Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Q and A with BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD
Barbara Taylor Bradford, OBE is one of the world’s best loved storytellers. Her 1979 debut novel, A Woman of Substance, ranks as one of the top-ten bestselling books of all-time, with more than 30 million copies in print. To date, she has written 35 novels — all bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic. Master Of His […]
Lies, Shame And Social Media: The Inspiration For Shame On You
In my novel, Shame on You, a much-adored Instagram celebrity, Holly, is the victim of a sudden, violent and unprovoked attack. Her legion of followers are shocked. Holly is the dream they all aspire to: healthy, fit, and beautiful. Every post of a yoga pose or smoothie bowl inspires envy. But as the world delves […]
Persona: When the Voice Is Not Your Own
This whole process began with hearing voices. I was working in my journal one night when this voice began, with no prodding, no expectation. It was strong and sure, a woman’s voice, dictating lines, whole poems. The first scribbled line was, Well I guess this is the freak show. I was shaken, to tell the […]
The Heart Behind My Words
I am still completely blown away that my first novel Her Greatest Mistake was taken on by my lovely agent, earned me a three book deal and has now sold over 50,000 copies. All this happened in less than a year. Is this real? Did this actually happen? I’d already launched myself into Who I […]
Why I wrote Companion Of The Ash
I am a writer of historical fiction — historical fiction from a woman’s perspective. Women, especially in the Classics, have long been underrepresented and shown to be weak, vulnerable, and often signified the darker side of humanity. Great Classical writers like Homer and Euripides showed women to be sorceresses and weaklings, more apt to swoon […]
A Protagonist We Can Root For: Likable, Relatable, Neither, Or Both?
The question of likability, especially for female protagonists, is a topic that has sparked heated debate. Male protagonists have, traditionally, had an easier time of it. There have been rascals and rogues as well as knights; for every Atticus Finch, there’s a Rhett Butler. Yet female protagonists have had a more difficult history. Eccentricity is […]
On Becoming (Otherwise Known as Finding Courage)
It seems I have a problem. I worry too much about what other people think. It’s part of my nature to be empathetic to other people’s needs and alert to their expectations. My radar, like that of other writers, is finely tuned. My heart tells me to transform myself into shapes to suit others, even […]
From Long To Short: A Short Story Phobic’s Tale
Being honest, I found short stories difficult. Distilling a tale down to 1,000 or 2,000 words without making a good, meaty story seemed a terrifying task; no character development, no sub-plots, little if any world-building, no wide cast of characters, no complexity, I thought. As a newbie writer several years ago, I tried very hard […]
Social Media and Networking Tips For Authors
Hello everyone. My name is Lizzie Chantree and I’m a romance author who has been writing for as long as I can remember. I have now published five books, with a sixth launching next year. My background is in design, innovation and retail, as I ran my own wholesale and retail business for over fifteen […]
Finding Success in a World Dominated by Men’s Voices
Society has a long history of attempting to silence women. In 1763, Samuel Johnson famously told his biographer, “Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hinder legs. It’s not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.” Over a hundred years later, T.S. Eliot wrote to Ezra […]
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