Sunday October 28th – UK Southern Book Show at Field Place Barns,  Worthing,  looks as if it is going to be a dynamic and inspirational day for readers and writers alike – what better way, after all, to start the first of the long dark days of winter (clocks go back in the early hours of 28th …)than to come to the show, meet and talk to writers and readers, attend talks and buy some books to occupy those cold bleak evenings?  And why not get ahead with the Christmas shopping and find something suitable for your book-loving relative too? ...

Flash Fiction is a type of writing that I have only recently begun to try. I am not sure how long it has been around, but there certainly seems to be an epidemic of it – competitions, flash fiction websites, festivals, articles about how to write the best, what it truly involves etc etc – so that if you write it is hard to escape the feeling that you should really be having a go … And, of course, to state the absolute obvious, it doesn’t take up a huge amount of time to try. So if the main work...

My third novel, my ?work-in-progress,? does not yet have a name. There are several working titles, but nothing yet that feels quite right although hopefully, inspiration will strike before I finish ? But it does have a very definite setting ? London. London features constantly in the novel as most of the characters live there although Brighton also features from time to time. London as a setting, however, gives me every excuse to get on the train as often as I can to do further research. And in spite of the fact that I was born in London, come from...

Holiday reading means the chance to read several books in as many days instead of consuming only one or two over at least a fortnight.? And the excitement of seeing Anne Tyler?s latest novel, CLOCK DANCE, at Gatwick airport in a special pre-release airport edition knows no bounds! No spoilers here, I promise, but just the reassurance that if you love Anne Tyler ? or even quite like her ? this novel will not disappoint.? For me, it is one of her best.? The story of Willa, a 61-year-old mother of 2 grown sons who ?was the only woman she...

An article in the Arts Times 2 section by James Marriott on Friday 29th June makes for thought-provoking reading ? and the title alone is alarming for a lot of us writers who are never going to be discovered as a young fresh voice.? Evidently, it claims, the only way to make books pay is to Be Young, Be Zeitgeisty, sell the rights. Well, that means most of us might as well abandon the keyboard, the early morning and late night hammering away at it as well as the dreams of ever abandoning the day job instantly.? Even if we...