I was sitting in West Coast Wonderland with Julie. I say sitting... mostly we were in and around the inflatables with Aidan. When I did get to sit down, I brought out the book I had just collected from The Book Nook in Stewarton. Jane Hirshfield's Ledger. Reading the information at the beginning of the book, I was amazed at the amount of poetry she has written. What must it be like, I wondered, to be so prolific. Would you always be looking for inspiration? Which prompted the

I am posting this a little early. The month hasn't finished yet, but... The challenge was to write a line or two about each day of the month. Nothing more. But it was a reminder to see the world through the lens of the imagination, to remind yourself each day that you are a writer. And, who knows, perhaps one of those lines might spark into another piece of writing. That was certainly the case for me. Not an easy exercise, but one that got easier. And a writing habit I think

I told the woman behind the counter, I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I would know it when I saw it. Mostly, I was looking for older books that might inspire Friendship Book stories, but I wasn't getting into that. So, she did what any good bookseller should do - she recommended something. I might have walked past it, but she said it was different and, sometimes, that's all it takes to hook me. I found some "work" books, then I added Seascraper to the pile. It