Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Finding A Voice
Honesty: My debut novel, The Exclusives, is a psychological thriller set in an all-girls boarding school. Initially, the book was a romantic comedy inspired by the American film with Drew Barrymore, Never Been Kissed (still one of my favourites nearly twenty years on.) As I was writing the novel I was being tutored by Esther […]
You Know More than You Think, So Trust the Process
Just before I gave up on my master’s thesis – a sprawling social novel called Florida Pure – I sat in front of my laptop in a panic, turning to the bookshelf behind me and pulling down beloved novels, reading their first paragraphs and comparing them to mine. It was an exercise in self-sabotage. I […]
Putting My Hobby Onto The Page
They say (whoever, “they” is, with their infinite wisdom) to write what you know. Well, I’m a bit of a dork. What I know is math and reading. I know Star Wars and Star Trek (both old and new), I know Joss Whedon’s entire oeuvre. You know what doesn’t make a great book? A […]
From Publisher To Writer
It was a long held dream of mine to write a novel. In fact I attempted it several times before finally realising my dream. The problem was I never truly believed my writing was of any merit thus resulting in many unfinished manuscripts, which were unceremoniously consigned to a drawer that was rarely opened. […]
How I Harnessed the Wisdom of My Inner Critic and Finally Became an Author
For too long, fear and blame stopped me from writing. The decades ticked by without me completing a book—something I’d wanted to do my whole life. I was immobilized by fear of not being good enough. I blamed my father for expecting perfection and critical junior high English teachers who stole the fun I had […]
Like It, Share It, Hashtag It: How to Incorporate Social Media into Your Novels
How many social networks have you logged onto today? One? Two? Five? I’ve been on at least eight and it’s barely noon. I’ve discussed books with people I’ll never meet in person, shared pictures with friends who live on other continents, and discovered (and pinned) a tasty-looking recipe involving sweet potatoes and figs. (I also […]
The Challenges of Writing Women’s History
When I began work on Heroines of Mercy Street I assumed that there were already lots of books on the subject and I feared that there wouldn’t be anything new for me to say. After all, everyone knew what Civil War nurses looked like, right? In fact, I was wrong on both counts. Nurses on […]
Finding Inspiration: Why I Write In The Kitchen
A room of one’s own? It’s the dream of every writer. I have such a place. I spent years designing it, and it is perfect. Let me show you around. It’s up a flight of stairs. Mind the pile of books on the landing. They’re waiting for me to put them in neat rows on […]
The Inspiration Behind Sweet Lake
The inspiration behind a book—the impishly persistent idea that darts through my head demanding center stage—never arrives in quite the same way. For Sweet Lake, the frothy potion of the perfect “What if?” mixed with irresistible characters I couldn’t wait to bring to life came about quite by accident. During a busy November, I received a surprising […]
Motivate Me!
My interest in alternative therapies, spirituality, and holistic health began when I was a young teenager. I collected crystals, dream journals, and books on every topic imaginable from palmistry to Zen philosophy. My first tarot card pack was purchased with my pocket money when I was just thirteen years old – I still use that […]
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