So my book, my new novel, my fourth book, Dear Magpies, has been out for a month. It was published as a paperback by SilverWood Books on 18th November - and, it seems, people are reading it. Amazing! I've been running [...]
Creating a book and getting it out into the world is a little like having a baby - though it usually takes far longer. It grows more erratically and more slowly and its birth involves many people of different skills. [...]
Magpies are magnificent. Distinctive by their black and white plumage, they are intelligent and inquisitive - and more superstitions surround magpies than any other wild bird. The most common one is that it is unlucky to see a lone magpie but two [...]
In five weeks time, I’m going to be a grandmother for the third time. Its a role I love – and I’ve managed to get in plenty of training and practice with grandchildren numbers 1 and 2. It’s grand to [...]
This time last week it snowed. Snow can be a big problem for elderly isolated people and stranded motorists but I defy anyone, when they open the curtains on the first morning after snow has fallen, not to gasp with [...]
A year ago I retired from a long-term part-time job, which gave me plenty of time for writing. I intended to transform my life and re-brand myself as a full-time professional writer. So why have I written so little and [...]
It's been over 4 weeks since I finished my book. I felt elated even though I knew it was only the first draft. After 10 months and some 95,000 words, I needed a break from it, and decided not to [...]
You need to put words on pages to make books. It's more about quality than quantity but you must have both. And it takes time and hard work. Right now I'm focused on writing a new novel - my fourth [...]
Here are some recent reviews of my latest novel: ‘The Lost Journey Homeward’, published in June by Onwards & Upwards in Hardback (£16.99), Paperback (£9.99) and eBook (£5.99). The book also has a number of reviews posted by readers on [...]
It's always a challenge to give a informative entertaining talk to a group of people who have come to an event and are gathered to listen to what I say. Recently I was the Guest Speaker at the Autumn Lunch [...]