JOHN MARTIN

One of the first hints that I was never going to be a high-achiever came when I was three-and-a-half years old and stuffed a bead up my nose. Oh, I could pretend it was actually my first scientific experiment — trying to measure the velocity of a bead under its own momentum in the alien environment… Continue reading Message from an angel

My computer keyboard has 102 keys and I have no idea what at least 20 of them are supposed to do. What, for instance, does the Pause button do? When curiosity got the better of me yesterday and I hit it, nothing at all seemed to happen. It just, well, paused. At first. When I… Continue reading Rebel with a pause

Human explorers have been known to bring back some really useful things from strange lands. Okay, well, not all of them. All Neil Armstrong brought back to earth in 1969 were some moon rocks that were not all that different from the rocks in your average Earth rockscape. But what about Marco Polo? He is… Continue reading Easter earthlings and funny bunnies

I remember exactly where I was when I was given my first yummy chocolate Tim Tam biscuit. It was one of those pivotal moments in life. Some people can remember exactly where they were when JFK was assassinated or Prince Charles married Lady Diana. Not me though. The only thing I remember that is really,… Continue reading Tim Tams and Tic Tocs

American E.L. Doctorow was spot-on for me when he explained the writing process: “It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” I wouldn’t think, though, all writers would see eye to eye with Edgar Lawrence Doctorow. Would it surprise you that all writers… Continue reading Wheels on the writing business go round and round