Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Where Do You Write?
Being an estate agent for decades before I took my writing seriously, I have come across a variety of spaces that the owners have turned into offices. Sometimes they’ve squeezed a desk and computer into the cramped space under the stairs, or spread out in an enormous artificially-lit basement or high up in an attic; […]
Value of Writing a WIP article Midway in Your Novel Plotting a Mystery: Celebrant Sleuth
Midway through a long novel, when I’m stuck, I write a WIP (work-in-progress) article to add sub-plots, deepen characters and explore even the weirdest ‘What if?’ possibilities. Usually it gets me writing original fiction again. And it’s also a useful reminder for PR interviews after publication when asked ‘What were the challenges of writing this […]
Why I Wrote Grief Works
Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death, and Surviving (Scribner; January 16, 2018; https://griefworks.co.uk) – is a warm, compassionate guide to grief and grieving by prominent UK bereavement expert Julia Samuel. Samuel – close friend to the late Princess Diana and godmother to Prince George – has spent 25 years working with the bereaved as a […]
Interview with Anna Quinn, Author of The Night Child
Anna Quinn’s breathtaking debut novel examines the impact of traumatic childhood experiences and the fragile line between past and present. Exquisitely nuanced and profoundly intimate, The Night Child is a story of resilience, hope, and the capacity of the mind, body, and spirit to save itself despite all odds. We’re very excited to feature her here on […]
Inspiration Behind The Welcome Home Diner
If you’re the last person to leave Detroit, don’t forget to turn off the lights. This is the first sentence of my new release, THE WELCOME HOME DINER, and contemporary Detroit was the primary inspiration behind writing this book. There were other motivating factors—insight into the food business, personal intimacies—but I’ll get to those later. […]
The Unglamorous Part Of Writing
Writing is a solitary profession and extremely unglamorous. When I write, I need zero distractions: no Twitter, dirty dishes, Rightmove, eBay, Netflix or wine. In order to finish my book, I knew I needed to remove myself from all of these things, which is how I ended up in a rudimentary cabin on the moors, […]
When Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction . . . and Then Becomes Fiction
My book began as a list of men’s names scrawled on the back of a cocktail napkin. I was at drinks with friends, relating the details of my latest Match.com dates. I’d been dumped before the first kiss, donned full HAZMAT gear on a third date, and, been set up with another date’s mom. I’d fallen—hard—for a […]
Crossing The Lines Of Genre Fiction
As an author, there are many reasons to incorporate more than one genre in your story. We all know that life isn’t one dimensional, so books shouldn’t be either. A bit of humor, mystery and romance all add to the fabric of a book. Life isn’t all one thing or another. It blends sorrow and […]
Swipe Right? Whether Or Not To Date Your Second Novel
Who are you? Why are you nothing like the profile of you I imagined? And what are you doing in my story? These are questions I find myself asking almost every day as I toil over my second novel – the legendary tricksy, troublesome second novel. Surely writing it cannot and should not be harder […]
How Your Writing Can Inspire Your Kids
Recently, a fellow writer posted about the challenges of balancing motherhood and writing, especially when you have young kids who make constant demands on your time. Her struggles resonated with me, because it’s something I’ve experienced and I’m sure she and I are not alone. I suspect any writer with children has faced these issues. […]
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