Author: Laura

30 Fun Hobbies To Try

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a hobby maniac, or a ‘serial hobbyist‘ as I’ve previously referred to it, in that I just love taking up new, and often very random hobbies. I’ve tried everything from playing various instruments, to numerous crafts, and even sports (which for anyone who knows me, is pretty shocking!), and whilst a majority of them haven’t stuck, I think there’s just something really exciting, and even beneficial about trying something new. In fact, I personally think that hobbies in general are good for… Read more »

Mini Reviews: ‘Three Sisters, Three Queens’ and ‘Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen’

Historical fiction is easily one of my favourite genres, and so I’ve been very lucky recently to have read some amazing Tudor-period novels. Therefore I thought I’d combine them into a Tudor-themed mini review post, so enjoy, fellow history nerds! Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory ‘I will never forgive her this. I will never forget this.’ When Katherine of Aragon arrives in England to marry Arthur Tudor, she meets her two future sisters-in-law, Margaret and Mary, and so begins a life long sisterhood, rife with rivalry, affection and… Read more »

Writers: What scenes do you like writing best?

Do other writers find that there are certain types of scenes that they absolutely love writing, whilst others feel like a bit of a drag? Because that’s something I’ve noticed about my writing process recently: my writing tends to massively slow down around certain points of the story, and then speed up when I get to the sections I consider to be ‘the good bits’. Now in an ideal world I’d consider the entirety of my writing projects to be ‘good bits’, and my fingers would effortlessly dance across the keyboard whatever… Read more »

Life Lately #9

I hope everyone has had a good May! I really don’t know why I’m so late with my end of month update, seen as it isn’t like I don’t have anything to write about… But oh well! I think my biggest announcement this month is that I’ve finally finished the novel I’ve been writing! It’s only taken a year, one NaNoWriMo and one Camp NaNoWriMo but I’ve finally done it, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! This is the first full length manuscript I’ve ever finished in the years I’ve been writing, so… Read more »

What would you pay for an ebook?

Ebooks and ereaders are pretty incredible things. It may have taken me a long time to get on board with them (and I do still prefer a good old-fashioned paperback!), but I’ve always been able to see how they’ve made reading more convenient, and books much easier to access. Being able to easily buy and immediately start reading any book you like from in your own home is literally the dream for us bookworms! However, one thing I have noticed is that whilst there are some amazing bargains out there in… Read more »

Mini Reviews: ‘Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online,’ ‘Mad Girl’ and ‘Moranifesto’

I seem to have been on a bit of a non-fiction spree recently, particularly in regards to female memoirs, so I thought I’d group together some mini reviews of my favourites! Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online by Emma Gannon “We obsessively document our lives on social media because the experience itself is now not enough. We basically live face down in pixels and post whatever is in our heads, whenever we want, without a second thought…There are even people in the world who say the word ‘hashtag’ out loud.”… Read more »

How do you organise your bookshelves?

Yep, it’s one of those big, bookworm questions: how do you organise your bookshelves? There are so many options, so many things to consider and everyone does it slightly (or very!) differently. Here’s a few possible ways it could be done, and I’d love to know your preference! Alphabetically One of the simplest ways to organise your bookshelves is alphabetically, whether that’s by title, or by author (by author tends to be the more common way of alphabetising). This makes it super easy to find what you’re looking for immediately,… Read more »

6 Things To Consider When Creating A Fantasy World

Getting to create your own world is easily one of the best things about writing fantasy, but also one of the hardest. Whilst theoretically you can have anything you want in the world of your story – from talking horses who keep humans as pets, to people who can morph into trees – there has to be some sort of reason for all these things if you’re going to make it seem plausible. So here are a few things that’s I personally think it’s essential to put some thought into… Read more »

Mini Reviews: ‘A Darker Shade of Magic’ and ‘A Court of Wings and Ruin’

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab “Sure I do,” countered Lila cheerfully. “There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London,” she recited, ticking them off on her fingers. “See? I’m a fast learner.” Kell is one of only two people with the ability to travel between parallel universes and the three different Londons: the dull, magicless Grey London, the enchanting, magical Red London, and the bleak, desperate White London. Because of his rare abilities he acts as an official messenger between the different Londons, but unofficially he… Read more »

How To Be A Bookworm In Summer

Personally, I’ve always seen winter as the perfect bookworm season: you’re ‘forced’ to stay inside because of the weather, and no one judges you for spending your days curled up under a blanket with a good book and a nice cup of tea (not that I ever personally drink tea, but a cold can of Coke didn’t really work with that image!). However, we’re now getting towards that time of year when the sun is blazing and the days are long and warm, and unfortunately for us bookworms, everyone starts… Read more »