Was there ever a bigger lie told, than ‘it will get easier’? Was there ever a more useless platitude, a more toothless attempt to soothe? It doesn’t get easier. The years don’t dull the pain, or replace the choking sobs with a wistful sigh. They don’t loosen the chains around your chest that crush your lungs […]
Blog
How readers can help authors
It’s a curious switch, from reader to writer. Not that you suddenly stop reading yourself – all authors I know read voraciously – but simply that you become more aware of how readers matter. I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from friends, family and followers, on the e-publication of I Let You Go, and it made […]
Competition: win a signed copy of I Let You Go
It’s publication week! I Let You Go will be out in ebook and trade paperback on Thursday 6 November, and I’m almost beside myself with excitement. I’m saving the big party for the paperback release in April, so for now it’s just a bottle of bubbly and a big grin at having made it this […]
Ten things to do instead of NaNoWriMo
For thousands of writers around the world, November is all about NaNoWriMo: the online challenge to write a book in a month. It’s a great way to get the creative blood pumping, connect with other writers, and get those words – all 50,000 of them – down on the page. But what if NaNoWriMo isn’t […]
Halloween: bah humbug
Everywhere I look there are ghouls, zombies and pumpkin paraphernalia: the children are positively beside themselves with excitement. Dressing up is second only to eating sweets on their list of Things We Enjoy, which makes Halloween a veritable Mecca. There’s just one tiny problem. I hate it. I’m fairly ambivalent about the fancy dress element […]
A stranger's words
I was at the hospital the other day (for nothing of note) and was asked, as is always the way, to recount my medical history. I have it off pat now: the twin pregnancy, the dramatic labour, the weeks in neonatal care. The worry, the relief, the false hope. The illness, the grave expressions, the […]