June Caldwell
@junec
Writing Place, Writing Planet, UCD & iCRAG 2026 | Lamplight Fellowship 2025 | Literature Bursary Award 2025 | Moth Short Story Prize 2024 | 'Somebody' exhibition, MoLi 2020-2021 | 📖 Room Little Darker 2018/17
Looking forward to my #Story THE WORKSHOP in gorse 14: 'Multitudes'. The issue is nine #pamphlets and an editorial to accompany. I was rejected TWICE by this lit journal prior! My offering is a story within a story, in a creative writing workshop, facilitated by a narky tutor with mean pen strokes.
Nine years of "bye bye" to cheating assholes and "Yes, I said yes" to a new life of love and adventure.
Almond milk latté in the garden with the bees causing a riot. #SmallPleasures
#AfterPic Tasty, even though 'dry', all the flavours sink into the carmelised veg.
I do love this #vegan recipe: 'Cuban-Style Sweet & Sour Squash with Peppers and Basil', baked in ginger, garlic, white vinegar, olive oil, chilli flakes, salt, 2tsp caster sugar...topped with pumpkin seeds & fresh Basil, served with yellow rice and yoghurt (Vg) or sour cream. 1hr10 mins. #BeforePic
Two of my favourite flowers in the garden this time of year: red-headed Mohican alliums, tall, fluffy, bendy and weird; and verbena, spreads all over the place and stretches to 6ft.
Key Lime Pie for tomorrow's dinner I'm doing for two friends who got engaged. Next up is the Pear Syrup for one of the cocktails. We've to make the breakfast for AirBnb guests, clean their room & rest of house, mow the lawn and go to the dump + cook four courses for 2pm. Why do I do this again? 😃 💍
One of the easiest breakfasts I do for #AirBnb guests is Tomato & Tarragon Tart. A ready-to-roll sheet of #vegan puff pastry (€1.39), spread with dijon mustard, mix of sliced coloured tomatoes from the #Polish shop (€3.60), smoked sea salt, chopped fresh tarragon (€1.99), olive oil, in oven 30 mins.
Having a dinner party on Saturday with two arrival cocktails: 1. Vanilla Pear Drop: 60mls vodka, 30mls lemon juice, 30mls homemade pear & vanilla syrup, pear slice OR 2. Lemon Sherbert Martini: 50mls vodka, 30mls lemoncini cream liqueur, 20mls lemon juice, dibdab sherbert, lemon slice. Pick one?
Someone is going to burst our Airbnb 5 🌟 bubble (123 reviews, the pressure, like!) and when it happens it'll be momentously liberating as we'll be able to hunt them down like Frankenstein's monster on the ice. But it ain't this couple in the meantime.
Front is also packed; 21 Nepetas, 4 euphorbias, 3 shrubs, 2 trees, palms & flower boxes. Call the gardener!
Garden is pure mental this year, needs manners. How is everything over 10ft tall in just over four years and what do we begin to prune/cut down or take out!? Leaving it for now.
Nice to be part of this issue of Paper Visual Art journal, back from the printers 🔥
Still thinking of this fab book launch on Wednesday night for an absolute epic book that's four novels plus zippy novellas, but holds its own despite the structural complexity, and still manages to be accessible. THE COAST OF EVERYTHING by Guillermo Stitch.
Brilliant #HotPress feature on Guillermo Stitch, whose astonishing novel *The Coast of Everything* launches in @hodgesfiggis.bsky.social tomorrow at 6pm. I'm so looking forward to chatting with him & @davidcollard.bsky.social Honestly, this book is 🔥 I haven't read anything as immersive in years.
When your wife works in a bookshop and you message to say there's cheese for dinner, you get presents! #TipsForAGoodMarriage
Tofu is versatile - my wife hates it -I find novel ways! This was a coriander flatbread where I grated tofu & marinated in schwarma spice & smoked paprika to mimic 'meat'. Other times I use Mexican spices on tofu for black bean tacos or blitz with mushrooms & Chinese 5-spice to fry with green beans.