Authors Electric

Gorgeous sunset, Pixabay image, with colours and light intact.  I don’t know about your part of the world, but we’ve had some amazing sunsets recently. We’re quite high up, with a gorgeous view into the alley and up the next hill, with the sunset just beyond the hill. It gives you the sort of view you find in books, where the dying light, fanned in orange of every hue across the sky, strokes the warm stone house, the pink roses nodding their heads, ready for bed. That kind of thing.  So whenever I notice the sunset, I take a picture. Or five. The result is dreadful. It either looks nearly night or just a white sky. Very disappointing, but so beautiful I take a few more, just in case this one turns out better. Years ago, we stayed in the Alps. I came home with hundreds of snow-covered pictures. No idea what to do with those. At least with digital pictures, you can simply delete them after a while. Writing can be like that. I often end up with very similar scenes or dialogue...

  I do love coffee, as you might know, but I noticed a few things when watching people around me having hot drinks. Especially as writers, we should think about our favoured liquid. First of all, a lot of people reach for tea in times of need. Being Dutch, coffee has a calming effect on me, so in busy stressful times, it’s coffee you need, not tea. Tea is for when you’re poorly. Mind you, that probably has something to do with the colour of the drinks as well. English tea is strong enough to be used as paint stripper. It comes with plenty of rituals and implements. Like a properly shaped teapot. It has to be just so, to let the air in as well as allow you to pour properly. Nobody likes a dripping teapot. After filling the pot with a handful of teabags and pouring boiling hot water on top (making sure the water has only boiled ONCE!), you cover the teapot with a tea cosy. Preferable one that has been hand-knitted by a great aunt or great-grandmother. Now the tea needs to stew, whi...