Can you believe it that we've reached the end of our #AtoZBlogChallenge for April 2020? This brings us to Z and with it Zillions. A zillion is still a number I can't get my head around. Okay, I must confess. Most numbers confuse me. Maths had never been my strongest point. I do know, however, that zillion must be a really big number. My husband usually ends all his letters (yes, I still got those!), faxes, emails and messages with "...millions and billions and zillions and q

You probably noticed that we're getting to the end of this blog challenge and I'm running out of words or topics. Or not words I know or would usually use anyway. At least I've heard today's word before and may have used on occasion. yak or yack Slang. verb (used without object), yakked, yak·king. to talk, especially uninterruptedly and idly; gab; chatter: They've been yakking on the phone for over an hour. noun incessant idle or gossipy talk. There is even a song about it! A

When I started this #AtoZBlogChallenge, I knew this was where I'm either going to give up, use something from my travel blog (there are loads of names in Chinese starting with an X!), or throw a tantrum. Or maybe getting very, very creative. So I got creative. As I'm supposed to be a wordsmith, I pulled up my online dictionary and decided to creative. And this is the word I focused on: Xeric. Did you know what it meant? I didn't at first, but now I do. According to the online

Today I’m kicking off my new guest blogger series with a good friend, writing buddy and alpha reader, Vida li Sik. Vida will tell you more about herself, her writing and her wonderful books. Here’s Vida: I like creating striking characters in unusual settings, and to take an unflinching look at the harder aspects of their lives and weaknesses. My characters are flawed, but they grow (and maybe you with them). Hopefully you will end up cheering them on as you read. The Heart S

` My Secret Life with Unicorns It was one of those WTF moments when you wake up at three in the morning with that phrase stuck in your head. My Secret Life with Unicorns? What the hell did it mean and most importantly: Just why? I mean, I didn't see a unicorn, not even a picture of it. I didn't read about unicorns. I didn't watch a movie. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. But there it was, three in the morning I was wide awake with this phrase stuck in my mind. Then, for two weeks, nothi

When I set out in September 2019 to follow a nomadic lifestyle, I had all these grand plans and schemes of how I would write in different settings. The reality is very different, however. I felt guilty to write while I'm in a new city because I'm supposed to do sightseeing, wasn't I? Yes, I was supposed to do research for my upcoming WIPs, but I found myself feeling guilty of sitting to write in my hotel room in Edinburgh, and the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold yet, i

"A setting is one of the most important elements of a good fiction novel. When properly developed, the setting can really bring your novel to life and captivate your readers." That statement comes from wikiHow and it is true. Your readers want to know where the book is set and get the feel for the place. It is not to say, however, that you should sound like a tour guide when you describe your setting. I know, I read a book not too long ago like that. Of course, I did not fini