I can hear music. Not just a brilliant track by The Beach Boys (and also nicely covered by The Ronettes), but also a statement of fact. Why? Because generally I write fiction to a musical backdrop. When I work on a novel I use different types of music to get into the mood of a scene. …
It’s time for Thomas Bladen to go through the looking glass. A well-known author (Richard Bach, I’m fairly confident) once referred to his books as his literary children. When it comes to my Thomas Bladen Spy Chaser novels, I have tried to do something subtle different with each one. Consequently, I love all my literary children …
Even before I became an emerging author (that middle ground between no longer debut and nowhere near established!) I thought it sensible to turn a well-worn adage, ‘write about what you know’, on its head. Far better, in my opinion, to say: ‘know what you’re writing about’. That usually means one of two things: 1. …
Only writers know how it feels…– To submit a piece to a magazine, have it summarily rejected and then find that said magazine has added you to its email list. And then proceeds to email you every week about its other content.– To get feedback from an editor, pointing out all the plot holes and …
Light at the end of a celestial tunnel. I know; why a ‘new’ novel and not simply a novel? Well…it’s different. Not better or worse, just a changed experience – like my parents must have felt with a second child. You feel you know the ropes a bit more and you swear that you won’t make the …
A little ago, buoyant on completing my first year as a thriller writer, I thought it would be fun to do a Q&A with a difference. I promised to answer any questions you cared to send in. Here they are, woven into an interview. 1. It’s been a year since your debut thriller, Standpoint, was published. …
Even though the year has barely started and my previous post is already a distant memory some writers have been in touch about how they want to approach 2016 differently. Kath Morgan is opted for the challenge of 52 Artist Dates this year. Others have talked in general terms about being more focused, or committing to deadlines.Here’s …
Branching out. It’s been a funny old year. In a good way, I mean. I started 2015 with the familiar writer-inbox staring game familiar to anyone who has both a Labrador and a biscuit tin. And then, as if by magic (because it was certainly magical at the time) I had a book deal for …
Any port in a storm. You have to imagine me smiling to myself as I write this post. Not one of those ‘I’m the bee’s knees’ smug grins, but a gentle ‘groovy’ crescent on my lips. (I am making it a personal campaign to get groovy back in our everyday vocabulary.) Three novels published in …
Autumn is a time of harvest. As a former ‘green living’ columnist* the environment and the page are inextricably linked for me. Whether it’s planning for the season to come, falling in with the rhythms of the year, or taking careful note of what’s developing, the metaphor of garden as creativity was – and is – …
