Category: On Writing
Why I Write History
Like many history buffs, history first caught my imagination through stories. One of my favorite things to do when I was small was curl up next to my grandmother and ask her, “What did you do when you were a little girl?” From there it was a short step to reading biographies about […]
My Writing Journey: Life began at Forty-Four
I’ve always been a late starter in my life. I was twenty before I had my first alcoholic drink, twenty-five when I lost my virginity to a man, thirty-six when I got my driving license and fifty when I first had sex with a woman. And so it was with writing, I didn’t start until […]
Silk and Writing
Liz Trenow, author of The Dressmaker of Draper’s Lane, published by Pan Macmillan on 21st February 2019. I have written six novels and four of them were inspired by a single thing: silk! I was born and brought up next door to a silk mill in Sudbury, Suffolk. My family have been silk weavers for […]
Excerpt of The Family Wolves
Excerpt from the beginning of “The Family Wolves”, forthcoming novel by Jaki McCarrick. The book is set on the Irish/Northern Irish border. The opening passage is set in 1983. * He wakes with so much fury in his heart he thinks he is going to choke. Big Cat has just called, said he’s forgotten the […]
COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE
I knew I had to pursue a comedy fiction prize when I was met with 100% enthusiasm, not one doubter – well, only one literary agent, who said she didn’t think there was ‘enough funny female fiction out there to justify a prize’ so I said “exactly! – that’s why we need this prize!” – […]
This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin: a Writer’s Journey Through my Family
The reviews are just beginning to come in. One calls This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin “charming”, another “witty and eloquent”, but a third praises its “naked courage and fiercely intelligent understanding”. I’m thrilled, but they don’t sound like the same book, do they? The thing is, right from the start, This is […]
The Road To Redemption – Female Solidarity
CONTAINS SPOILERS When I have written about I See Through You recently, or tried to sum up what is it about, for some reason I have always concentrated on the ghosting aspect. I’ve tended to talk about it as if that is what the novel hangs on, and no doubt about it, Skye’s careless and […]
How Bruce Springsteen, Adele and Magic Help Me To Write…
Every time I sit down to write I am mystified as to where ideas come from. In 2016 I was lucky enough to get an agent and a two-book deal with Corvus Atlantic Books and around that time I started to think about what that ‘magic ingredient’ is in a novel that makes it hang […]
Me and My Agent: Christina McDonald and Carly Watters
A few days ago I did an interview and one of the questions was did I think having an agent was crucial in this business. The answer for me was a huge, resounding yes. My agent is Carly Watters at P.S. Literary Agency, and I literally wouldn’t be where I am now without her patient […]
Braver Than the Average “Girl”
Decades before there was a month dedicated to women’s history and long before the words “Nevertheless, she persisted” become a cultural touchpoint and rallying cry, there were groups of American women that that were daring to make history in extraordinary ways. Some of these women still have yet to receive recognition they deserve. One such […]
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