Why Are Books Good?
We are blessed with another splendid day. It’s confusing, though, to be sitting indoors, huddled in warm clothes, and then, on wandering outdoors, to find that it’s too hot for anything other than shirtsleeves. Today started very well, thanks to a delightful teacher called Mark, who wrote to thank me for my notes on writing. … Continue reading
Getting to the End…
One of those days when concentrating is difficult: I have to work around the family, getting a new tent sealed ready for a three day hike, walking the dogs, writing up the short list and winner of a prize, deal with emails and phone calls … and it’s not easy. The simple fact is, as … Continue reading
Writing Lessons 8
Okay, so what happens when it all goes horribly wrong? You are sitting down, the writing has been a blast, and you have a brilliant first stage written. It felt great, it reads really well. But now, you have a problem. This was supposed to be a romcom, but it’s gone all black and dangerous. … Continue reading
Writing Lessons 2
This follows on from the post yesterday, so if you haven’t read that, it could be a good idea to take a quick look. Right. Now, hopefully you will have a sheet of paper with a fair description of someone you know, someone you have met, or someone you have made up. The first thing … Continue reading
Astrohaus Freewrite – Two Weeks In!
Okay, this is about the half way stage. Almost two weeks ago, Astrohaus were generous enough to let me have a Freewrite to test and review. When I first received it, I was very happy, mainly because it looked good and felt delightful to type on (if you want the original review, it’s here). So … Continue reading
The New Project
I’ve been asked how my handwritten novel project was going… Well, not that well until now! The fact is, people get used to specific ways of working, I think. I decided to try writing a novel by hand because I felt it would allow me more freedom to work in different places, would give me … Continue reading
In Praise of Crime
I’m in the middle of writing another book just now, the follow up to Rebellion’s Message, in which the often confused Jack Blackjack continues to try to escape a fresh series of tribulations in the early part of Bloody Mary’s reign. It got me thinking about what it is that really appeals to me about … Continue reading
Harrogate and more
I have been booked for most of this year to go to the Harrogate History Festival, and I was really looking forward to it, but I’ve had to cancel. My event was to be on the 23rd, and that is the day of my mother’s funeral. Apologies to anyone who was hoping to see me there. Before … Continue reading
Today I Lost a Fan
This is horrible. This morning I got an email from a guy I’ve known a while now. He said that because I was showing my ‘middle finger’ to all my loyal readers and fans, he was going to stop collecting and reading my books. The reason? Some time ago an author in America called Douglas Preston … Continue reading
The End of the First AsparaWriting Festival!
And so, after a year of planning and working on the basic ideas, the AsparaWriting Festival is finally over. It’s been a really rewarding experience. The whole concept was, and is, to create a festival for unpublished but enthusiastic writers. We wanted to set it up, first: so that aspiring writers could come and learn … Continue reading
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