The next book is almost ready, with the final line edit nearing completion, and a release date for the beginning of December. It’s a very personal project for me, regarding my time looking after Mum, and her loss, and how it affected me. But I’m …
Read MoreGlass Onion – The Genesis
My new novel finds me yet again switching and mixing genres, and sets me new challenges. The image above was central to the original plot, and is the wonderful Palm House in Sefton Park in Liverpool, now restored to its former glory. But at the …
Read MoreAuthor Talk
Delighted to have delivered an author talk at Formby Library this afternoon. Compact and bijou would be the best description, with a small audience but as they say, quality of quantity. Joking aside, I enjoyed it immensely and it was lovely to have the opportunity …
Read MorePrincess Maybe
It’s time to introduce you to a new friend of mine by the name of Christopher Dubs. Unlike myself, he is a sweet and cheerful soul who writes very happy books for children, all about the adventures of Princess Maybe and her magical friend Huggybear. …
Read MoreThe Occasional Value of No Feedback
The Holy Grail for most of us as writers is feedback, as it drives interest, sales and reads, and I by no means under estimate the importance of comments and feedback. But I’ve found that in some cases, the value of not getting feedback can …
Read MoreThe Pants of a Plotter
So, a very interesting exchange on Twitter last night directed me to an article on the two most commonly espoused approaches to creating narrative (in the Twitter writing community anyway), namely the relative benefits of the ‘Plotter’/’Planner’ (who develops a detailed outline before putting pen …
Read MoreA Break From Work
I’ve made the gratifying decision to take four months off work! There was been a lot of personal difficulty for the last few years, and my work is good enough to make this possible, so Sept to Dec I shall be footloose and fancy free. …
Read MoreThe Raven Sound (Slight Return)
So, I’m currently in one of those slight slumps we all get, and am finding it hard to be inspired by new projects, though I have many which I need to work on, and I love them all. Partly I have a bad back so …
Read MoreRubbish Month
April might well be the cruellest month, but May is the crappest. For me anyway. Sales have pretty much flatlined, and I managed to put my back out so have been grumpy, hobbling round on a stick, occasionally shaking it at the world and feeling …
Read MoreA Single Man – Christopher Isherwood
This is a rather strange book to add to my Influences section, as I’ve only just finished it for the first time, but I can’t believe I haven’t pick it up before (I loved Goodbye to Berlin) and I suspect if I’d read it when …
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