Emily

The Cook and the King – Julia Donaldson and David Roberts (book review and GIVEAWAY)

Hi! I'm back. With another book review. And this time, I have THREE copies to give away! So let's fast-forward the intro and get right into it, shall we? --- The Cook and the King / Julia Donaldson and David Roberts (Macmillan Children's ...

Lonely Girl – Lynne Vincent McCarthy (book review and GIVEAWAY)

It's been more than a year between book reviews. How did that even happen? I've been reading. I've been enjoying reading. I just haven't gotten around to sharing that enjoyment with you all. Well, this time I am. AND I have a copy to give away! ...

The kindness of strangers – part three

Almost nine years ago, I started my day much like any other. I woke to a screeching alarm. I showered, got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed my teeth and walked out the front door. I headed to the train station. I squeezed my way onto a packed, ...

This is what anxiety looks like

It's angry and frightened And bitter and sad It's numbness Wrapped in every feeling you've had It's constantly watching And checking around you Hoping your enemy Doesn't surround you It's planting a grin On your public 'brave face' It's ...

Trust and respect

You expect Trust And respect But return none We reject Your brand of 'fun' You use You abuse You lie Our kids cry We ask why You deny We all lose We're done Ashes to ashes Dust to dust A memory flashes Gathers rust And ...

Interview with my children (2017)

I've interviewed my children for this blog three times now. That makes it an official tradition, right? Time to do it again. Here is the 2017 edition of Interview with my children. --- What is the best thing about having me as your ...

The Birthday Thief and Kingdom of You – a Wonderbly book review

My kids love books. (No idea where they got that from. Ahem.) So when Wonderbly contacted me to review the two books new to its range (having reviewed the first two books last year), I said, "YES YES PLEASE YES! I mean, ahem, sure. If you like, no ...

The week my seven-year-old was my stylist

It's back! My daughter has been put in charge of my wardrobe again, and at the request of my mate Hugzilla, I'm sharing the results again. The week my seven-year-old was my stylist differs slightly from The week my six-year-old was my stylist, The ...

Of rocky roads and rock solid relationships

It's tough, the world. It tries to shake me. It tries to hurt me. It tries to break me. I'm ready, I think. I know all the traps. I know all the holes. I know all the gaps. I'm here, you say. Whatever life serves. Whatever's thrown at ...

The glass

I've had a really rough start to 2017. Really rough. I've avoided posting here. I've still been writing: I've written poems, prose and scribble. I've written pages, paragraphs and post-it notes. But I've not shared them here (with the exception of ...