John Crace Being Dead. Begins with a gruesome murder and then traces the victims’ lives leading up to that moment, and describes in detail the putrefaction of the corpses. I was too squeamish for this, though John Crace as a writer of beautiful and evocative prose is second to none. Margaret Drabble The Dark Flood Rises. A ... Read More
Some people who like to see and hold a printed copy, and that is what you can provide at a book launch or a literary festival talk. And meeting people is fun, even if you don’t break even when you have factored in your time and the refreshments. I have arranged two launches for my ... Read More
When I was a social worker listening closely was a big part of my job and I’m sure that has helped me to write believable dialogue. What one deduces from what other people say is another matter, I think. Some of my musings on this have informed my novel ‘Timed Out’. In the passage quoted ... Read More
With my DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis (posh person’s repetitive strain injury), I’ve been writing less and reading more. And Going to Things. Less of a home body and more of a woman about town on the cultural scene in Oxford. Blackwell’s Bookshop hosted an author event with Roma Tearne on her latest novel ‘The Last Pier’. I ... Read More
I’ve just dug up this little report, written in 2013 as part of my final submission after the Guardian/University of East Anglia Certificate course on the Novel. I thought that rather than deleting it I would share it, since it may be of interest or use to others. My novel ‘Timed Out’ has been accepted ... Read More
‘As you write you can’t escape all the literature you have loved.’ This was one of many wise reflections from Ian McEwan this evening. Another couple of points that struck me particularly: the importance of people’s jobs, so often neglected in novels and yet key to fleshing out character; and the pleasures of the short ... Read More
Another short list: for my first and probably only ghost story, which bears the peculiar title ‘Potter, Dimity, Lilies.’ When they announced this news, Spooky Tales/What the Dickens? Magazine promised an ebook anthology and – how lovely! – a paper edition as well. Several months and emails later I have discovered that the anthology has ... Read More
Tomorrow Click to Click: tales of internet dating will be free to download. Such a mix of sweet and sour and creepy and sad I’m not sure it is very suitable as a Valentine’s gift. Our experience to date suggests that these free download days do result in a lot of downloads. But I don’t ... Read More
Don’t we all want unbiased feedback? What could be less biased than a computer programme? Autocrit tells you how many times you’ve used the same word or phrase, how many -ly adverbs, how many cliches. It counts words per line so that you can see whether you have a nice varied collection of sentences. And ... Read More
