Having goals is essential. Sticking them is a flaming nightmare. But somehow we have to. That’s what people do. We repeat again and again until we get it right … if I could just stop going left, God only knows what I could achieve. It’s very rare that I remember a specific day. They tend to melt into one another, defined only by how many pages I’ve written....

The image is an old one. It has past down through the centuries preserved with a reverence worthy of the Holy Grail. It is the image of the aging woman, childless, alone. Except for her big old fat cat. With every wrinkle her chances of a different life, a life that includes the love of a man and the pitter patter of tiny feet withers. The passing of the seasons is...

In my dreams I smoke. Last night I dreamt that I was sitting at a large kitchen table; I had a smoke in one hand, a penknife in the other. I was carving the letter u into the wood. The letter f was already there. I was pissed off. I always smoke when I am pissed off. Yesterday I sat in a beautiful hotel. The sun shone but I sat in the shade with a light breeze on my...

What the fuck are core values? That’s what I want to know. The thought was put in my head by one of them fancy online relationship experts and it’s left me a bit flummoxed. Do you know yours? Don’t we know that put in the right or wrong situation, any human being is capable of anything and we see proof of it every day. Little kids thrown in boxing rings and...

Relationships amongst women are as layered as any deluxe wedding cake. We cherish, we listen, we comfort, we console. We hate, we judge, we condemn, we betray; all in the name of sisterly love. Makes me wonder if sometimes our heartfelt bonds aren’t also shackles. According to a book called ‘The Sister Knot’ written by psychologist Terri Apter, I’m probably...

Summer. Scorched days and hot muggy sleepless nights. You know the kind. You toss and turn; the bed is either too hot or too cold. The air is heavy. You’re too restless to read. The television shows re-runs you’ve seen. Frustration mounts as tiredness mauls every thought but sleep refuses to come. August has been one long sleepless night. The agony began in July...

A girl came into the shop where I work part time and upon hearing that I was writing a novel she exclaimed, ‘wow, you are living the dream.’ Sometimes it feels like a dream. I walk the beach with the dog in the morning, marvel at the blue of the sky, watch the insistence of the sea and feel shallow in their presence. They are so much more permanent than I could...