time, I thought horror as a genre wasn’t meant for me. But only a few months ago, I

As a child, I read all the time. Literally. I remember one Christmas, at my uncle's house. A book-shaped parcel lay under the tree and I just knew it was meant for me. Asking to open the gifts would only

Image courtesy of Bruno Cervera via Unsplash.com Feel free to skip my enthused babble and scroll straight to the bottom if you just want to listen. If you know me at all, you know I love storytelling.

I don't even remember where I learned about Print Run Podcast. Hosts Erik Hane and Laura Zats became the first weekly whisperers in my ears. Though they hardly whisper. I listened to an episode on the

Since the start of my journey as a writer, in the autumn of 2017, I've been working hard to grow as a writer and to get some words in every day. Then, we bought a house. A big house with a pasture. An

I’ve been a bit quiet here, haven’t I? I know. Between the renovations on our house, the dogs, and losing one of the horses, it was all I could do to keep myself writing. A few months ago I started on

So, I finished the first draft on this novella and I can't stop screaming. I savoured some celebratory cookie dough ice cream, and I thought I'd share my excitement with all of you while I try to wrap

For those who want to skip my blabbering and just listen, feel free to scroll down to the bottom of the page. This is old news for some of my friends, I know. But me? I'm still inwardly shrieking with

Hello, hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? My apologies. Demolishing half your house tends to distract a person somewhat. My writing time tends to suffer, and honestly, if I have to choose between poetry,

I just read the most amazing book, in as close to one sitting as I could possibly manage. Couldn't put it down. Those of you who follow my blog know that Damian is a dear friend of mine. I knew he was

At the beginning of the year, I made a resolution to do one hundred submissions in 2019. But really, I thought I'd have to really push myself to get there. Between working full time, taking care of our

In May last year, I read my e-mails at work, and my co-workers ran in, wondering why I'd shrieked. That's to say, the men ran in to see if I needed help. The women ran away in case it was because of a

"But--" "No. You've got to go." I looked into her eyes one last time and handed over the bag containing our meager supplies. Enough for Anna to make it out of the desert. Hopefully.

How do you recognise good writing? It’s clean, well thought out, and well edited. Now, great writing. That’s another story. Great writing lives and breathes. It grabs you by the neck and drags you down