Sarah Marie Graye's Blog, page 3

Author interview… with Whispering Stories

Here’s a snapshot of my author interview on the Whispering Stories website.

1) As a child what did you want to do when you grew up?

I wanted to be Floella Benjamin. I didn’t realise you couldn’t be another person, so people assumed I wanted to be a children’s TV presenter – which is probably quite a cool job, but not something I’d want to do. Floella always seemed so smiley and happy and I wanted to be that. I also wanted to have beads in my hair.

2) Who were your favourite childhood authors...

Are you a Storyteller? Or a Wordsmith?

When you start writing a novel, you think the writing itself is the process. Then you finish the first draft, and you realise that, no, it’s the editing that’s the process. But the process actually starts before any of this – at the idea development stage.

Whether you’re a plotter or a panster (i.e. you write by the seat of your pants), you start off with a germ of an idea that requires love, care and attention in order for it to grow into a full-blown story.

With your first novel, you disco...

No, using your phone won’t cause ADHD

TIME reports that teens who are constantly on their phones may be at risk of ADHD. But their headline ignores the differences between causation and correlation.

Blink and you miss it, but at the start of the second paragraph, the TIME article admits the research “could not prove causation”.

And this is everything.

With cause and effect, one action directly causes another. Without this, they are merely two things that appear to happen at the same time. Like murder and ice cream. Murder rates...

Diagnosed with ADHD? Don’t expect support from Mind

When I tried and failed to find any useful information on Mind’s website, I contacted them about it. But they weren’t willing to change their standpoint.

 

Many of those diagnosed with ADHD as an adult have above average intelligence: they are the ones able to develop compensating mechanisms and coping strategies that have masked their symptoms for years.

Those diagnosed as adults have often struggled their whole lives. Their diagnosis only comes because they’ve reached breaking point – often...

COVER REVEAL: The Victoria Lie

I’m thrilled to be able to share the cover for
The Victoria Lie – the second book in
The Butterfly Effect series.

I absolutely love it!

 

Can we have cannabis for ADHD too?

It’s not just those with Epilepsy who could benefit from cannabis being available on prescription in the UK. Those with ADHD could too.

Last month, the cannabis oil Billy Caldwell, 12, needed to control his Epilepsy was confiscated at Heathrow airport.

Cannabis oil can be legally sold in the UK as long as its THC level is lower than 0.05%, but Billy requires a higher THC level.

A few days later – after Billy had been rushed to hospital – the Home Office granted him a 20-day licence (links to...

Bookish World Cup stop – Argentina

I’m taking part in the Bookish World Cup with Rachel’s Random Reads.  My guest blog post is written from the point of view of Beth – one of the characters from The Second Cup.

“Every four years I become a football supporter. The only time I pay any attention is during the World Cup.

But it’s not, as it is with many of my friends, to support England in yet another hopeless attempt to relive the glory of 1966. For me, it’s to support Argentina.

I didn’t even witness the 1986 “Hand of God” goal...

Reblogged: Square Peg

By L.T. Marshall

This is me.

A square peg in a board of round holes that we call society.

I can’t say when I first noticed it, I mean, really saw that compared to those around me every day I just didn’t quite seem the same. I guess I was too young to realise what that really meant. To be an odd shape or an oddball that could not slide into the space life reserves for the round pegs around us.

While they smoothly nestled into what was expected on the big board of life and met all those imagin...

The Pict June Indie Book Giveaway – WINNERS!

If your name is on the list,
please check your inbox for an email
explaining how to claim your prize.

Hearing problem? Or more ADHD?

Could the hearing problem I’ve had all my life, which I’ve never had a satisfactory diagnosis for, be part of my ADHD?

I have a hearing problem. I tell people I’m “partially deaf” rather than “hard of hearing” because the latter makes people speak louder, which doesn’t actually help.

I have no problem knowing that there is sound: my issues are working out what the various sounds are, where they are coming from, how to separate them and how to interpret them.

I’ve developed coping strategies...