I haven't been getting out much lately, apart from the permitted exercise and an occasional visit to the supermarket or pharmacist. We have managed to get most of our shopping needs delivered. One thing I miss most about this lockdown is being able to go browsing in the local bookshop. Bookshops seem to be all …
Category: Writing and Publishing
In Wine Is Truth?
Sweeter Than Wine (Post 4) CATHY Yves lays his cigar on an ash tray, picks up his financial newspaper and pretends to read. ‘I can’t help noticing she has nice legs,’ he mumbles behind the newsprint. ‘But it doesn’t qualify her as a daughter-in-law.’ I feel like throwing something at him but have nothing convenient …
Imagining Characters
Sweeter Than Wine (Post 3) CATHY Yves’ face grows even redder. The artery in his neck stands out . . . . ‘God knows how many of a brood she’ll give him before he’s done with his career of learning.’ ‘So, you’d rather he screwed around in one-night stands with horny undergrads. Or went with …
Writing the Female
Sweeter Than Wine (Post 2) NICOLE The bus pulls away, leaving me in the middle of Bordeaux wine country. Vines border the road to right and left, stretching into the distance as far as I can see. The fresh air, laden with unfamiliar scents, is intoxicating. I stare up at the house. It’s built on …
Love Writing
I haven't been reading much lately. Instead, I have been working hard on a debut romance novel, writing as Drew Greenfield. What began as a challenge (Why don't you try writing an adult romance?) became a germ of an idea, then a serious project, and now a completed e-book. So, today, I'm going to indulge …
The Tiger Mountain
[Here is the final extract from my 2004 historical romance, The Tiger and the Cauldron. The others are here: Nadia's Dream The Parting In The Stables . You can find the whole story as an e-book on Amazon Worldwide.] *** Hassan was unable to sleep and, though it was hardly necessary, offered to keep …
In The Stables
[This is the third extract from my historical romance, The Tiger and the Cauldron, available now as an e-book on Amazon worldwide.] Terror gripped Doquz. Melik and Jahan held her so tightly she could hardly move. They dragged her to the stables, kicked the door open and threw her down roughly, forcing the breath from …
The Parting
[continuing yesterday's extract from my historical romance The Tiger and the Cauldron] ***** “So soon, Hassan?” Hassan faced his mother across the room. Her eyes were pleading. He felt his small sister tugging at his tunic, trying to lead him off for yet another game in the garden. Her brother too had transferred his allegiance …

The Desperation of a Public Library
I too raise a glass to Chuck Finley. Perhaps if he (they) hadn’t been quite so obvious he (they) might have got away with it. maybe 1,001 books?
These days public libraries operate on desperation as often as they run on anything else. This recently drove several library staff to do something a little reckless.
Culling library collections often relies on numbers. If a patron checks out a book, that book is safe in the system. If a book isn’t checked out for a certain period of time, however, that book is often placed on a to-be-culled list. These lists don’t take into account whether or not a book is considered a classic, was written by a famous author, or has regional value. It only looks at circulation numbers.
To get around this system, several librarians at Florida’s East Lake County Library created a fictitious library patron, Chuck Finley. Named after a retired major league baseball pitcher, Finley would be their savior. During 2016, Finley checked out 2,361 books from the library. These books varied and included titles by…
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Building a Foundation
Foundation's Edge & Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, published in novel form in 1951-53 was first conceived as a series of short stories in the 1940s. [See https://bookheathen.wordpress.com/2016/09/15/history-of-the-future/%5D Complete in themselves and as a unit, the three novels did not need a follow-up. Asimov turned his attention to other matters. Apart …