Tag: writing

The Maid’s Room by Fiona Mitchell – Q&A session

Today I’m really pleased to be joined by Fiona Mitchell, whose novel The Maid’s Room, has just come out in paperback. The story of two sisters, Dolly and Tala, Filipino maids to the privileged community in Singapore, The Maid’s Room is a sometimes shocking, sometimes funny account of the hidden lives of others and how… Continue reading The Maid’s Room by Fiona Mitchell – Q&A session

Bringing back the bodies… *

I was delving into the BBC’s website the other day and came across one of my favourite authors, Barbara Trapido, on the Book Club programme. She and the audience were discussing The Travelling Hornplayer. Trapido has written seven novels and four of them are linked. By linked, I mean that characters return and live on… Continue reading Bringing back the bodies… *

Competition time! Win an author’s kit

I’m celebrating. And to have you join in my celebrations I’m giving away everything you need to be a writer. Everything, except the sheer bloody mindedness, which I’m afraid you’ll have to cultivate yourself. Would you like to win: coffee, biscuits, writing maps, notebooks and pen? You would? Great, read on. Your ultimate writer’s kit… Continue reading Competition time! Win an author’s kit

Bronte Festival of Women’s Writing

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.* At least not in Nottingham. But as I drove up the M1 the rain cleared and a sliver of blue sky appeared through the clouds. I was on my way to Haworth, or to the Bronte Festival of Women’s writing, put on by the Bronte… Continue reading Bronte Festival of Women’s Writing

Writing as catharsis

Do you view your writing as somehow cathartic? I’ve been pondering  this subject in the last few days. A lot of people use writing to deal with the world, especially though journalling or writing therapy. And some of those writing tip memes that you see flashed around the internet often talk of living life first, experiencing… Continue reading Writing as catharsis

Writing East Midlands conference

I spent Saturday in Loughborough. Not words I’m usually happy to utter but this was different – I attended Writing East Midlands’ Writers’ Conference at Loughborough University. It was a cold grey morning as we arrived and troughed down the refreshments, all clutching our cream and blue goody bags and piling into the auditorium. I… Continue reading Writing East Midlands conference

The broken pushchair by the back door or… writing with a family

I don’t know if it’s a current trend or coincidence but I seem to have seen quite a bit of chat about mothers who write recently. Some pieces have advice about finding writing time, others are just describing what it’s like and more still, ponder that it’s not the same for men. Practically all of them… Continue reading The broken pushchair by the back door or… writing with a family

A writer’s Christmas list

Stuck for what to get the writer in your life for Christmas? Need a few stocking fillers? There are loads of literature-inspired gifts out there but for practical useful gifts, here are my recommendations: Coffee. All the major chains do gift cards, or you can get beans delivered. Being a Nottingham-based lass, I recommend you… Continue reading A writer’s Christmas list

Unthank Books – How to Write a Novel

Having had a case of the wobbles mid-way through rewriting my book, I did what I often do when I’m panicked about something, I enrolled on a course. Unthank Books, based over in Norfolk, publish fiction and teach creative writing. A three month online course on something called How to Write a Novel looked just the… Continue reading Unthank Books – How to Write a Novel