I recently talked about how I was heading off on retreat in mid-June. I had a wonderful time with my writing buddies and as always enjoyed the chance to focus on my writing without any of the distractions of everyday life. Unfortunately I hurt my back, so writing was quite uncomfortable meaning my words didn’t…
Articles by ajblythe
Some people love grocery shopping…not me
Apparently there are people who genuinely enjoy grocery shopping. I’m not one of them. I puzzle over those people. I guess they like discovering new products, hunting for bargains and wandering through the aisles? For me, grocery shopping ranks somewhere between cleaning the toilet and waiting on hold for the bank. It’s something that has…
Retreating
I’m very excited because this week I head south to my annual writing retreat with authors Leisl Leighton and Marnie St Clair. This will be our 9th retreat (although during covid we had to pivot to online). We’ve been doing it so long we’ve well and truly got our rhythm which makes for a wonderful…
Why rain sounds better at night
As I write this it’s dark outside and raining. The most magical sound (I think) to go to sleep to. In fact, when I hear rain hitting our tin roof, I often head straight to bed, just so I can fall asleep listening to it. Tonight there is another shower on its way and I…
Why Australian settings make the best mysteries
Australia is basically a mystery novel waiting to happen. We’re a country where people casually say things like, “Watch out for drop bears,” and tourists can’t always tell if we’re joking. Half our wildlife looks like it was designed by a horror writer and entire towns can exist several hours from the nearest decent coffee…