Regular readers of this blog will know that I write about the value of art a lot. As someone who makes art and engages with the creative process using various mediums, I think about how we define the value of art as a society and the impact this has on the artists themselves. These thoughts have been at the forefront of my mind recently, as I’ve just returned home, having been on the road to…
I was out playing live music a few days ago and seized the opportunity to try out a new song I wrote last month. The song – One More Day – tells a little story of love and loss, and it got a positive response from the host and the audience. I figured I’d share it as a blog post this week as I tend to do from time to time, in keeping with the…
Over the last few days and weeks, I’ve found myself exploring the short story medium. Last week, I shared one of the short stories I wrote on the blog and since then, I’ve written two more short stories and read a few collections. Having spent more time focusing on fuller, longer stories in the form of novels and novellas in my writing career, writing short stories these past few days has been fascinating and revealing. …
Last week I wrote about how I was inspired to pen a short story while on a train, seemingly out of nowhere. This week I figured I’d do something different to the usual format on this blog, and share the story I was referring to. I’d love to hear what you think of the story. Tell me how it made you feel. Tell me if you’d love to see more of these short stories featured…
Where do ideas come from? This is a question I’ve asked more than once on this blog, and yet, here I am, once again, about to engage in what might be a rather futile attempt at answering it. Last week I wrote about a chance encounter at a wedding which reinforced my view of social media spaces as little more than digital billboards. Well, on the train to the wedding, having read my Jack Reacher…
This past weekend we attended a wedding in a lovely little town on the east coast of England. During the party, I ran into someone who I thought looked familiar. Within a few seconds of chatting and exchanging pleasantries, I realised they looked familiar because I’d met them once before, 2 years ago at another family gathering. My hunch was validated the moment they asked me a question I regularly get from people who know…
Where do ideas come from? This is an age-old question that creatives and professionals alike have asked and attempted to answer for aeons. Perhaps our ideas come from lived experiences or the art we consume. Perhaps ideas are birthed from tried and tested concepts, making them reincarnations of old ideas. Perhaps they’re metaphysical gifts bestowed upon us by the universe. Perhaps it’s some combination of, or none of the above. One thing I’ve found to…
Regular readers of this blog will know just how much I appreciate art in all forms and mediums. I’m fortunate to be able to call myself a published author and singer-songwriter, and while I may be partial to these art forms I’ve practised for years, once in a while I feel the need to branch out and explore others. In this vein, I’ve spent the last few days filling a new sketchbook with drawings. I’ve…
A few days ago I came across a Jack Reacher novel – Bad Luck and Trouble – courtesy of my mother-in-law. Having read quite a few Reacher novels over the years and loved every one of them, I always jump at the chance to read the next one I find. Except, when I first came across this one, I almost passed on it because it is the basis for Season 2 of Amazon Prime’s Reacher…
I’ve just returned from a weekend away, with the bulk of my time spent recording music in a studio. It was invigorating and tasking in equal measure. We started on Friday in the early evening and worked well past midnight until we could barely keep our eyes open. We went to bed in the early hours of Saturday morning for a few hours, resumed recording by mid-morning, and put in another long day in the…