Essays on Writing is a collection of thoughts I come across during my writing journey. They cover topics such as grammar, editing, writing, publishing and very often character and story development within the expectations of genre or society.

Spray Painted Bananas is a romantic comedy about Amber, a broke temp working in a catering firm in London, who after one too many evenings scrounging free wine from wacky art gallery openings with her best friend Farrell, decides there’s no reason she can’t become a conceptual artist herself. A chance meeting with the wealthy, young art curator, Elliott Frinton-Smith, sets things off in a desirable direction. Now all Amber needs is a brilliant idea to grab the attention of the nation. Spray Painted Bananas explores love and ambition with the touch of the absurd and plenty of bananas. It is OUT NOW published under the title THE TEMP by Harper Collins.

While on his computer, Victor Hastings admires the provocative pictures of girls he's dating. Meanwhile, these girls are posting more and more on Facebook and all the social sites. Now, all the young men in his cramped fraternity are competing for the attention of these online, amateur pinups. And the institution of the college fraternity itself is beginning to be threatened by this emerging, online phenomenon that, in the fall of 2007, has yet to be identified as "Social Media." Three women will make an impact on Victor. Erin Masters is an alluring yet naïve co-ed. Despite outward modesty, she has no reservations about letting friends plaster her provocative images across various social websites. Emily Green-Portsmith comes from wealth and is comparatively more aware of her effect on young men, both on and offline. Technological reliance, however, does not sit well with the house mother of these fraternity boys. She is affectionately known as Ma Red. This feisty, former Vietnam correspondent from the old-school of etiquette and discipline is prepared to make a fight for her traditional values. And throughout these technological and romantic discoveries, Victor wonders: What kind of love is this? ... the wired kind. He explores the pharmaceutical, social and sexual habits of the digital age. Pills are popped, rebellions spark - a young man matures against a set of difficulties unknown to generations past. Can Victor find meaning in the close sensations of a woman from the real world?

Seventeen year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn't a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there's the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father's death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her. Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death several months ago. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld's administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there's nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love. THE MEDIUM is the first book in the Emily Chambers Spirit Medium trilogy. Yes, that's *trilogy* - meaning not everything will be wrapped up nicely at the end of The Medium. There are 2 more books after it, both of which are published. Check out my website for details.

[NOTE: This book was written in 2010, a time of long-distance phone cards, weight-loss obsessions, and searching for a man as a solution to life's problems-what a messy time to be alive! In other words, I hope you enjoy this throwback, and while this book does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, the sequel addresses any unanswered questions (which is hopefully fair, given that book 1 is free, ya know?] An awkward family homecoming at Christmas. A humiliating public weigh-in, with two judging parents as the audience. The announcement of a deadline for arranged marriage doom. And that's just the first two chapters. In "Year of the Chick," Romi Narindra must find love before her parents find her a husband. Easy to say, less easy to live through, as this book takes you deep inside "awkward Indian living in the West." To escape her fate, Romi wades through the waters of secret-dating, where self-consciousness is at an all-time high, and experience at an all-time low. It's the sort of thing that would turn almost anyone into a man-crazy freak with romance tunnel-vision, and that's exactly what ends up happening. All the while, a lack of inspiration in her corporate job leads Romi to her love of writing, in what quickly becomes a man-quest play-by-play. From whiskey-breath scum bags to uni-brow creeps and everything in between, Romi and her wingmen come up empty time after time. And that's when she meets a fellow writer. On the Internet. So will it be arranged marriage doom, or an Internet affair that's not as creepy as "To Catch a Predator"? Time will tell in the "year of the chick," a twelve-month quest to find love. Tick-tock. --------------------------------------------- "Year of the Chick" is book one of a series, and book two is available at Amazon! LENGTH: 75,000 words or 285 pages DISCLAIMER: this book contains profanities, blunt accounts of the dating scene, and many awkward family moments. Enjoy!

With his pride and her prejudice, what could possibly go wrong? When the arrogant Blake Hansen steals Addie Preston's promotion at the library, he pretty much rubs her nose in it. But Addie, who dreams of being a full-fledged librarian, decides to stick it out. She loves surrounding herself with books and keeping her father's memory alive in the building where they spent so much time together. Soon, Addie learns that her beloved library will be torn down to make room for a larger facility, and she has to make a choice. Fight, or let go? To complicate things, she finds herself attracted to Blake, who is engaged to someone else. Will Blake and Addie ever resolve their differences? This is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, with hints of the other Jane Austen books as well.

Thirty-seven-year-old John Morgan's personal life is already in disarray when he receives a phone call that his brother and niece are dead. His relationship with his father is nearly nonexistent, he barely speaks to his sister, and he has no real friends to lean on. As the tragic news slowly begins to sink in, John realizes he is floating aimlessly in the middle of an unpredictable sea of emotions with no one to rescue him. In this compelling tale that movingly illustrates the devastating effects of a dysfunctional family, John must learn to change what he can, accept what he cannot, and make the difficult decision to leave some things behind. I'm excitedly working on a second novel. Thanks for checking out my work. PS: for those that wish to own my book it can be purchased in multiple formats and found on various major online distribution channels. Thank you!

One of, if not the best paradox novels I've had the good fortune to read. An incredibly well written work... -MarkTaylor281 A beautiful and powerful story unlike any I've ever read... -Ddruid Finished the whole book on the edge of my seat, absolutely brilliant and amazing original story... -batikhaz Simply daunting. I personally think this is the most mature [and] highest quality work here on Wattpad. -Oyumaa Since the mysterious closed timelike curve appeared above the world of Cassidian, nothing has come in or out of it. So when an innership emerges from the celestial cloud and crashes on the beaches of the Still, a Hunion courier named Anon Selfe is sent to investigate. When he lands, he finds the blood and footprints of the only survivor leading away from the wreckage. But inside there is someone else awaiting him in the darkness: his own dead body. What follows is Anon's desperate chase up through the tiers of Cassidian to find the survivor of the crash - a young woman named Myria who is unyielding in her belief that she knows Anon from her past. The only problem is that she claims to be from a world called Nahi, which is not known to exist.

When seventeen year old Dara is accepted into an elite boarding school, her first weeks are ruined by a strange illness… Throwing up in front of your crush? More than once? Emphatically not fun. As Dara gets to know her school and the school’s creepy doctor, she begins to realize that she wasn’t recruited for her grades, and her illness isn’t innocent. John is only pretending to be a student, and he knows exactly why Dara is sick, but he can’t risk telling her. When someone is playing with time, altering anything can be disastrous, and John has a very specific mission. But when Dara’s life is at risk, they both must learn to navigate the intricacies of time…before they destroy the school or lose each other for good.