Julie Frayn

The writing's the thing

confessions

Screwed, blued, and tattooed

June 26, 2012

I haven’t been screwed in a while. Not the good way. And I have no idea what blued even means. But tattooed? You betcha! Tattoos aren’t just for sailors and bikers anymore. Writers and accountants got ‘em too, oh yes we do. I didn’t rush into being tattooed. I waded in slowly, finally finding the […]

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Writing is… a warm puppy?

May 17, 2012

There are days I wonder why I write. Why I torture myself sitting in front of this screen, pouring my heart and soul onto a virtual page. Why, on those days where the rest of my life takes priority, the guilt of not writing is so consuming. My friend Sean Farley wrote on his Boulder […]

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Ficus killer, qu’est-ce que c’est

May 8, 2012

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa flora, run run run run run run run away. (With sincere apologies to Talking Heads). I kill plants. It is not intentional, I am not a murderer. All homicidal tendencies are spilled onto the page, into my stories. I never take out murderous plots on actual […]

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Careful, your tolerance is showing

April 26, 2012

Alberta recently went through a provincial election. History was made, the first woman elected premier sits in office. She happens to be someone I know personally – how cool is that? But the ‘other’ party came out of this campaign stinking like decaying roses. Wild ones. Early predictions were that they would take the whole […]

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Mama bird

February 23, 2012

This post is dedicated to my mother. Long before twitter, long before tweets, I was Bird. For as long as I can remember, that is what my mother has called me. JulieBird. Never two words separated by a pause, always concatenated into one new word. Usually said very quickly and if ever shortened, just to […]

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February is challenging this year

February 16, 2012

Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are. ~Bernice Johnson Reagon For some reason, this February has brought challenges. Not the usual ones like finding enough hours to write, figuring out what to get my daughter (who turned 20 last week!) for her birthday, or remembering […]

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Books make better lovers

February 13, 2012

Last week, the good folks at Book Riot posted Valentine’s flowcharts. After chuckling over how clever these people are, it was clear from those charts that I would choose a book over a relationship every time. In honour of Valentine’s Day, here is a tribute to my favourite partner, my consistent and reliable better half. […]

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Left side, right side, upside, downside

February 9, 2012

The left side of my brain thinks it is in charge. It is responsible, logical, analytic and good at math. It has equipped me for a successful career. I can whip out a mean spreadsheet, and admit to finding deep satisfaction in a decent statistical report. Numbers, analysis, rows and columns, reconciling, balancing (to – […]

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I like to be a shining star, but one that no one sees

January 30, 2012

True confessions time. I’ve always been a keener (okay, not really a confession, many of you know that already). I’ve always strived to do my absolute best in everything I do. Well, except maybe housework. But I never liked being publicly recognized for anything. Never wanted to be pointed out, mentioned, had a light shone […]

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