Linda Parkinson-Hardman's Blog, page 63

September 19, 2012

How to Write a Book – a Brilliant Presentation from Likeonomics

When I was musing on how to condense everything I know about the writing and publishing and marketing process into just a single blog post I had a eureka moment; ‘why not see if there is a presentation that explains it reasonably succinctly and easily so that anyone watching will understand and take away something useful they can work with’. And I found it on my favourite presentation network Slideshare. The blurb about the presentation says “An exclusive look at the making of the highly anti...

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Published on September 19, 2012 00:14

September 18, 2012

UK and International Writing Competition’s Update September 2012

Once again we have a number of new competitions announced to the UK short story and poetry writing public, we also have 22 ending this month too. You can find the complete listing on the Writing Competition Listings Page.


Now, before we carry on, I’d like to share some of my own learnings from running a writing competition which I hope you’ll be able to learn from too. I was shocked at the number of entries that hadn’t bothered to read the rules or the instructions for submission, which meant...

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Published on September 18, 2012 00:05

September 17, 2012

Phlegmatic is the Weekly Word: What’s your alternative meaning?

This week’s word is Phlegmatic, it is one of the four temperaments first used by Hippocrates in Greco-Roman Medicine; the others were sanguine, choleric and melancholic. I have no idea why this word popped out at me but perhaps it describes how I’m feeling at the moment, a bit calm and quiet and pleased to be taking a break for a few days.


My alternative meaning for the word is ‘loud hacking cough‘ – what would your’s be?


This week’s word is Phlegmatic,it is an ADJECTIVE and is pronounced ‘fleg...
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Published on September 17, 2012 00:22

September 13, 2012

Kindle Giveaway of ‘In Praise of In Praise of Lilith, Eve & the Serpent in the Garden of Eden & Other Stories’

This week’s Thursday Throng Interview is with Susan Scott, the author of ‘In Praise of In Praise of Lilith, Eve & the Serpent in the Garden of Eden & Other Stories’. In addition to her interview, Susan is giving away a copy of the Kindle version of her book to one lucky commenter, see the end for more details. Susan lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has been interested in Jungian psychology for many years after her first introduction to the theory of C.G. Jung while doing a post gradua...

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Published on September 13, 2012 00:21

September 12, 2012

It’s the Agatha Christie Festival – perfect for all those murder mystery fans and authors

Last year I was fortunate enough to have lunch at the wonderful Burgh Island which Agatha Christie Fans will know as the place she wrote both “Evil Under the Sun” and “And Then There Were None”. It really is wonderfully atmospheric and my friend Mary and I had pretty much the entire place to ourselves for the day. The reason for sharing this though is that this is the week of the Agatha Christie Festival with takes place in and around Torquay in Devon.If you are in the UK and local to the are...

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Published on September 12, 2012 00:07

September 11, 2012

The Charmouth Literary Festival – Don’t You Wish You’d Been There?



Well, Saturday was quite a day and for a tiny village affair, the Charmouth Literary Festival for authors and writers, certainly attracted people from a diverse area and background. Many of our participants had travelled a fair distance to come along, having seen it promoted in our local Dorset Echo; others were from just around the corner in Charmouth itself. The feedback we had was brilliant and people certainly enjoyed the variety of sessions we had to offer.


Wendy, Anne & Linda


The Festival...

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Published on September 11, 2012 00:53

September 10, 2012

This Weeks Word is ‘Doughty’ What’s your alternative meaning?

I chose the word Doughty for this weeks word, it’s on that pops up every now and again in the older novel, particularly the classics and isn’t a word that is in common use any longer. I think we should bring it back though as it has a beautiful lyrical feel to it and is so useful.


Anyway, my alternative meaning for the word Doughty is ‘a tea flavoured dough used in baking‘, what would yours be?


This week’s word is DOUGHTY,it is an ADJECTIVE and is pronounced ‘doh-tee’



The word Doughty means to b...
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Published on September 10, 2012 00:20

September 7, 2012

Friday Fictioneers – Wheels within Wheels



Wheels within Wheels is this weeks contribution to Madison Woods, Friday Fictioneers challenge. For those who are unfamiliar with this Friday activity, it is a challenge set by Madison to write a 100 word flash fiction story based on the photo prompt you’ll find below. My personal enjoyment comes from reading the enormous variety of interpretations that come along in both short story and poetry formats. I hope you enjoy my own effort and if you would like to take part there are more details a...

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Published on September 07, 2012 00:17

September 6, 2012

Win a Free Copy of ‘Killed In Kruger’ by Denise Hartman in this weeks Thursday Throng Author Interview

In this week’s Thursday Throng interview I am pleased to welcome Denise Hartman, a full-time journalist and freelance writer for magazines and newspapers who now lives in Spain. Denise is also a member of Sisters in Crime, and a former local chapter president. This week she is offering one of my readers the opportunity to win a free eBook copy through Smashwords which allows you to download the right version for your reading device, or a PDF version to print out if you don’t yet have an eRead...

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Published on September 06, 2012 00:45

September 5, 2012

Charmouth Literary Festival and International Literacy Day

The 8th September is a very special day indeed, not only is it International Literacy Day, but it is also the day of the 3rd Charmouth Literary Festival. The festival is specially designed for writers rather than readers, although readers are more than welcome if they would like to come along. It is free event taking place in the Village Hall at Charmouth in Dorset between 9.30 and 4.30 on Saturday 8th September. This is not a BIG event, it’s a small and cosy event where everyone can have an...

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Published on September 05, 2012 00:53