The Vandal – Derek Haines

One of the wonders of living in Europe is being able to go on holiday and still see your home. Yet everything is different. I’ve just returned from a holiday in Savoie in France, less than an hours drive from my home in Switzerland and it was easy to think I was 1,000s of miles away from home. The wine from the area, which is not available at all at home was splendid as was the food. My favourite being Diots, a simple pork sausage but divine when cooked in white wine (Savoie of course) and onions served with polenta. We rented a small chalet in the countryside and did

Being a writer nowadays necessitates having more skills than just being able to spell and use the third conditional. Technology and the Internet have become so much a part of books and book marketing that it is impossible to avoid learning new skills. Writers now have to be computer literate and adapt to a rapidly changing literary world. Whether a writer is traditionally or self-published, there is no escaping the need now to promote yourself. Yes, yourself first, your books second. The three key facets of Internet promotion are Social Media, a well written and maintained blog and a website. But how do you know if you are succeeding? How do you

One of my favourite painters is d’Arcy Dolye. While I like many artists, Doyle captures the essence of my youth in country Australia in his paintings and reminds me of so many wonderful memories. Enough said. So I hope you enjoy his art as much as I do.