St Brigid of Kildare, a younger contemporary of St. Patrick, is quietly growing in regard in Ireland and further afield. Who knew – unless you are Irish or know a thing or two about saints – that she is one of Ireland’s three Patron Saints? Along with the ancient pagan Irish goddess whose name she shares, she is associated with feminine spirituality and empowerment. And this year, for the first time, St Brigid has received her own public holiday. Held midway between the winter and spring equinoxes, St Brigid’s Day has been celebrated on 1st February for centuries – and...

And yes, it does seem to be arriving with more frequency these days! There you are, finally convinced that the last pine needle has been swept up (for those stubborn souls like me who still insist on a real tree)the fridge emptied of all those foods and jars and condiments you only ever buy at Christmas (after all, you convince yourself as your hand reaches the appropriate shelf in the supermarket, it’s only once a year …) when the shops are alerting you to the count down for the next season and the onslaught starts all over again. And I...

Any author will say that the creation of realistic and convincing characters is an essential part of a writer’s craft. If a reader cannot believe in the depiction of someone on the page, that reader will no doubt lose all interest in following their story. So characters need to be real. Believable. Able to engage and sustain a reader’s fascination. But how much factual information, the details of everyday life, does an author need to impart? For a start, do characters need to have birthdays? Close to finishing my next novel, I suddenly realised that although Lily, my protagonist, has...

As I draw very close to finishing my current novel, The Odyssey of Lily Page, I am facing the prospect of editing it with some pleasure. I edit as I go along, anyway, so this stage of editing is not like working from an early, scanty draft. I already know the material and have shaped, cut, altered considerably as I have progressed through the chapters. But once the novel is finished, this is the time I go back and see everything I have got wrong. Or repeated. Or altered people’s names or ages. Given them short hair in one paragraph...

September 2022 – and already, with another few days still to go, the month has been turbulent and unexpected. Only the weather has been peaceful and pleasantly calm. But no doubt some autumnal brisk winds and gusty showers are only hours or so away, planning to catch us out. So, September – we’ve had to say farewell to one revered monarch and adjust to the idea of a King – Charles 111 and the Queen Consort – a phrase unfamiliar in our vocabulary until now. And then the sudden and unexpected loss of Hilary Mantel – twice Booker prize winner...

…is no easy matter. As a writer, it can be hard to come up with something that is pertinent and memorable. Sharp, catchy yet unique. Yet lately, publishers seem to be favouring titles that are, in fact, ambiguous and not at all easy to remember. A week or two ago, like two middle-aged (ok – approaching late middle aged)characters from an Anita Brookner novel, my friend Carol and I met in the coffee shop at Peter Jones in Sloane Square and, amongst other things, talked books. And the two of us were constantly trying to refer to novels we had...