This blog post was originally published on Madeleine Larmour Blog on 3rd January 2016. Whilst the blog still exists as an archive, I no longer chose to post there and thus have decided to move some of the content here to share with all of you.
This summer I was very fortune to be able to spend six whole weeks (and then a bit extra) in Thailand, more specifically Koh Tao with my dad. For 11 months of the year, he lives in Saudi Arabia where he works whilst I still reside in the UK. Six weeks is also the longest piece of time we have spent together in over 10 years.
Thailand for me had always been a far-flung pipe dream because I had it in my head that there was no way I'd be able to fly out that far. I'm not the best flyer. The idea of flying doesn't bother me, neither does take off or landing, it's the 'what ifs' that set me off. As being a writer and creating fiction is what I do, I come up with the most ridiculous 'what ifs' you've ever heard. I've also had to learn to internalise them as I used to verbalise them when I was younger but it used to peeve everyone around me, especially when I sat next to someone who was terrified of flying. Yet this year I managed my first long haul flight, my first non-budget airline travel and my first solo long haul flight. I got sick during the trip and left Thailand several days after dad, but that's another blog post. I had to fly back by myself and I've only ever flown once by myself - a 45-minute flight to and from Belfast - so 17 hours flying without the time I spent waiting for connections in Bangkok and Dubai was a bit of a shock to the system.
Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Thailand. I was able to learn to dive which I didn't think I would be able to do with my chronic illnesses. Yet here I am as an open water diver - I started my advance but then got too ill to continue.
Be warned, this post is picture heavy!
So yet again, we have somehow stumbled into a New Year. Sure, we’re a little battered and bruised from 2016 but we’ve gotten through to the light at the end of the tunnel. That light is another new year and with it, it brings the renewed promise of change. Change that doesn’t usually stick, but it’s always nice to be reminded that we have the ability to change even if it’s unlikely to last.
This blog post was originally published on Maddie & Books on 31st May 2015. Whilst the blog still exists as an archive, I no longer chose to post there and thus have decided to move some of the content here to share with all of you.
Sleep.
This blog post was originally published on Maddie & Books on 27th May 2015. Whilst the blog still exists as an archive, I no longer chose to post there and thus have decided to move some of the content here to share with all of you.
I missed the April edition of Stories at The Storey, a local storytelling event held monthly in Lancaster. As I was unable to attend the event, I wanted to share my story here on Maddie & Books.
Well here it is, my personal interpretation of second chances.
This blog post was originally published on Maddie & Books on 30th July 2015. Whilst the blog still exists as an archive, I no longer chose to post there and thus have decided to move some of the content here to share with all of you.
Story Slam is an event that took place in June at The Duke's Theatre as part of First Fridays as organised by Lancaster Arts City.Sadly only three people turned up to this event however, I enjoyed it very much. I will certainly go again if it is held again. The idea behind Story Slam is to share stories and they were to be fictional stories derived from real life. I decided to write a story about an experience I had with a guy at university. Even though I am now miles away from university I decided to keep names completely out of the story, not only does this protect me from any potential backlash but I feel it add a certain something to the piece. As children could be at the event I had to try and keep the piece somewhere between a PG and a 12A - for those of you who no idea what those ratings are Frozen is a PG and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 12A. I thought that I would share the story here on Maddie & Books
Sadly only three people turned up to this event however, I enjoyed it very much. I will certainly go again if it is held again. The idea behind Story Slam is to share stories and they were to be fictional stories derived from real life. I decided to write a story about an experience I had with a guy at university. Even though I am now miles away from university I decided to keep names completely out of the story, not only does this protect me from any potential backlash but I feel it add a certain something to the piece. As children could be at the event I had to try and keep the piece somewhere between a PG and a 12A - for those of you who no idea what those ratings are Frozen is a PG and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 12A. I thought that I would share the story here on Maddie & BooksThis blog post was originally published on Maddie & Books on 3rd October 2015. Whilst the blog still exists as an archive, I no longer chose to post there and thus have decided to move some of the content here to share with all of you.
Hello, today I am sharing one of my short stories with you. As you may or may not know, as well as blogging about books, I write them. I write both novels and short stories. Never Should Have Let You Go is one of my shortest stories and is inspired by a Simple Plan song of the same name, I have embedded the video above so can listen to it if you wish whilst reading the story. This video originally was going to be part of an anthology I was writing but the idea has since been scrapped as I have been busy working on my novel, but if you would like to see an anthology or just more short stories from me, then let me know - most of my hard drive is taken up with stories I have written.
