Already, we are edging our way into the third week of the month – the third week of the year – and normality has reinstated itself after the hiatus of Christmas. The tree is long discarded, the decorations put away and even the fridge is beginning to show signs of slimming itself down from its...
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...
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...
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,...
Houses are built of brick, wood, stone, snow – and no doubt numerous other materials. Homes are a far more complex matter and say a great deal more about us than the raw ingredients of the actual structure. Pictures on the wall. Photographs on a table. Books on the shelves. The colour of a lampshade,...
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...
Just think of it. Our grandparents – if you are of a certain age – lived through the reigns of five or six monarchs. My grandparents were born during the last decade or so of Queen Victoria’s life so would have gone on to witness a couple of Edwards (ok, one of them rather briefly...
…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 –...
Point of view is something that can plague writers, but, if it is well handled, readers should not be unduly conscious of it. Unless that’s rather the point. But more of that later. Of course if the novel is a first person narrative, everything is very simple. The story has to be told rigidly and...
For us Elizabethan babies, born in the early days of the Queen’s reign, she’s a figure whose life has shadowed our own. Always there in the background in some shape or form. Our mothers were about the same age as the Queen. Our fathers more or less parallel with Prince Philip. And as for their...
