Julia French's Blog, page 2

It’s So Simple!

Life is sometimes simple, except when it’s not. Writing isn’t simple, or at least I don’t find it so. Buying a house isn’t as simple as we would like it to be. Raising a puppy or a kitten isn’t as … Continue reading →

A Ballad To Remember

Way back in the dinosaur days when I was in college, I wrote a lengthy term paper about English and Scottish ballads. The reason this song, If I Die Young by The Band Perry (available in Amazon digital music) fascinates … Continue reading →

Out of the Deep Freeze

The midwestern US has its share of cold snaps, but this year was a record-breaker. On the worst day the air temperature stood at -25° and the wind chill was reported at -49°. Today, the second day of February, the … Continue reading →

There’s Something About Cacti

I have an indoor green thumb. I really do. I’ve produced cuploads of cherry tomatoes from the tomato plants on my windowsill, raised healthy lettuce and onion sets, sprouted celery plants from root cuttings, and kept potted marigolds blooming into … Continue reading →

Hill Magick giveaways on Amazon and Smashwords

Amazon is giving away 20 digital copies of Hill Magick through December 31. Enter for a chance to win a free digital copy: Hill Magick giveaway Smashwords end-of-year sale is on now through January 1. Visit and get 25 % … Continue reading →

Writer’s Block: The Obligatory Post

Some writers insist there is no such thing as writer’s block, and they are blessed with steady production for as long as their writing careers last. Not every writer is so lucky. Writer’s block can strike at any time, for … Continue reading →

My Haunted Village

This month I will give you a brief tour of my haunted Halloween cemetery. This idea sprang from the day I picked up three cheap plastic tombstones from the local craft store to put on my windowsill for Halloween. Now … Continue reading →

Renasence

–image from Wikimedia Commons I’d never seen anything like it, that pool of foul black water filling my kitchen sink. A faint watery sound was coming from the cabinet under the sink. I opened the cabinet door and saw a … Continue reading →

A Mazement

–Longleat Hedge Maze (England), from Wikimedia Commons I can’t speak for others, but for me the journey of writing is like walking through a maze—specifically a hedge maze, set in a sunny clearing in the middle of a deep, dark … Continue reading →

Fire and Ice

                                              — image from Wikimedia Commons I have always had a passion for learning and the curiosity to match. It’s amazing how little I know about English poetry so this summer I have started on a self-improvement kick, studying one … Continue reading →