Tag Archives: Sparkle Anwyl

#IWSG – Floored

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Although I knew December’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group post was speeding closer, I forced myself to focus on completing November’s priorities first. So, this month’s question had me stumped… out with no runs. But I’ve jumped ahead and need to back up to address my writing intentions.

Last month, I said my Snowdon Shadows police procedural, Fevered Fuse, was shelved, but some kind writers offered to critique a few chapters for me, as that decision was preying on my mind. They helped me devise a strategy for the series… well, for the first two books, in chronological order. Naturally, my heart is still in Wales.

  1.  ‘Fevered Fuse’ needs work before it is publishable, unless I release it in serial form to fans of Sparkle Anwyl, its quirky lesbian detective. One issue could be that the novel attempted to incorporate Sparkle’s early cases and her earlier teenage conflicts.
  2. ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in the series, is my priority and a better use of my final time here, if I avoid all the pitfalls that plague ‘Fevered Fuse’.
  3. The two other titles, No. 3, Seeking a Knife, and No.4, ‘Ruined Retreat’, will remain as drafts to revise if an earlier title encourages readers to demand more of Sparkle.

As for my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, our Ninja Captain was correct in saying, “I know you are passionate about Ukraine. Keep after that story. Don’t let people forget”. The people of Ukraine are why I keep writing. I’m now attempting to write enough episodes to cover two earlier months every current month. Hence, in November, I covered events that took place between April 1st and May 30th, 2025.

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

December 3 question – As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

My first thought was, “I’m stumped, or I’m floored”, since nothing came to mind.

Then, like last month, I remembered “A Sailor’s Life for me”. Aged about eleven, I wrote an essay on ‘A Day in the Life of a Navy Helicopter pilot’, which was among the winners of a memorable three days with the Royal Navy. All the prize-winners went to Portsmouth, toured HMS Victory, visited the Fleet Air Arm’s HMS Ariel, went inside a docked submarine at HMS Dolphin, and travelled on the guided missile destroyer, HMS Devonshire, along the South Coast from Portsmouth to Devonport. Of course, I didn’t join the Royal Navy, as my career took a different path, as I covered last month.

HMS Victory in drydock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Date: 9 May 2008 (according to Exif data). Source/Author: Ballista

However, prizes aren’t gifts, and that means thinking of one that gets me off the floor…

Maybe a tape recorder. Recently, my wife, Juanita, bought me a recorder so I could tape crazy thoughts at night or when my laptop was asleep. Great gift and better than the high-tech digital one that was too small for my fingers in the dark. The only problem is when Juanita asks who I’m talking to. Perhaps creating an acronym, as my detective Sparkle Anwyl does, is my most accessible mnemonic device.

Looking at my desk reminds me of other cool gifts: the decorated notebooks that friends and family have given me over the years… some too attractive for my scrawl.

There are sure to be cooler gifts, but they’ve evaded recall.

**

The awesome co-hosts for the December 3 posting of the IWSG are Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre!

Finally, don’t forget to visit other writers via the IWSG site for their invaluable insights on writing:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!


Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

#IWSG – A Writer’s Life

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Another month has slipped by, so it’s time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. And yet another chance to reassess my writing strategy, and my life.

Although I’d shelved my Snowdon Shadows police procedural, Fevered Fuse, while I changed focus, that decision has been preying on my mind.

Is ‘Fevered Fuse’ something I need to rewrite to make it publishable? Is Sparkle Anwyl, its quirky lesbian detective, a minus? Is revising ‘Fates Maelstrom’, the second book in the series, a better use of my final time here?  The two other titles of the series exist: No. 3 ‘Seeking a Knife’s first draft is half-written; No.4 ‘Ruined Retreat’s first draft was written in November 2017, for NaNoWriMo. Have I been wasting my time creating Sparkle Anwyl and her world? Did my beta-readers and my editor waste their precious time?

Please, does anyone have enough time to read even the first page or chapter of ‘Fevered Fuse’? If someone is really keen, she/he could read the first three chapters of ‘Fevered Fuse’ and ‘Fates Maelstrom’ to let me know if either is worth continuing with.

Sparkle & Kama Graphics by Jonathan Temples – http://jonathantemples.co.uk/

Maybe I need to skip both titles and revise ‘Ruined Retreat’. 😉

As for my Ukraine saga, Freedom Flights, I face different dilemmas. Will I finish writing the episodes before the war ends? More importantly for the people suffering, when will that end and with the just peace they deserve?

For the few still reading the episodes, including those clicking ‘Like’, I should post the second April 2025 episode later this week. Obviously, I’m still following the news from Ukraine and now the troubling news from Venezuela. Cuban Missile Crisis Mark 2, Trump version?

Slava Ukraini

Heroiam slava!

**

Every month, IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

November 5 question – When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way?

My first thought was, “A Sailor’s Life for me”, but then I remembered when I made my first scribblings and dreamt of “A Farmer’s Life for me”.

A decade later, after part-time work mowing lawns and mucking out horses in Canada, I entered the journalism world… as a lowly sub-editor in London, back home in the UK. Beyond subbing ‘Fishing Reports’ and short pieces in The Field magazine, I was gradually allowed to attend events that required brief reports. Finally, I wrote my first published full-page article, anywhere. It was also my first equestrian article, and about a place where I’d had a summer job, The All England Jumping Course, at Hickstead.

http://www.thefield.co.uk

By then, I wanted to be a journalist, even returning briefly to Canada to cover the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, with interesting results, especially equestrian. Writing an article for the Canadian equestrian magazine The Corinthian on a major British event should have been my breakthrough as a journalist, as should have been my brief time at a Journalism College.

However, a series of events turned me into an equestrian photographer, then an organic fresh produce wholesaler, to green campaigner, and a video producer.

I’ve never stopped scribbling, even before my job at ‘The Field’. In my teens, I was already penning short stories, mainly science fiction and fantasy. While at my finishing school in Canada, I produced an SFF fanzine called ‘Mind Sphere’ and received my first and only physical rejection letter.   

In my late thirties, I was briefly the editor of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association’s journal, New Ground, and wrote a few articles. Almost two decades after my first foray into journalism, I became a regular contributor to some equestrian magazines as a journalist and occasional photographer.

Dick Lane and his team of Lipizzaners at Brighton Driving Trials. Photo: Roland Clarke

While watching a show-jumping class at Olympia in London, the ideas for a plot took shape, and thirteen years later, my only published novel, Spiral of Hooves, was released.

My writing life hasn’t been straightforward, mainly because I’ve let myself be sidetracked. Finally, bedridden by multiple sclerosis, I should be able to focus on writing… one thing. Unfortunately, not, as I outlined last month.

Now, I have Sparkle Anwyl, my favourite character, vying with Freedom Flights, for my attention. The latter now dictates my life, but something tells me I need to keep ‘making hay while the sun shines’.

*

The awesome co-hosts for the November 5 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw, and Melissa Maygrove!

Finally, don’t forget to visit other writers via the IWSG site for their invaluable insights on writing:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG, and our hashtag is #IWSG.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!


Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

WEP Get Together – February

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If this fails to appear on February 1st, blame HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) for wanting me to file my 2022-2023 tax return by midnight on January 31st, 2024. Failure to submit by the deadline incurs a £100 fine, which increases after 3 months. Unfortunately, I won’t have submitted the return by the time this post appears, as I’m still missing one document.

However, this WEP Get Together may be about more than writing, yet scribbling might distract me from worrying about unforeseen mishaps.

As I wrote in my last blog post, I will continue writing more Freedom Flights episodes until a just peace for Ukraine is reached. I’m aiming for one episode per month and have devised a thread echoing the 2023 WEP/IWSG Challenges movie theme. February’s episode may appear next week.

Graphics by Jonathan Temples – 
http://jonathantemples.co.uk/

My crucial and ongoing issue is editing. Although I have an excellent editor in London, Yen Ooi, I’m over a year behind on her suggested revisions of Fevered Fuse, my North Wales police procedural… the first novel with Sparkle Anwyl. I’m slow, partly as ‘Freedom Flights’ keeps demanding my attention, but mainly as I struggle with health problems including deteriorating eyesight. I fear another rewrite may be a draft too far, even though my UK editor understands my style and approach. Incidentally, Yen was the UK editor of my first novel, Spiral of Hooves.

Maybe I must seriously consider finding a ghostwriter to ensure that at least two more novels are published. A UK journalist cousin did offer to help… but for a price. As for my American stepfamily, there were no serious offers… at any price.

What price is reasonable? Have you ever considered any form of writing partnership?

“The writing world changes constantly and is not without its challenges.” Denise Covey

For other WEP Get Together posts visit:

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2024/01/1-wep-get-together-february-1-2024.html

P.S. I love Olga’s badge for WEP at the head of this post.

#IWSG – Twists

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I’m writing this monthly Insecure Writer’s Support Group post as the new month starts… and as my bed-ridden position is bearable this morning.

And my long-suffering wife brought me Apple Orchard tea, despite her bad knees and other ailments. I wish our family did more… but they try given their own problems.

The usual single key tapping continues, but my new pain-med regimen helps ease the intermittent pain, improving my concentration.

My Snowdonia police procedural still depends on my desktop appearing… within another three months, perhaps.

My October WEP-IWSG Challenge – ‘Thriller’ theme – is written but needs honing. I’ve even started creating ‘Freedom Flights’, which will be a collation/collection of all my Ukraine stories.

Part 1 will be ‘Feathered Fire’, my historical fantasy which appeared in the IWSG Anthology ‘The Third Ghost’ and introduced the Cheyka family from Ukraine. However, there may be complications using a published piece.

Part II will be my Challenge pieces on the current conflict in Ukraine.

Anyway IWSG. Remember, the question is optional!

October 5 question – What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

I hesitate over ‘favorite genre’ as my current writing for the WEP-IWSG Challenge could be classed as ‘contemporary’ or will become ‘historical’ in a few decades.

My current audio read, ‘The Last Restaurant in Paris’ by Lily Graham, is classed as Historical, as it’s set in WW2… and present day.

OK… so best characteristics of Historical: seamless blend of fact and fiction.

Does that make ‘Freedom Flight’ historical? Eastern Front WW2 and present-day Russian invasion?

Let’s switch to my equally favorite genre… Crime.

Graphics by Jonathan Temples – 
http://jonathantemples.co.uk/

As in ‘Fevered Fuse’ my police procedural novel, undergoing revision, well, awaiting that desktop appearance. Plus, all my other Sparkle stories set in Snowdonia are police procedurals.

And my wife and I are avidly watching ‘The Brokenwood Mysteries” on Acorn TV, a New Zealand series with a great mix of quirky characters.

That’s not quite the Crime genre’s best characteristics… almost.

Twists

Whether red herrings, misleading information, false trails, or any crafty plot coils, a devious writer uses.

Used craftily, these keep our little grey cells firing and our minds entertained.

**
The awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker,Victoria Marie Lees,Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!

Finally, don’t forget to visit more active writers via the IWSG site:

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

#WEP/IWSG December Challenge – Narcissus

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I feared my entry for this month’s WEP/IWSG Challenge would be too late, but then as I wrote this short piece, I realised I had to post today. The reason might become relevant on reading the last scene. As for the theme, I found a Welsh element to tie elements together for Sparkle and Kama.

This 2021 Year of the Art theme has provoked some interesting thoughts – and trips down rabbit holes.

Although this year’s posts are not another ongoing case for Sparkle Anwyl and Kama Pillai of the North Wales Police, I’ve attempted something else involving them. So, once more I’m going down the stand-alone path with my dynamic Welsh duo.

But this time, I’ve tried a change of genre – well, perhaps. Also, this is a response to my editor pointing out an oversight in my Fevered Fuse novel – the lack of personal growth.

As always, apologies if I’m slow to respond or slow to visit your posts.

Plus, ensure you visit all the other writers in this challenge via:

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com

BLURB:

Uplifted by daffodils, two women affirm their love and pledge to fight for human rights.

MIRRORED PRIDE

2016

Saturday, 10th December

I stare at the unfamiliar reflection and wince. Pain comes with the job,but I can’t go out like this – not to celebrate.

Stupid. Some guys never give up easily – even cuffed.

Does it matter how I look? I purse my lips. Perhaps. I’m not vain, but tonight is special.

I reach for the makeup bag. Should I use some yellow concealer to hide my black eye? The icepack helped, but it’s still obvious. People might jump to the wrong conclusion. Abusive partner.

My fingers touch the slash on my cheek. Is a scar a turn off or a mark of courage?

Will Kama care? My whisper echoes round our bedroom.

“Of course not, cariad.” Kama replies in the doorway. I swivel and smile as she walks over, then kisses me softly. “You’re beautiful whatever happens.”

Then she sits down beside me at the vanity table.She traces the cut, then my nose. “At least, he didn’t break your mischievous feature.” She continues caressing my face.

The perfect excuse for my own daring exploration for hidden pleasure.

“Leave something for later. We need to get dressed up not down. After dinner antics are best.”

“Haven’t we always eaten first.” I slow my teasing hands, then add, “We never break the rules.”

“Except speeding on our bikes. That’s an unbroken addiction.”

Motorbikes brought us together nearly five years earlier – as did crime and our first case together.

I let our lips meet, and I enjoy the taste of minty cardamom. Long and lingering, and then I ask, “Do you ever regret the life we lead?”

“Never. I’m proud to be your partner. Both as a wife and a cop. You have doubts?”

“No longer, chellam. I admit my heart has wavered – doubt can be a mischievous trickster – was once. But we’ve proved ourselves as women, as lovers, and as crime busters.”

Kama clasps my hands. “Now we can be open with our pride, despite the risks.”

“Risk is our adrenaline and will be forever. And there are tests ahead, but we have each other. Still, I’m covering up these blemishes before we go out.”

“The table is booked for eight so I can pamper myself too. And then I’ve a present for us downstairs. Seasonal light for the cottage.”

***

https://www.dutchgrown.com/blogs/planting-tips/christmas-paperwhites-amaryllis

A floral feast fills our front room. Dozens of displays of daffodils, not yellow but white blooms.

Kama beams with the flowers. “It may be eleven weeks until St David’s Day on March 1st, but why wait until our Welsh National Holiday?”

“Paperwhites – I love these daffodils. Perfect Christmas light bringers.”

“And I bought some bulbs to plant for the Spring as well. Plus, I added some which might flower on New Year’s Day. Those bring good fortune according to Chinese legend.”

“A bonus – even if having each other is our valuable destiny already.”

“I’ll echo that sentiment, cariad.”

***

We arrive on time at the Italian trattoria to celebrate and ‘Stand up for someone’s rights’ on a day when we are lucky to be in Wales.

When our cocktails arrive, I toast all those who fight for justice. “Not just on Human Rights Day but at every moment, chellam.”

“And together, we can take a stand for more humanity.”

On the wall behind, the face of Caravaggio’s Narcissus looks down through his pool of water at us and the vase of paperwhites on our table.

Caravaggio’s Narcissus – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Galleria_Nazionale_d%27Arte_Antica

571 words FCA

Crime never sleeps.

Nor does the fight for justice and human rights.

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/HRDay2016/Pages/StandUp4HumanRights.aspx

#WEP/IWSG October Challenge – The Scream

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Crime never sleeps.

Well, despite destroying the original version of my October/Halloween WEP/IWSG challenge – accidentally – I managed to recall enough for another version. Only my wife read/heard the original, so might sense where this differs. We didn’t tempt fate by re-reading this version. Please note, she wasn’t the one who destroyed the earlier draft – unlike Fanny Stevenson’s response to her husband’s creation:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/25/books.booksnews

I’m not saying my short is comparable to the famous novel, but reading this article, I see a few echoes – or maybe not.

Anyway, this 2021 Year of the Art theme continues to provoke some interesting thoughts – and tempts me down rabbit holes. One of those arose from an interesting link on the WEP site – more on that at the end.

Although this year’s posts are not another ongoing case for Sparkle Anwyl and Kama Pillai of the North Wales Police, I’ve attempted something else involving them. So, once more I’m going down the stand-alone path with my dynamic Welsh duo.

But this time, I’ve tried a change of genre – well, perhaps.

As always, apologies if I’m slow to respond or slow to visit your posts.

Plus, ensure you visit all the other writers in this challenge via:

https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com

BLURB:

A detective confronts a deadly foe in the mist to save her wife from Death.

(Or for those familiar with the dynamic duo: ‘Sparkle confronts a deadly foe in the mist to save Kama from Death.)

VULPINE MIST

2016

Monday, 31st October

I jerk awake. A shriek pierces the darkness.

Relax. Just a fox howl. A vixen calling for a mate.

Wrong season as cubs now hunt alone.

The wail is almost human. A cry for help?

I turn to Kama, but she’s gone again. Only the curled indent beside me and her scent of vanilla and bergamot remain.

She must be wandering in our family home, Tyn-y-llyn, nestled in the Snowdonia mountains.

I creep downstairs, searching for Kama. I whisper her name. Only an echo from the gloom. No answer.

Call louder but I mustn’t wake the family.

But nobody stirs. My thorny rose tattoo prickles. I search every room –  no Gwawr, nor mam, nor my grandparents Gwyneth and Hywel Pugh. Nobody.

I’m alone.

A sigh from outside. “Fy ngwraig! Fy ngwraig!”.

Who’s calling ‘My wife! My wife!’ in the night? The voice sounds female. But not Kama’s sultry tones. Where is she?

Fog slithers under the front door, yet I’m drawn outside to the farm.

Tattoos jangle as the mist welcome me with cold embrace, clutching for my heart.

“Kama – where are you?” My shout recoils off the billowing barrier.

A chill as folk memories uncurl. A cyhyraeth is stalking the darkness, its disembodied wail sounding before a person’s death. Invisible but unyielding.

Who is it after?

Kama. My wife mustn’t die. I can save her.

I grope my way towards our llyn, where we swim and relax. But the pastures are overgrown with brambles. I must reach the safety of our lake.

More moaning. Closer.

“Fy ngwraig! Fy ngwraig!”

I shudder as thorns rip my skin. ‘My wife! My wife!’ is the summons of Gwrach-y-Rhibyn. The monstrous Hag of the Mist claims Kama. Never. She’s mine and I am hers – forever and eternity.

Fighting my way through the thicket, I follow the groans, now interspersed with cackles. At the stream feeding our deep waters, I confront my deathly foe.

The Hag washes her hands, polluting our pure brook. Her unkempt hair hangs around her wizened body. Withered arms widen and skeletal hands beckon. As a harpy, she hovers on leathery wings, and bares long black teeth dripping with gore. My heart pounds as I face this grim corpse of doom.

No sign of Kama. She’s safe – somewhere.

Gwrach-y-Rhibyn shimmers in the swirling mist. And morphs into a flame haired woman, beautiful with luxuriant locks falling over her revealing red dress.

A gust of wind shifts my vision. Kama is in this sensuous siren’s embrace, her head nestled between the seductress’s naked breasts. My wife moans, aroused. I’ve lost my skilful lover to this sultry temptress.

Tears well as rosy lips kiss Kama’s neck. Fangs glisten in the moonlight, dripping with blood – the life-force of my soulmate.

The vulpine shape-shifter laughs – howling as she licks her bloody mouth.

“Love and Pain”

The mist turns to dense blackness. Kama becomes a man – in the arms of a scarlet haired woman. Then everything freezes.

No sounds. No movement. I stare at the Vampire painting.

The canvas creeps towards me. Creaks and cracks – closing.

Behind, I hear a sibilant sigh, rising to a shriek.

I turn and face another painting – The Scream.

Munch’s master creations curl in on me. Trapping me. Sucking in the air, stifling me.

I scream – silently.

And wake entwined in Kama’s arms. Her lips are on my neck.

Our jackdaw trickster, Negesydd taps at the window banishing the Nos Galan Gaeaf spirits. Halloween is buried – for another year.

Sunbeams dance as we caress each other.

From our beach, the sough of the surf carries on the sea breeze, the salt scent tempting us outside to swim.

623 words FCA

I mentioned a rabbit hole, and from The Scream prompt, I was led to Edvard Munch’s Vampire painting: https://www.edvardmunch.org/vampire.jsp. Reading this gave me my climactic scene – including that last piece of suggestive dialogue, “Love and Pain”.

As for December’s Challenge – Narcissus – my mind is already pursuing that one down a burrow. Google, isn’t a daffodil – the Welsh national flower – a narcissus? Tune in next time for the answer.

Finally, for those wondering about my first Sparkle & Kama novel – Fevered Fuse – I managed to collate the feedback from my stalwart beta readers. The manuscript is now with my editor, who helped get Spiral of Hooves published.