January might be, strictly speaking, in the accepted way of things, the first month of the new year with December the last of the old. But to me that is entirely inaccurate. September is the month that starts the whole ball rolling again just as June completes it. Which leaves July and August as delightfully...
One of the best things about writing novels is giving birth to numerous characters. These protagonists become surprisingly real over the course of developing and writing the story and there are times when the desire to meet them all in the flesh, invite them round for a cup of coffee or spot of supper becomes...
The past month has seen my book buying habit go into overdrive. But then the number of hours I’ve spent reading each day has increased stratospherically – and since shops have been no-go areas to me since I foolishly mistook my step on the Old Brompton Road en route to the tube and permitted my...
As a member of all sorts of Facebook fiction reader and writer groups, I daily read comments, reviews, conversation and just general chatter about books. Lately, with more enforced time to scan through these as a result of a fractured shoulder and, counting my luck that it’s my left arm held firmly, rigidly, in a...
Learning to read is one of those rites of passage that, unless it’s a particular struggle, goes unnoticed. And as someone who has never quite mastered numbers in any form, doing her lifelong, level best to avoid their challenge I sympathize hugely if words cause the same barrier as numbers provoke for me. But if...
All right. So they had to write their books without access to keyboards. Without the facility to cut and paste a line, a paragraph or even a whole chapter to shift it into a different position to help the narrative flow. And the only convenient clouds they had at their disposal were the ones floating...
Hearts and flowers and all things romantic tend to divide opinion radically when it comes to literature. Mention the word, ‘romance,’ and many people think immediately of Mills and Boon. Of unlikely handsome heroes and beautiful, loving heroines who will find each other after various obstacles have been conveniently removed from their respective paths and...
There’s a familiar pattern to the arrival of Christmas cards. At least I find there is. Every year, it’s the same friend whose card arrives early when December is still in single figures. Just as there’s always the one that arrives late, just scraping in by Christmas Eve, with the tang of suggestion that it...
What more ideal gift is there to give than a book? Think of it. It’s easy and satisfying to wrap. It suggests careful thought and consideration. And if signed by the author it is particularly personal to the receiver. All of which, of course, is my unsubtle way of drawing your attention to the fact...
Characterisation is obviously key for a writer. All writers. For writers whose novels are character driven rather than dependent upon a page-turning, precipitous plot, this becomes even more vital. But the problem is: how much information do readers want or need? Obviously, if an aspect of physical appearance impacts upon their nature or disposition, knowing...
