Untitled

New fiction: For the Love of Ilsa

It’s been very quiet here, I know.  I have been so very busy:

a) I’ve just published my new book, For the Love of Ilsa

b) I’ve achieved grade two in clarinet playing and am now marching on to get grade three – so proud!

c) I’ve spent hours and hours gardening

and….

Well, no further excuses, but here it is, my third book and second novel: For the Love of Ilsa

It’s a story about three siblings,…

Book review

I am aware that The Narrow Road to the Deep North has had  mixed reviews, with some awarding it a 5* out of 5 (see for example the Guardian and Daily Telegraph reviews) whilst another review by Michael Hofmann in the LRB of 18th December 2014 gives a devastating put down: ‘In construction, the book is the half-hearted retrospective of a dying old man (the life flashing before the eyes – think of…

What counts as a historical novel? Good question. Coursera offer a (free) on-line course called Plaques, Witches and War: the worlds of historical fictionand the presenter, Professor Bruce Holsinger, suggests that we could start with the definition of historical fiction that it is ‘a genre of imaginative narrative set in the past whose authors make a deliberate effort to convey chronologically…

Forensic Science and other distractions

I’ve been brushing up on my knowledge of forensic science with a second course delivered by Future Learn, a MOOC site = Massive Online Open Courses, owned by the Open University in England. The courses are all free, and so far have led me into all kinds of research activities that are a complete distraction from my writing. The forensic science courses are a great way of polishing up on some of…

The Neapolitan trilogy by Elena Ferrante

I’ve read a number of books recently. Not just Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, but also the three so-called Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, and Those Who Leave and Those Who Staywhich I’ve read in roller coaster fashion one after the other, on my kindle. This story of the friendship between  two Italian women, Elena and Lila, from their…

D is for Dove and T is for Turtle Dove

Yesterday the weather was good, well, reasonably good. I put on my garden gear, got the rake, the hoe and a small spade and started cutting the dead wood and weeding the bed at the side of the house. Above me in the tall trees there was huge commotion, flapping of wings as if large birds were fighting, pigeons perhaps, as if something calamitous had happened. As if… I don’t know. When I walked…

A Song for Wednesday – Stranger on the Shore

Over at Ronovan’s blog, he suggests to post an uplifting story on Wednesdays, for example about a song. What a lovely thought, and how inspirational. Immediately I thought of a song that I find extremely uplifting for various reasons, just right for an #BeWoW Blogshare Wednesday.

 Acker Bilk’s  Stranger on the Shoreis one of the most inspiring tunes I know, one that I have cherished my whole…

Rereading Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies

I read Wolf Hall for the first time in 2010 and wrote a glowing review whilst I was still actually reading the book. I read it on my kindle and whilst I was travelling around the country for work and couldn’t put it down. I read whilst on trains, on platforms, in hotel room or wherever I found myself with half an hour or so to spare.

Before the start of the series Wolf Hallon the BBC (with Mark…

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Kate Evans at her blog Writing Ourselves Well has nominated me (and my blog) for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award, and I’m very honoured. Thank you very much Kate. You should visit her site, which is full of inspiration!

The Award Guidelines:

1. Thank the person who has nominated you and add a link to their blog

2. Display the award in a blog entry

3. List the award guidelines so your own…

E-books on the decline?

There are some mixed messages about the decline or otherwise of the sale of e-books, with some publishers claiming that physical books are making a come-back. In January the Guardian reported on this, claiming a steady decline of printed books since 2009. On the other hand The Publishers Weekly noted a slight decline in e-books over the last quarter of 2014.

I like my Kindle and I like being…

The 2K International Writers’ Blog Tour – Cheryle Baker

Originally posted on Writing Ourselves Well:

Today’s interviewee: Cheryle Baker

Hello, I am Cheryle Baker.  I use C.Lightwalker for my virtual escapades thus the name of my Blog “Lightwalkers Blog”. I may not qualify for this tour.  I am not a published writer, in fact I recently enrolled in WordPress Blogging U 101, as a way to discipline myself to write on a regular basis, be accountable to…

The 2K International Writers’ Blog Tour – Kimberly DuBoise

Corri van de Stege:

The Monday interview :

Originally posted on Writing Ourselves Well:

Our interviewee for this Monday is – Kimberly DuBoise.

I live in the Midwest with my husband, cat and dog. I have taught preschool in the public school system for ten years. I have written and published a book of poetry and a non-fiction book on faith. If I am not reading or writing I am probably cooking or…

How difficult is it to start and finish a novel? Really? Well, you don’t start one unless you’ve got an idea as to what the story is about. Do you? And once you’ve started, in your mind this novel, that you’re currently writing, is the one that’s going to bring you the great success that you dream of because no one else has written anything like it.

You guessed it, it’s not as straightforward as…

The 2K International Writers’ Blog Tour – Amanda Richter

Corri van de Stege:

Introducing Amanda Richter:

Originally posted on Writing Ourselves Well:

And the next on the blog tour is….

Hi, I’m Amanda! I live in Toronto, Canada and I lived in the United Kingdom for nearly three years – which means I spell it colour not color, honour not honor, and favourite not favorite. I’m an educator by day and write to keep my sanity. I read and write Science…