I need your help..

Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that I'm not one for talking about high-end politics. I have no in-depth knowledge of politics in any shape or form within my own country, let alone the rest of the world.

But what I do have is a good moral compass and I use this to navigate the path I tread. For that reason much of my writing [this blog included] seeks to examine the morals, loose or otherwise, and the values by which we live.

This has led to me writing  psychological thrillers, science fiction adventures and countless other genres of books and screenplays.

And yet, for all that, and all my seeming worldliness, I have recently been shocked on more than one occasion by what is happening in the world around me.

Did you know that in countries such as China, dogs and cats are burned alive by blowtorch? Yes you did read that correctly, ALIVE! They are held on a lead and torched from head to paw whilst they scream in agony.

How despicable and cowardly are these practises? I honestly can't believe that humans can be so barbaric and cruel.

If we don't fight to stop these atrocities there is no hope for humanity. We will exist as a species that closes its eyes to that which it does not want to acknowledge.

And I think most of us are better than that.

Join me in emailing the Chinese Embassy press_uk@mfa.gov.cn.

Your soul will thank you for it. And so will I.   

OOPS!

I forgot to mention that The Owners Volume IV :A New Epoch will be free to download over the next few days. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so don't miss out!

Happy Reading!

Am I normal at all?

Today I should be editing Split Decisions but instead I am writing a chapter from another book. I have workmen digging up my drive as I am having a new one laid and between making tea for them and stopping the dog barking, I can't concentrate enough to edit.


And yet I can write - it seems the noise does not hinder the writing process, only the editing. How weird is that? I guess that does go to prove that my writing comes from so far down inside of me it is not really a conscious thing, whereas the editing is.


One day I am going to investigate this further...but I guess it can wait until the drive is done! :)

Failure to Launch!!!

I have just had my very own Failure To Launch moment!

Perhaps you remember the film? Its where Sarah Jessica Parker has a job that involves getting grown men to fall in love with her - so much so, that they decide the time has come to leave home and venture out on their own, in the process.

Now don't panic [I almost typed "Don't panic Mr Mannering" as for some reason Dad's Army sprang to mind], I am not talking about making my eldest leave home at the grand old age of 13.

What I am talking about is the pigeon. In fact what has happened since 4pm today has been so reminiscent of a scene from Dad's Army that has been strangely combined with an episode of Faulty Towers, that it is no wonder the apt phrase sprang immediately to mind.

You see, I had decided that today was the day! Today the pigeon would fly free! So after a quick examination, I released it into the garden. Where it proceeded to sit on the grass and regard me as if I was insane [it may have a point there, granted].

Unlike every other bird I have rescued and rehabilitated, this one did not want to leave! So I went indoors and watched it through the window.

It wasn't long before next door's cat had realised something unusual was afoot. Stealthily, it wound it's sleek, black, lithe body along the fence, watching the pigeon with beady eyes. The pigeon flapped its wings, fluttered and failed to fly off. It seemed that its flight feathers were not quite long enough.

Now normally I would have waited till they were equal in length to the ones on the other side but recently the bird seemed eager for the off, so I took it at its word, as it were. But clearly it could not gain momentum or enough height to scarper quick-smart. 

Well what's a girl to do? I couldn't let the cat have Fluffy [yes, I know, stupid name for a bird] for its tea. I hadn't looked after it for nearly three months just to fatten it up for the cat...

So there I was, chasing the cat off and racing round the garden in my crocs playing catch the pigeon, whilst the dogs watched me from the conservatory, huge grins on their faces, wondering what the game was and why they couldn't join in...

I tore around the garden, heart thudding in my chest, talking to this bird and telling it that it would just need to stay a little longer, for it's own sake. Luckily it listened and believed me and was easily caught once more. If anything, it seemed relieved when I deposited it back in its cage!

So if you are reading this and wondering if I am completely crazy, I have to tell you that sometimes, in the very darkest hour of the night, I wonder that too!

Anyway, for now the pigeon is back in its cage...let's hope the next time brings success ! If not, I may well be signing its name under all of ours on the Christmas card list this year....

I have upset myself...

I have just had to write one of the most emotional chapters I have ever written and found myself in floods of tears, makeup streaked down my face, eyes red and nose running. Not attractive, I know!

But characters I have written are no less real to me, just because they take every breath and spend every waking moment on paper and are confined to the story they are written for. And some characters affect me more than others. I would imagine this is true for most writers.

Here's a little bit of the latest chapter.


    “Hush now Gemma,” Katie, patted the soft fur on the top of the animal’s head. And for one strange moment, one moment where time seemed to stand still and reality be caught in a vortex that she could neither see nor hear, but feel…it was not Gemma’s soft downy fur that was smoothed under her palm, instead it was soft but coarser hair, longer and shaggier and thicker.
    Katie closed her eyes and felt once more the velvet flank of
Roxie’s long muzzle, the arch of her forehead and the sweet spot behind the dog’s ears. Tears flowed unchecked and she wept for the loss of a dog that had been her companion, her friend and her very soul, for so long.

Dangerous dogs? Dangerous owners?

{Please excuse this departure from my normal topics but this is something I feel strongly about}

In the aftermath of another child being mauled to death by dangerous dogs, I have this to say:-

I'm  very much afraid that animals [and dogs in particular] are EXACTLY like people, there are good ones and there are bad ones. No amount of nurture can make a dog that is essentialy a psychopath into a lapdog [just as no kind treatment could turn a man of the same nature, into a kind loving one] .

It's absolutley impossible! And I speak as a dog owner of two dogs [a collie and a rottweiler] and owner of a multitude of past dogs.

Raised in Glasgow, I was always a keen observer of the nature versus nurture argument and believe me, I saw some rotten apples in otherwise good families and vise versa.

I'm no scientist and I have a creative bent rather than a scientific one anyway, so I guess my penny philosophy counts for nothing in the grand scheme of things but for what it's worth...let's accept that there are some dogs who are downright mad and will chew your leg off with no provocation at all.

Let's not however, turn this into a witch hunt - I am by no means suggesting this is true of ALL dogs, merely a minority - but like the minority of yobs on our streets who turn us against the entire population of youths, there is that chance.

I don't have any answers for you. I don't know if giving wardens better powers under law will make a difference and I certainly don't want to see dogs banned from public places, or any other drastic measure being taken.

But please let us accept that just as there are dangerous human members of our society, there are dangerous dogs. I hope we can find a way to weed both of these out of our environments and create a better, safer world for all.

My thoughts are with the family and friends of Jade Anderson x