Libre Paley's Blog: Libre Paley - Thoughts on Literary Erotica, page 11
September 9, 2019
Book lovers
There was an interview with the actor Gillian Anderson in the Sunday papers yesterday that touched on how, as she put it, “…it’s very helpful for an actor, at least in my experience, to slightly fall in love with the character you’re playing, regardless of what your opinion might be of them…” As if to … Continue reading Book lovers
August 31, 2019
Spring clean for September
Sure, there are more interesting ways to feel grubby but satisfied, but this is the one available to me at the moment. Spring cleaning, of course. Yes, the clue is in the name; deep cleaning is generally a spring custom. The origins lie in the Persian (Iranian) New Year Nowruz, evidently, which falls on the … Continue reading Spring clean for September
August 19, 2019
In retreat
In my last blog post (here), I mentioned what a sense of respite and control writing gave me “At those times when I feel I have less control over what happens in my life, thanks at the moment to a rocky work situation..” Well hello karma, because writing suddenly started feeling less of a release … Continue reading In retreat
August 11, 2019
Cook the books
The first day back from our holiday yesterday and there was so much to do. The unpacking, obviously, load after load of washing, ironing, dealing with all the practical stuff that had piled up, dental appointments hairdressers, school uniforms… Yet I found myself cooking, baking: lemon cake, shortbread, soup, stew, wings, savoury muffins, bread… I … Continue reading Cook the books
July 30, 2019
A short and winding thought
Off on holiday tomorrow. Last-minute preparations keeps this short, a single, if meandering, thought. I have mentioned packing (mostly loading onto my e-reader, for purposes of space economy) many books to feed my gluttonous vacation-time reading habits. One of these will be Jeanette Winterson’s latest novel Frankissstein: A Love Story. I read Winterson’s 1989 novel … Continue reading A short and winding thought
July 26, 2019
Never too late to be what you might have been
The recent death aged 93 of writer Andrea Camilleri, Italian author of the Inspector Montalbano novels, prompted me to consider writers that start (not simply finish but start) writing in older age. Aside from one early (at least commercially) unsuccessful publication, Camilleri did not start writing until he was almost 70, yet went on to … Continue reading Never too late to be what you might have been
July 21, 2019
Comfort reading
Anyone with writer’s block will totally lack sympathy, but I am having to stop myself from doing any writing. I have two outlines on the go, but truly, seriously, no time to get caught up in it. I know, that’s the ‘modern sickness’, isn’t it, being ‘too busy’? It can end up defining us, the … Continue reading Comfort reading
July 5, 2019
By any other name, would it read as sweet?
Well, here I am again. The title is chosen and the cover done. Nearing the point of no return. This time I have gone for something that signals the genre a little more explicitly. Though having decided I need to be more overt, less of the enigmatic and ‘trying to be clever’, I then read …
June 30, 2019
Paddling-pool Sundays
In this generally wet, cool, yet temperate climate, there are only so many paddling-pool days in a child’s—and therefore in a parent’s—lifetime. By the same token, there are a limited number of snowman days, too. Such events require the happy coincidence of time and weather conditions, meaning, particularly for working parents, it has to be … Continue reading Paddling-pool Sundays
June 24, 2019
Death of the ‘bonkbuster’?
Well there’s a sad coincidence: on Saturday, a memory was broken open of having sneak-read the works of Mrs Judith Krantz in my teens, and today comes the news of the lady’s death. The trigger for my looking up Judith Krantz was the recent death of another spirited nonagenarian, Gloria Vanderbilt. Out of curiosity, I … Continue reading Death of the ‘bonkbuster’?
