Elspeth Cooper's Blog

Whilst I was fossicking around in the dusty basement of my website on Friday, I came across a page of links to guest posts and other pieces I’d written for a variety of websites, way back when. Sadly, a couple of them had been lost to time, and even the Wayback Machine couldn’t help me […]

We’re down to the last few hours of December, so I’m wrapping up my project to read the TBR. Here’s my last few reads for the year, which includes a sort-of cheat: Empire in Black and Gold is my current read I just started on the 27th, and at 600+ pages there is very litle […]

It doesn’t seem fair that a life well-lived should end in a bunch of forms. Death certificate, green form, last will and testament. Bald facts that come nowhere near encompassing the colour and spark of the person we’ve lost, or the void she leaves behind. Mum died on Friday. I’ve spent the last few days […]

As of this week, I’ve deactivated my Twitter account. I haven’t used it at all since before I made the leap to BlueSky, and the site has degenerated into a flaming trash-heap of disinformation and hate so I pulled the plug. It was past time. I’m also taking a long, hard look at the various […]

Time for a further upate on my attempt to clear the outstanding books from my TBR pile. It’s been a productive couple of months, reading-wise, and the pile is now down to just 102. No chance I’m going to clear it by the end of the year, but I have made a significant dent. Since […]

I’ve been reading books from my TBR for over six months now, and I’m keeping myself accountable by posting periodically what I’ve read. We’re closing in on the end of July now so that seems as good a time as any to bring you all up to date. Without further ado, here’s the tally since […]

Bookshelves, that is, not your breakfast eggs. Do you stuff books in anywhere there’s room, or do you have a system? The reason I ask is, I was scrolling Instagram and came across this piece on Bookriot. Seriously, have a look; it’s fun, but make sure you read all the way to the end. It […]

Folks who know me know I read fast. I always have done. As a kid, my school called me in for a special reading class – sadly, the moths have been at my memory so I can’t recall whether it was because I demonstrated advanced reading skills, or they couldn’t quite believe that yes, I […]

Someone suggested to me today that I use ChatGPT4 to help me finish The Wild Hunt Quartet. The suggestion was kindly meant. I believe they genuinely thought it might be helpful, that maybe I could use this technology to help finish The Dragon House faster. Whilst I appreciate the thought, I will not be using […]

Before I became a writer, I was a reader. I think most of us start out that way – I mean, the love of story has to come from somewhere, right? In my case, it came from my parents reading to me as a child¹. There were always books in the house, everything from mainstream […]