We’re a supportive group of fiction writers writing in English. Most of us have been published, but that isn’t a prerequisite. We meet monthly in the Amsterdam Zuid area to share our work and give constructive feedback. Fiction for ages YA and up are welcome. Interested? Send us a message via our Facebook group or…
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Real Amazons kept both breasts
I’m always on the look out for articles and books on ancient feminist culture. I have recently started reading Adrienne Mayor’s ‘The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World’. Then just today I ran across this article in my Google News feed from National Geographic. A fun appetizer for her book….
Book: The Deep — Mermaids descended from slaves
I was excited to discover this novella concerning mermaids – THE DEEP by Rivers Solomon – that descended from pregnant slaves thrown overboard. The creatures fascinated me and at the end of the book the author provides an explanation as to what triggered this world. I devoured this, actually more literary feeling, work in a…
The world from my FISH book trilogy is coming true – and that is not a good thing!
During my morning debrief on Google News I ran across this article, which is very much in line with the world in my FISH triology. In FISH, the sea is ‘poisoned’ and a death trap for all living life. But new life emerges that can thrive in it. I wonder what will be the new…
Fur Elise middle-eastern style
If you play classical piano, I’m sure you’ve had your go at Beethoven’s famous bagatelle, Fur Elise. So this version performed in Baghdad is sure to charm you.
A fish with 2 mouths
Check out this crazy catch! As soon as I saw the title I had to look. I was not disappointed. I need to think of a way to add this a freaky creature like this into my FISH novel. I even made up a name for it: Dooliep.
One of the hardest pieces for piano: Scriabin – Sonata No. 5
I have this book of his sonatas, but I haven’t even approached any of them yet due to the level of technical difficulty. I’m sticking to the preludes for now. So when I came across this article about the hardest pieces written for piano, I was not surprised to find Scriabin on the list. Not…
Badass women: a pictorial history
I have a Pinterest account for my Scriabin and sewing obsessions. Occasionally something from another theme pops up that catches my eye and this one totally did. My new Fish series is a feminist story too, where I am having fun reversing the stereotypical gender roles. The woman running the Boston Marathon I found particularly…
NYT mentions Scriabin
It was so cool to read about Scriabin in this NYT article. Beatty suggested we go together to Dr. Shirley’s studio that evening, because he wanted to hear him play Scriabin. A few hours later, I was sitting with Beatty as Dr. Shirley played the Scriabin Prelude No. 15 in D flat (from Op. 11),…
OMG! Scriabin Op 16 No 1
I am working on this piece, memorizing from back to front. It is soooooo beautiful. And fortunately at my level of playing. Listen. If you want the sheet music, go here.