Author Archives: H.M. Goodchild
The false friend
Another silkie (well, one glimpsed a couple of weeks ago) and another villanelle. Silkies don’t usually fare well upon the land and this one is, I’m afraid, no exception. The false friend I took his skin and put it on, … Continue reading
Lovers’ vows
It’s a couple of days too late for this to be a Valentine. Beneath the tree (Lovers’ vows) An apple tree beside the sea, It grows for you and grows for me, And, in the shade, beneath the tree, A … Continue reading
An historical fragment
I usually write fantasy. That way I don’t get too bogged down in/side tracked by research. Making stuff up is so much easier when you’re not worrying about whether so-and-so was in such-and-such a place at any given time. I’m … Continue reading
Twitter – and other – poems
It’s been a long time, for which I offer neither explanation nor apology. Here are a few recent poems. The shorter ones have featured on twitter. I’m there more often than I’m here, but still not often. I took his … Continue reading
I’m on the radio!
A quick note to say in November 2017 I was the guest on Hannah’s Bookshelf, on North Manchester FM. We talked about books – mine and other people’s – ballads, biology, time, and what I’d save for a post-apocalyptic library. It was … Continue reading
Deleted chapter (The Fisher’s Boy)
This is the deleted first chapter from a spin-off from the work in progress. I’m posting it here because I doubt it will see the light of day elsewhere. The Fisher’s Boy Sometimes in later life the smell of a … Continue reading
After FantasyCon
I’m back from FantasyCon, and have had enough time now to catch up on sleep. It was a wonderful weekend – I’d had my doubts ahead of time as last year’s had felt a bit cliquey – but this year it … Continue reading
Fantasycon 2017
It’s been ages, I know, since I last posted here. I’ve ticking away in the background – revising a novel, reading up on Pliny the Younger as background for another, completing a teaching qualification – but all these are things easiest done … Continue reading
Detecting folk songs
One of my favourite authors is Dorothy L. Sayers. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve reread or simply revisited her detective novels, even though I’ve known whodunit in each of them for years. Her best known books … Continue reading
Some thoughts on writing, revisited
I wrote the following about eighteen months ago in reaction to a lot of the advice to writers I’d seen posted here and there about the internet. It started as a rant but I managed to tone it down by the … Continue reading
