Tag: women writers
The Dos and Don’ts of Promotional Blog Tours
When I invited my blog followers to host a guest post to publicise my forthcoming novel, I never imagined I’d be embarking on a marathon tour of twenty-five posts over five weeks. I’m not sure if that makes me someone to emulate or a narcissistic masochist but, for what it’s worth, here are some suggestions […]
Writing Black Comedy
Three years ago, I went on a ‘Work in Progress’ writing course to try and find a way to flesh out the bones of an idea I had for a novel. Part of the course was a one-to-one feedback session with the writing tutor. Each delegate had to submit a piece of sample writing and […]
“It’s not you, it’s me” Navigating the Waters of Rejection
Soon, I will hit the “send” button on an essay. This is the twelfth submission of this piece. After eleven rejections, my finger hovers over the “send” button– cautious, conflicted. A flood of emotions rushes over me. I am drowning here. I have put this sucker out there so many times that I am beginning […]
Why I Write
It certainly is not for the fun of sitting hour after hour in my study on the days when the ideas have dried up at source and the words are being stickily stubborn, bad-tempered and unmalleable. It is not for the times when, having made a journey to an out-of-the-way book festival, it is only […]
Q&A with Leah Ferguson
Leah Ferguson is the debut author of ALL THE DIFFERENCE published by Berkley/Penguin which tells the story, in alternating chapters, of a pregnant woman who says yes – and no! – when her boyfriend proposes marriage. You may also know Leah from her popular mommy-blog One Vignette – life on the small scale: a story […]
From Ghost to Flesh-and-Blood Novelist
My first career was in publishing: acquiring, commissioning and editing fiction and general non-fiction. Writing was what other people did and, as an editor, I tried to help them make what they wrote the best it could be and publish it in the most successful way possible. Even when I embarked on my second career […]
Growing up in Italy – a literary journey
I recently launched a small publication company which specialises in Italian women writers. When I tell people, they either nod knowlingly or look quizically at me, and in both cases they say: “Ah, books in translation”. My love of books goes back a long way. Family lore tells of how often I could be found, […]
My Days As A White Collar Girl
With the publication of White Collar Girl, my third adult historical novel, I have to take a moment to reflect on how I got here. Looking back I can honestly say that my previous career as an advertising copywriter served as a great training ground for becoming a published author. Advertising taught me three important […]
Note to Self: What Does That Book Smell Like?
Every book is a portal to a different world. As a child, I especially loved stories about animals. One of my favorites was Charlotte’s Web, which made me long to be a girl named Fern with a pet pig named Wilbur, because of its vivid descriptions of everything from the busy farmyard to the noisy […]
Short Story: A Simple Mistake
The dome of an umbrella bobbed along the top of the fence, beneath the dripping horse chestnut branches. Pink, blue, white stripes. Childhood colours, an adult’s height. It had been raining for days, maybe weeks. Lots of umbrellas bobbed along her fence, but she recognised this one. It was him again. Cynthia wheeled herself into […]
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