Tag: women writers
The Joys of Editing
The first time I ever remember showing my dad something I’d written—I was in middle school, I think—he peered at the pages through his tortoise-shell specs, and then, when he got to the end, said, “Great job. Now go back and take out half the words.” He wasn’t exaggerating for comic effect. He literally wanted […]
Q and A with Debra Dean
Debra Dean is the bestselling author of four critically acclaimed books that have been published in twenty-one languages. Her debut novel, The Madonnas of Leningrad, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a #1 Booksense Pick, a Booklist Top Ten Novel, and an American Library Association Notable Book of the Year. Her new book, Hidden […]
Surviving A Book Launch As A Card-Carrying Introvert
I’ve always been a behind-the-scenes kinda gal. Maybe that was one of the reasons I was drawn to fiction – I thought it wouldn’t be “me” in the spotlight, it would be my books. That was before social media became the way of the world. I took to the writing life like a bear […]
When Public Speaking Goes Wrong
There has been a lot on social media lately about why women should accept invitations to public speaking events. As in all areas of society, it seems we are in the minority when it comes to standing on the soap box. A quick search on Google shows that there are many more male public speakers […]
From ‘The Foolish Wise Ones’ to Shingle Beaches – Inspirations for a Crime Novel
The Temptation, published in May 2018 by Accent Press, returns to the characters in my first crime book, Some Particular Evil, and to the stretch of Suffolk coast running from Dunwich, south to Orford. Aldeburgh, a small town between those two locations, is the focal point of The Temptation. Since my early twenties I’ve […]
Penguin European Writers: Mercè Rodoreda
Penguin European Writers is a new series of forgotten classics by European writers, with introductions by acclaimed contemporary authors. As a former student of French and Italian, I felt compelled by the current political climate to begin a new initiative to promote European literature to British readers. Translated fiction offers a unique insight into another […]
Taking The Restricted View
Outwardly, Spain wears its complex history with disarming simplicity: in a village cemetery, a human thigh bone stands propped against the wall; a fading pencilled statement, apparently equally forgotten, records the arrival of Nationalist troops on the 20th day of September 1938; on the rubbish heap above the village, among the old tiles and bricks […]
How to Write an Amazon Review
You’ve just read an amazing book, and you want to tell somebody about it. You could call a friend, of course, and I suggest you do. Word of mouth is the best marketing. But you could also write a review of the book on one of the sites that accepts reviews. This could include GoodReads, […]
Writing Rituals – Do I Have Any?
I recently read Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey. It’s a fascinating account of the creative processes of a collection of famous artists, authors, composers and choreographers. Who knew that Anthony Trollope, rose before dawn every day and wrote three thousand words before going to his job at the post office, or that Thomas Wolfe wrote standing […]
Shared History
At 7:30 a.m. on a summer morning, the northern Wisconsin air did not yet hint at the promise of another typically beautiful day. Our twelve-year-old selves, denied the future pleasures of hot coffee, had stoked ourselves with pancakes and bacon. Dressed in the camp uniform of blue shorts and white blouses, some of us with […]
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