I’m a big fan of September. There’s something about the smell of sharpened pencils that makes me twice as productive as other times of the year, not least because the school holidays which precede it have usually trained me to fit my work in to much less time than normal. Sadly, by the time October […]
Writing Process: Blog Tour
I’m taking part in the Writing Process Blog Tour, invited to join in by Fleur Smithwick, author of How To Make a Friend, to be published by Transworld in January 2015. I have to answer some questions on my writing process, then pass the baton to another writer. Here goes… WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON? I’m writing […]
Reader's block
I read a lot. Anything between two and five books a week, often with several on the go at once. I read hardbacks, paperbacks, proofs and e-books. I read newspapers, magazines, blogs and columns; and if there’s nothing else to read, I’ll read the back of the cereal packet. It’s compulsive. My reading selection is […]
Cover girl
I wrote a few weeks ago about how I was looking forward to seeing the cover for I Let You Go, which comes out this autumn. I knew my publishers would use talented, experienced designers, and I knew the finished cover would be great, but I couldn’t help but have a few concerns. Would it be […]
A day in the life of…
You know those interviews with authors they put in the back of the Sunday supplements? The ones where they share the content of their fridges, or what they last bought on their credit card, or what their writing day is like? Either they’re all lying, or I’m doing something badly wrong. This is how my […]
Book covers: what draws you in?
A library in Cumbria is wrapping books in plain paper, to encourage readers to expand their choices and pick up something they wouldn’t normally read. It’s not a new idea (Google ‘blind date with a book’, and you’ll see what I mean) but it’s a great one. Covers are hugely important. as I write this, […]