So it’s been a funny old year, hasn’t it? You’d’ve thought that the pandemic would make writing easier. All that time cooped up inside. Especially if you read the Daily Mail and believe that teachers have been doing nothing in lockdown - hours and hours of uninterrupted time! Of course, the reality has been very … Continue reading Going it alone… sort of… self-publishing
Yay! Lockdown! Hours and hours and hour of uninterruped time where I can just sit and write and be the most productive creative writer ever (apart from all the time where I'm working for school, family or just my own well-being!) Only, I finished the book before we went into lockdown. So what am I … Continue reading Productive things to do on lockdown when you’ve finished your book (or just can’t face writing any more!)
So, long time, no see. I've been neglectful of my blog. But not neglectful of the writing. I've been busy writing my second novel, Witness, a standalone domestic crime thriller. And while I've been beavering away at that, I've actually been appreciating the fact that Between The Lines hasn't been a runaway success (or any … Continue reading Three reasons why it’s a good thing if your first book goes nowhere
So, in the absence of spectacular Maine scenery, where can we find inspiration? Just lately, I've found myself using 'what if' questions as the starting place for much bigger ideas. My next Vida and Slater novel is going to start from one of these 'what if' questions. While we were in Maine, we went on … Continue reading Inspirational Questions
I've been lucky enough to spend the last three weeks in Maine, on the East Coast of the US. Wow, what a beautiful state! Some of my favourite writers are based in or are from Maine, such as Stephen King and Tess Gerritsen. Not to mention good old Jessica Fletcher. And it got me thinking … Continue reading The nature of inspiration… or inspirational nature
You might have noticed a bit of a hiatus in the blog posts over the past month or so. I wish I could tell you that it's because I've been beavering away, polishing, honing and writing anew. I'd be fibbing if I did that though, and while there's a very thin line between telling lies … Continue reading Back to pinning the tail on the donkey
I’m at my second crime festival in the space of two weeks – firstly, Noirwich, and now at the other end of the country in Morecambe and Vice. I might have mentioned before that, as a reader, I love these things. I love the fact we live at a time when writers, those poor souls, … Continue reading Things an aspiring writer learns at a crime festival
As someone who effectively spends my whole life presenting ideas to classes, and who is more than accustomed to reading aloud, you wouldn't think the prospect of doing a public event for my novel would be daunting. But it is. Oh, how daunting it is. The thing is, in this day and age, authors (especially … Continue reading Preparing for my first public event
Today is the first day of my part-time teaching hours. Which officially means it's the first day of my working as a writer. It's requiring quite a shift in mentality, from writing being something I do in a spare hour between this and that, to being an actual job that I sit down and do … Continue reading And so it begins…
So, the moment has arrived and I've actually finished writing my first draft of my first novel. It's a pretty exciting moment for me. I woke up one morning, determined that today was the day, and bashed out 9000 words before teatime - focus! I've learned some important things though that I thought might be … Continue reading Five things I’ve learned about finishing a book
Yesterday I worked my last full-time day as a teacher. From September, I'll be part-time. I love teaching. There's so much I love about it: sharing my love of reading and writing; working with amazing colleagues and often even more amazing students; planning schemes of work designed to educate and illuminate and entertain; and building … Continue reading One step in the future
First off, I admit that this analogy probably applies to anything that you've ever had to wait for, but as I'm currently waiting to hear back from a couple of agents, it's an analogy that is sitting strong with me right now. As you all know, the idea of Schrödinger's Cat is that there is a … Continue reading The Schrödinger’s Cat of Being a Writer
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