Author Archive: Hazel Gaynor
Hazel Gaynor is the international bestselling author of A MEMORY OF VIOLETS and THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. She was selected by US Library Journal as one of ‘Ten Big Breakout Authors’ for 2015 and was a spring 2015 WHSmith ‘Fresh Talent’ pick.
Her work has been translated into several languages. Hazel is a contributing author to WWI anthology FALL OF POPPIES (March 2016) and her third novel, THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY will be published in June. Hazel lives in Ireland with her husband and two children, and is represented by Michelle Brower of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth, New York.
For more information, visit Hazel’s website at http://www.hazelgaynor.com/ or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hazelgaynorbooks or follow her on Twitter @HazelGaynor
How To Be Patient, or “Why Hasn’t Your Book Been Made Into A Movie?”
Since becoming a writer, I slightly dread family gatherings. In many ways, “How’s the book going?” is a perfectly normal question to ask, but it isn’t an easy one to answer. I reply with variations of “great, thanks”, but I’m really thinking, which book? The one I’m drafting, the one I’m copy-editing, the one just […]
Are Two Heads Better Than One?
Writing is a solitary and very personal process. Alone at our writing desks, we struggle with word count and plot, accompanied only by our self-doubt and bull-headed determination. No wonder the prospect of sharing some of that isolation with another writer is so appealing, and yet collaboration is a relatively rare, and slightly mythical form. […]
Making Fairytales – On Writing the Book I was Meant to Write
The origins of a book fascinate me. How do writers have such clever ideas? Why don’t I have them first? How dare someone write a bestseller with an idea I had five years ago and never did anything about?! (It happens to us all, right?) But when it came to writing my fourth novel, a […]
How To Find “The End”
I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged. – Erica Jong Starting things is easy, right? Relationships, diets, runs, New Year’s resolutions – we dive in, full of enthusiasm. Of course we’ll stick to it. Of course we’ll see it through. Sadly, the finishing bit […]
The Invisible Days
I read somewhere recently that writing a book is like telling a joke and having to wait two years to find out if it is funny. It’s a painfully accurate analogy that made me laugh and wince with recognition at the same time. Writing, you see, is a curious profession. A single day can bring […]
Write for Victory!
Apologies in advance for starting this post with a negative thought, but it has to be said: there is a lot of disappointment in the business of writing. It is an inescapable part of the job which can make it difficult (to say the least) to keep moving forward, to keep trying, to keep writing. […]
Why writers must ‘Lean In’ too
It is now five months since the publication of my debut novel. Five months. That’s all. I am a mere baby in a world full of writing grown-ups, who have double-figure novels to their name and impressive awards to add to their author bio. And yet, in those few months, I have learnt so much […]
Ten Ways to Get Writing
It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s very windy/snowy/rainy/* (*delete as appropriate). It’s 9am and you’re staring at a blank screen and wishing that pesky little cursor would stop hopefully winking at you and write your book all by itself. Maybe I’ll just make another pot of coffee before I start, you say. Perhaps I’ll just write […]
Writing in Stolen Time: 10 Ways to Create Time (Literally)!
‘How on earth did you find time to write a novel? You’ve got kids!’ This is a question I have been asked frequently since publishing my debut novel, The Girl who Came Home. I sometimes wonder myself! But, having wondered, I’ve realised that when you have a passion to do something, there isn’t much which […]
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