Fi Phillips

Alibi TV in conjunction with HarperCollins and Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate are holding a short story writing competition for crime writers who have a strong sense of their home area. Entries are invited for original, unpublished crime stories between 1,000 and 2,500 words that link to the writer's local region. Only one entry is allowed per person. To register as a member of the Alibi website and submit your story, visit the Alibi site . The deadline is noon on 1 May 2011.

It was with great sadness that I read today of the passing of Elizabeth Taylor at the age of 79. She's one of those names who has always been present in my life.

Today marks my first guest blog post ' 7 ways to avoid online overload ' on the wonderful Lady Bloggers Society site. I discovered the Lady Bloggers Society on my blogging travels a while back and have found it to be a very friendly place to connect with other 'lady bloggers'.  "The Lady Bloggers Society was formed to give women bloggers a place to connect, learn, share, and advance as bloggers and dealing with everything feminine in this growing digital age." With over 2,000 followers, this is an ongoing and vibrant community. Do have a look if you get the chance.

Without wanting to sound like Rolf Harris, "Can you guess what it is yet?". My favourite room, if I could extend my home to build one, would be a library. To be honest, our lounge is gradually becoming surrounded by book-cases so maybe I should start calling that room 'my library'. Each move seems to incur the need to buy yet another bookcase. My excuse is that to be a writer necessitates the need to be a reader too. I love books - paperbacks, hardbacks, old and new. I not only love to read books but also to re-read them, revisiting old favourites when the whim takes me. If I could surround myself with books and more books, I'd be a very happy person but... In a world where more and more, we have to consider how we are affecting our environment, is there a place for books? Is that a gasp I hear? Or a cry of indignation? Has this woman gone mad? Surely, as a writer, she's shooting herself in the foot to suggest that there may be no place for books. Let me exp...

Do you spend more time talking to your other half on Twitter and Facebook than to their actual face? Has your life been taken over by blog hops and online projects? Is your email inbox reaching critical mass? If you can answer yes to any of these questions (or all of them in my case), then I may be able to help. Taking part in discussion forums can be interesting, informative and just generally make us feel part of a community. When you comment on or sign up to follow a thread, the result can be a constant stream of notification emails that fill your inbox to overflowing. Many forums generate an automatic 'follow' to any threads you comment on which can be useful if you want to read replies to what you've added to the discussion. The downside is that you find, days later, you're still receiving reply notifications which you don't have time to read. Most days I delete two or three blocks of such emails without opening them. The same can apply to joining a group on a...

Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the start of International Women's Day . That's one hundred years of celebrating the achievements of women past, present and future in all areas of life, be that social, political or economic. Each year on this day, governments, organisations and groups all around the world adopt different (and sometimes shared) themes. This year these include, UK, Doncaster Council: Women's Voices and Influence UK, Welsh Assembly Government: Bridging the Generational Gap UK, Accenture: Stretch Yourself - Achieving 50:50 in the boardroom by 2020 Global, United Nations: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls Canada, Status of Women (Federal Gov): Strong Leadership. Strong Women. Strong World: Equality Australia, UNIFEM: United to End Violence Against Women Australia, Queensland Government Office for Women: Our Women, Our State Australia, WA Department for Communities: Sharing the Caring for the Future USA, IBM: Women@IB...

I recently joined the 'Creative Every Day' challenge. The theme for March is 'nest' and I decided to take it literally. I wanted to try my hand at making a nest charm and let's face it, I rarely need an excuse to make myself a new piece of jewellery. The eggs in my nest are three freshwater pearls. I've teamed the nest charm with green aventurine round beads, prehnite cube beads and flowers made from amazonite and rose quartz. I think the result is rather spring-like. I just need some spring weather to go with it.

Have a wonderful day, wherever you are.