what do you do?

an article of mine is in the telegraph today, talking about online confessionals such as postsecret.com**: forgive me world, for i have sinned…

*she said, sacrilegiously.

** should have added that sooner, for the google traffic ;)

domestic violence seems to be a hot topic again lately. and for good reason: it needs to be. according to charity women’s aid:

“At least 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence in their lifetime and between 1 in 8 and 1 in 10 women experience it annually. Less than half of all incidents are reported to the police, but they still receive one domestic violence call every minute in the UK.” [emphasis mine].

there’s very little humour to be wrought from the situation, you would think… but the daily mail, or more accurately, author wendy holden, had a go: labelling marian keyes’s new novel this charming man, which tackles domestic abuse… (wait for it) “hit lit.” (’cos it sounds a bit like “chick lit”, see?) puke.

serendipitously, my feature on domestic abuse outreach services is in this month’s copy of mental health today magazine, and it was the hardest thing i’ve ever written: gruelling, upsetting and the most serious piece i’ve pulled off so far. i hope i did the topic justice, and that the title (not mine) isn’t too flighty, as i’m sure it wasn’t intended to be.

most of all, i deeply hope wendy holden somehow comes into contact with it…

read it here and here if you’d like.

update: the new york times gets it right.

for most features writers, the glossies - those monthly women’s mags printed on paper as shiny as their nickname implies - are a holy grail. we all want to write for them, for the cash and the employment but most of all for that lovely feeling you get from seeing your name in something with such a huge circulation that you actually read.

while i have been lucky enough in the past to snag an eighth of a page in essentials, and a half page in company, i hadn’t really “cracked” the glossies. i’d never got a page of my own.

until i left the country.

ironically, the month my first full-page feature appears in a monthly women’s mag… i’m on the other side of the world. if you are not, i encourage you to pick up a copy of this month’s easy living (the one with marriella frostrup on). anyone else who is interested, can read this lovely scan (thanks, mum!) instead: get to grips with your iPod. (click with your mouse to bring up a magnifying glass icon, which will let you enlarge it).

next month: i make my prima debut - and won’t be around to see that, either…

yes, indeed: my first piece for handbag.com went live while i was in transit, so i’m a bit late in shouting about it. but if you’re interested in my top ten wellbeing treats, you might like to take a look. 

coming soon to the blog: my holiday diary. woot! 

it’s been a technoriffic few days:

my piece for the telegraph about the internet’s role in the resurgence of traditional crafts is out today, in the paper and also online. yay!

i’ve also been writing about all manner of things at popgadget, from feline false teeth to twitter proposals (aww) to subverting the patriarchy (yeah, the product’s PR loooooooved that one).

and i’m in woman’s weekly talking wifi (until wednesday).  

* i like the way that sounds like “tick tock”, which is apt, as it’s clocks forward this weekend!

it’s always nice to be told you have no imagination first thing in the morning.*

in related news, i blogged for the guardian again, about mentoring schemes.

*it’s true my choice in clothes could be more imaginative: i’m all pyjama, pyjama, pyjama these days.

i got in to uni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i’m not sure i can express how much this means to me but those exclamation marks should give you a bit of a clue.

after almost a decade of illness-induced misery and pain, i feel like i’ve been given another chance at life over the last year or so - and this cements all of that and proves i haven’t been kidding myself about what i can achieve. (now might be the time to credit gemma for such a rocking recommendation).

so, naturally, i can’t stop crying. it’s either the emotion of the day, or the thought of all those essays… 

oh, this is truly exciting! remember that really exciting and mysterious new tech blogging gig i told you about, ooh… four days ago?

well today i make my debut *squee!* on fabulous american site popgadget. i’ll be contributing 4-5 posts a week, so i hope you’ll stop by regularly. (i’m not just saying that because i write for it now: it’s one of those sites that’s so cool i’d get a lump of jealousy in my throat when reading it. it’s a great site with or without me… but i’m glad it’s with. hee).

anyway, see me talk about the cutest magnets ev-ah here.

*squee!*

my techie alter ego is still going strong: i’m currently working on two tech features for a national newspaper, answering basic tech questions in woman’s weekly every two weeks and…

this week i was offered a blogging job at a wonderful american site about women, lifestyle and tech. woot!

i haven’t started posting yet (i’ll keep you, er, posted, and remove the veil of mystery then) but i’m very excited about this! it’s such a great site, and very well-respected.

want to know how i got the job? 

i just emailed to ask if they wanted another writer.

it was a powerful reminder to me of the value of asking for what you want - you never know where you might end up!

update: i’m so excited, i got offered another fabby blogging job (and of course accepted), again just by asking - more details soon!