Category: On Writing
Stepmother: Reflections on Writing a Memoir
It happened one night. Totally unplanned. We were standing in the comfortably furnished living room, nuts on the table and chips next to the dip. The four couples stood casually, holding our drinks and chatting politely as you do when you meet people for the first time. The conversation was predictable. “Wasn’t it a beautiful […]
Representing Refugees
One of the things I’ve noticed on returning from any big trip is that most people aren’t that interested in hearing about what’s happened. They don’t want a half-hour diatribe on all the stuff I’ve done and seen nor even hear stories that moved me. There’s no time for all that. When I said I […]
Stargazing Into Your Mind
An appreciation of stars shining across the cosmos is not just for astronomy or science fiction fans, sometimes a centerfold across Cosmopolitan magazine will do. On a dreary, disappointing day, many of us are tempted to wonder what it would be like to live the life of someone else, especially someone rich, powerful, physically fit, […]
The Hunger Within
Another winter approaches, another book of mine has been published. If you had have asked me this time last year I never would have imagined that in the space of twelve months I would have two crime fiction novels under my belt along with a short story published in a number one bestselling anthology! The […]
How a Casual Stroll in the City of Ramallah Inspired a Novel About Graffiti
“Graffiti is ugly” I used to think. I would walk by it and shake my head in dismay. Anti-social. Shows disregard for community. All those scrawled spray-painted and incoherent messages on public walls made me feel an inkling of anger. “What makes anybody think they can scribble just anywhere?” We all have heard of the […]
Women Writers I Admire
It’s a dangerous subject to draw a writer into, the question of books and writers they admire. I don’t think I’m generalising when I say that writers love books. We surround ourselves with them, we eagerly devour our favourite author’s latest offerings. We write about them, we tweet and blog about them, we spend every […]
My Bossy, Imaginary Readers
With the publication of my memoir Not Exactly Love, I’m eager to meet my flesh-and-blood readers, the ones who might nod their heads as I speak, who ask me questions, who might hand me a book to sign. It’s a bit unnerving though; in the book, I break decades of silence to tell the story […]
How Book Blogging Launched My Career as an Author
“This book is horrible. I can’t believe people are reading this. I have to tell them not to read it. I think I’ll start a blog.” And so it began. My unfortunate run-in with the book-that-must-not-be-named upon the recommendation of a popular parenting magazine led me to write my very first blog post ever. I […]
How I Became A Writer
I became a writer when I was ten years old, the same year that I discovered Agatha Christie – and therefore crime fiction. On Christmas Day 1984, I unwrapped a notebook and a box of pens, and after lunch, while everyone else dozed chipolata-stuffed in front of the TV, I made a nest in the corner […]
Love Letters
The first letter I ever wrote to my maternal aunt Ruth, was in 1965. I don’t remember what possessed me to write to her. The risk was great and the reach was far. The letter was no doubt desperate, confessing my troubles to someone who was related, but whom I barely knew, someone I had […]
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