I had the good fortune to share a podcast episode with Nadine Matheson, best-selling author and lawyer. As is often the case with a fast-flowing and enjoyable chat, you find yourself discussing topics that hadn’t occurred to you until the alchemy of the moment created a spark. As we were finishing our conversation, Nadine spoke …
Category: Musings
Should Fiction Keep It Real?
I planned to write about the balance between a writer’s life and their inner world, but this piece on the BBC website caught my eye and, frankly, it seemed more interesting to explore than to write about what I know best (me). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45803343 It’s well worth reading in full, but in essence author and screenwriter …
Altruism for Authors
I’m a great believer in supporting the writing community wherever possible and whenever practicable. Of course, there is competition for representation, for publication, and for funding, but most of that activity happens in the privacy of one’s outbox and those all-important decisions are beyond our control once we have pressed send. How can novel writers …
Top Reasons to Harvest Your Rainwater
A sponsored post on behalf of Freeflush. Top Reasons to Harvest Your Rainwater RAINWATER IS FREE, BUT THE SUPPLY IS NOT DEPENDABLE! It rains a lot in the UK. Despite significant regional and seasonal variations there’s an average of 800 mm per year in the east / southeast and typically more than twice that in …
Film Noir Feeds my Fiction
The rules have changed. I’ve made no secret of the fact that Raymond Chandler’s writing is one of the inspirations for my Thomas Bladen spy thrillers, but I also owe a huge debt to cinema. It’s my great pleasure now to introduce you to a back catalogue of films that remain classics of the spy / …
Pull the Other One – Adventures with Cracker Jokes
A ghost of Christmas past. This is the second year I’ve entered the Gold Channel cracker joke competition. The fact that I’m mentioning it at all should alert you to the prospect of a happy or unhappy ending. In this case, both! The brief was for something topical and festive, perhaps with a twist on …
Today’s Subject is Subjectivity
Sir Isaac Newton stated that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For authors that gets translated into ‘for everyone who likes your work, someone else will hate it’. There doesn’t have to be any rhyme or reason about it; it’s just a thing. This state of affairs was brought back to …
To write or not to write?
The hidden ingredient in every piece of writing. Ask most writers, whether they are starting out, seasoned, or overcooked, and they all tell you the same thing – they write because it’s a compulsion. It’s the nagging internal voice when you read someone else’s below par writing that whispers, “You could do better than this.” …
Comfort reading
Ask any fervent reader and they’ll tell you that they have a treasured few books they read over and over again. Know you’re going to be stuck on a train or a coach? Want to fill a few minutes with the familiar delights of a well-loved tale? Or maybe you like to check in with …