Category: On Writing
Why I Wrote Les Parisiennes
In an early – and discarded – draft of the prologue to my book I wrote how one of the most common questions every author is asked when publishing a book is: ‘How long did it take you to write?’ If it did not sound so arrogant, I might this time be tempted to reply […]
Science and Writing
The spot I chose for my first ever experience of wild camping was on a Scottish cliff top overlooking the North Sea. It was the third day of my camping holiday and, although the previous two campsites had provided running water and toilet facilities, I’d had very little sleep for 62 hours. There was a […]
Deciding What To Write
The feeling a writer has when deciding what to write about is extremely exhilarating, but also very nerve-bending. At least it was for me. I knew I wanted to write something that would be especially appealing to women in midlife – my own age group. But what story? I love to brainstorm, sometimes throwing the […]
The Kindness of Strangers
Three years ago the opportunity came my way to interview Fay Weldon for the Historical Novel Society. To say I seized on the chance would be an understatement. Weldon is a household name, a woman whose writing career spans 5 decades, who has written 34 novels and many short story collections, TV dramas and plays […]
Cover Girls — Behind the Mask
“44 Sex Tips From Around the World — Prepare for Global Warming” . . . “Unexpected Sex Advice—How to Turn Yourself On” shouts the September 2016 cover of Cosmopolitan, one of America’s top twenty magazines by circulation. (Digital circulation 14.6 million unique visitors and growing.) The magazine’s mission: to empower young women “to own who […]
When the Words Come Naturally: How Nature Influences One Author’s Writing
When I set out to write my first novel, I knew the setting before I had fully mapped out my storyline. It was a given that FAMILY TREES would take place in Bayfield, Wis., a picturesque town on the shore of Lake Superior. My family had fallen in love with the area long before I […]
May The Story Sing
When I sign copies of my debut novel, The River Witch, I almost always say, “May the story sing for you.” I’ve never stopped to really wonder why those words came to me or what they might mean, except that I have a love of music. While I was on book tour, I asked the […]
Time Management For Writers
It’s 7.07 on a Monday morning. I have just got on a train to Plymouth where I’m going to be interviewed (live!) by the BBC. I could be reading the novel that’s in my handbag. Or I could be catching up on my sleep after an early start. But instead my fingers are flying across […]
How My Probation Career Influenced My Writing
It’s always hard to know, isn’t it, which came first? The chicken or the egg. And that’s how I feel about my life as a crime writer, and my previous one as a probation officer. Let’s say my probation career was the chicken. I went into the job in my early twenties, burning with a […]
Writing Adventure Stories For Children
Writing for children, it has been said, is just like writing for adults, only much harder. So why would anyone attempt to write a novel for 8 – 12 year olds? I started by mistake. I’d loved the stories my Dad had told me, and being Irish, he spun some really good yarns. He had […]
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