On 2nd June, I approached Judy, the owner of Kenilworth book shop, to ask if there was any way I could promote my novel which she had on her shelves. When she suggested a book signing on 1st July at the end of Independent Bookshop week, I was delighted at the...

One of the stories my mother told me concerned my walking from our home in Lee Street, Hull to  Cavendish Road school through East Park. Though I was five, going on six, I don't remember the event. Our family moved from Hull when I was six and I've never been back to...

A Time for Peace, unread, was on a Leamington library shelf, so the next hurdle for me was to find it potential readers. The Readers' Development Officer helpfully contacted Book Club leaders in Warwickshire to which two, in Leamington, responded. The first, led by...

One of the hallmarks of an interesting artist, is their ability to learn. The David Hockney exhibition demonstrated that beautifully. When Hockney was 'blocked'- perhaps bored with his current style- he moved on to another medium. He tried photography, and an I-pad to...

'Iona, an Island,a place to bring ourselves home.' On Sunday, 2nd April, I tried to control my tears as I left P. on the platform at Leamington station. It didn't help that I'd missed the earlier train to Wolverhampton which would have ensured I'd have time to go to...

York and libraries hold a lot of memories for me. I've borrowed from and studied in libraries for as long as I can remember. Public, school, college, university and while researching A Time for Peace, many others. I lived in Yorkshire till I was 11 years old and York...