What experts say about writing

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...

The strangeness of history

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...

New Year Opportunities

The new year is an opportunity for a fresh beginning. In the Northern hemisphere it brings the possibility of lighter days ahead. We ask, What are our aims during 2024?  Yet mornings and evenings remain dark –  opportunities may be hidden. Darkness means many...

On Ageing

obviously she hides the signs wears purple whenever masks loss – hearing, muscle, memory whenever occasionally she takes to the woods lies among dead leaves imagining rotting her absence distinction between being and non-being blurred Decorative tree on Maw estuary by...

A Time for Peace

A Time for Peace was published by Cinnamon Press in October 2016. Set during World War 1 in Serbia, in historical terms it describes an unusual event. Austria occupied Serbia in late 1914, and having fought and lost, Serbia’s King and government decided not only...

Change of scene, change of heart

The Ponts Couverts September was hot. Hot pavements, hot air whether in St Pancras, Paris or our destination, Strasbourg.  We crossed Paris through the edge of St. Denis where kids tried to sell cigarettes, homeless slept or begged on pavements. Some things...