The ‘What the ELLE?’ podcast, relatable awkwardness, and my imaginary tropical island
The giveaway is Kevin Kwan’s ‘Lies and Weddings’
I posted on Insta on Monday looking back at my writing achievements for May. Among them, I mentioned being shortlisted for a prize (the Heroines Women’s Writing Prize) and my fiction being published in an anthology by the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize.
What struck me later was that if you’re asked what you’ve done in the past month as a writer, you have two choices. You can either say what you’re writing now, which might never see the light of day, or you can talk about your work that’s been successful recently that you wrote months/years ago and has finally come to fruition. Either option feels kinda fraudulent. I can barely remember creating work I wrote so long ago, but I’m super-shy about works-in-progress. Anyway, I picked a lane, but these are the silly little things that make your brain itchy sometimes.
Altogether, in hindsight I felt like it was a good month, but if you’d asked me while I was in the trenches, I would’ve found it hard to articulate what I was achieving. I’m glad things came of my efforts in the end.
I have a neato trip coming up in June, so I look forward to sharing details about it in the coming month.
In the meantime, I hope everything is cheery in your world.
News
1. Knives Out 3 is happening, folks! It’s due out in 2025 at this stage and I’m keen as Colonel Mustard for the rumours that Lindsay Lohan is joining the cast to be true. Whoever they pick, I’m sure it’ll be an entertaining watch and Daniel Craig is already locked and loaded to return as Benoit Blanc. I’m hoping the plot swings a touch darker for the third instalment without being too scary, maybe a Death in Venice kinda vibe.
2. Speaking of murder mysteries in movie format, regular readers will be aware of my adoration of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. Stoked to hear all four actors playing the elderly main characters have now been cast. On the whole, I’m happy, but the one that clangs for me is Pierce Brosnan as former union heavyweight Ron Ritchie. As much as I love a bit of Brosnan, I’m not sure the same guy who morphed into James Bond can do a convincing working-class West Ham fan. If he pulls it off, I’ll be most impressed.
Reviews
1. I stumbled across American radio host Liz Luda on Facebook and marvelled at how relatable she is. She describes herself as ‘Chronically awkward’ on her Instagram and YouTube profiles, but I reckon she misspelt ‘awesome’. She does little conversational reels about her unashamed devotion to Crocs, her cringiest moments, being a mum, her grumpily embarrassing teen years, and love of quirky pun-laden outfits. Well worth a follow.
2. The ‘What the ELLE?’ podcast launched in April and I’ve been checking it out this week. Consisting of ELLE Australia editor Grace O’Neill interviewing a different fashion figure/intellectual/actor/writer each episode and asking all the right questions, it’s the ideal blend of smart-cool. The podcast is only six episodes in, so you can feel like you’ve gotten in from the ground up by adding it to your list now.
3. If you’re not already onto him, Joshua Weissman’s cooking videos on YouTube are fab, fast-paced fun. Here’s the one that got me hooked, where he tries and ranks celebrity recipes, including Taylor Swift and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Watch when you have a full tummy and a short attention span and want something light:
What I’m Feelin’ Right Now
Exploring a national park (shhh, if we don’t call it ‘hiking’, it’s not as scary)
Mushrooms in a honey mustard sauce
Seeing the new Wicked movie based on this twinkling trailer
Pale pink flowerpots
‘L’AMOUR DE LA VIE’ from Billie Eilish’s new album
I may have momentarily forgotten how to spell ‘potato’ recently, but you will prise them from my cold, dead hands
Browsing insanely beautiful pics of Lisbon
Trying the sunset blush technique
Pedal pushers are back, baby, and I’ll be wearing them with gusto come springtime
Giveaway
The giveaway this week is fresh release Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan. Enter your name and email address here for a chance to win.
Playlist of the Week
Murder mystery on an imaginary tropical island: