According to Wikipedia the word holiday originates from the Old English, hāligdæg (hālig "holy" + dæg "day"). This year coincided with Spring Bank holiday, school half term and Whit Sunday. In my diary only Spring Bank holiday is identified. As a child brought up as a...

The grey days are the worst. When clouds hang around, threatening and miserable. When it rains the change brings hope. Nothing stays the same.  I've written one published novel, one for whom I'm looking for an agent or a publisher, and one work-in-progress. I'm a...

It can take someone who doesn't know you to give you a new perspective on your own life. This year when I went to Iona for my writing retreat, Wendy said, 'You've given a lot to others during your working life, now's the time to focus on what you want - your writing.'...

View of the Oak from our bedroom window At the very foot of our garden is an Oak. It isn't ours. It belongs to our neighbours Bob and Sue. They love the tree, lighting it during the dark evenings. They're not so keen on squirrels which nest in its branches. On the...

Much of what I have learned about writing has originated in books. Reading novels, poetry and non-fiction form the foundation of what I write. Below are four experts who have affected what and how I write. January wood What to write  or where do ideas come from...

View from Scale bridge of the modern frontages to River Hull 'History is always stranger than we imagine or can imagine,' writes Hilary Mantel. I am writing a historical novel set in Hull. I find it difficult to imagine Hull in 1920 when it was adjusting to the...