jefa profile picture

jefa

oh, to not know now what I didn't know then

About Me

I live near Glasgow, Scotland with my husband, Jim, also a writer, and our white-faced cockatiel, Poirot. Before that I lived in the San Francisco Bay area in California, still the home of my aging parents, a lovely son and daughter, their delightful spouses and 3 lovely grandchildren among them. In the US I worked long hours as a production manager/engineer in electronics. It was not until I came to the UK that I finally had the proper atmosphere in which to write.

I have always been a creative and productive dabbler, a multi-tasking, card-carrying Gemini. Since I was waylaid by a chronic illness a couple of years ago, I now find it difficult to walk and chew gum at the same time--I get tired just thinking about doing something. Formerly a voracious reader, I find it very difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. This has been most depressing, especially since it meant having to put aside publication of two literary journals, my main source of mental stimulation. In spite of these limitations, I still find time to promote my fellow authors, musicians and artists in whatever way I can.

On good days, I continue to work on my own novels. I finished the first one in 1998 and I have four others in various stages of completion.


My Interests

engineering/problem solving, writing fiction and poetry, art (oils, watercolour, pencil), photography, digital graphics, miniature models, trains, elephants, jewelry making, cooking, my pet cockatiel

I'd like to meet:

open minded people who are driven to explore, to experiment, to find answers for themselves, to seek the balance between mind and spirit, pain and creativity, insanity and peace.

I am particularly interested in independent publishers and literary journals who continue to support writers by providing publishing opportunities. I also want to provide exposure for specific authors, musicians, composers and artists in all media.

Music:

everything but opera and rap. Some favourites: Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Johny Cash, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Arlo Guthrie, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Malcolm Lindsay, John Williams, The Pogues

Movies:

Serenity, Lost in Translation, Dogville, Donnie Darko, Requiem for a Dream, Pi, Coen Brothers, The Station Master, The Three Colours Trilogy, Une pure formalité, Woody Allen, Ingmar Bergman, Dogme movement, Harold and Maude

Television:

Deadwood, Lost, Boston Legal, any projects by Gene Roddenberry, Chris Carter and Joss Whedon, Poirot, Miss Marple, Dr Who, Life on Mars, Waking the Dead, Medium, ER

Books:

working on my list - come back again.

Heroes:

Leonard Cohen, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Blaise Pascal, Joan of Arc, Mark Twain

My Blog

Ultimate Flash Face

Hey, I haven't had this much fun with a link in ages.  Why don't you try doing your own police sketch art from the Ultimate Flash Face site?  I haven't figured out how to save a complet...
Posted by jefa on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 08:29:00 PST

officially retired

I am now officially retired from my old job (even though I have been earning nothing for two years) and my pittance of a pension will start soon.  It doesn't make me rich, but there is something ...
Posted by jefa on Fri, 09 Mar 2007 07:11:00 PST

Introducing B. B. Poirot, aka Birdy

On 7 July 2005 I was watching the breaking news of the London subway bombing when I heard a loud thwack on the window behind me. I turned to see a huge magpie with spread wings which had just hit the ...
Posted by jefa on Tue, 13 Feb 2007 01:28:00 PST

myspace and welcome to it

I have another blog somewhere out in the world, but I have been finding it difficult to keep up. Funny that here where I have not posted my actual name, I feel a bit more comfortable letting it all ou...
Posted by jefa on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:56:00 PST