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Choosing Books
My current "house-mate" (aka: Job-hunting Graduate Son) recently remarked that I always 'rave' about whatever book I happen to be reading. He did not intend the observation as a complimen... t was more of a how-dull-bibliophile-mothers-are type statement. I immediately told him he was wrong (always a pleasure) and drummed up a couple of titles that had disappointed me, including - shock-horror…
Everyone has a novel in them... on't they?
Yes, of course Everyone 'has a novel in them'. Because the lives of each and every one of us are 'stories' - narrative blends of the ordinary and the extraordinary, with happy bits and sad bits, and good bits and bad bits - there to be recounted through the written word to a wider audience, should the 'owner' of that 'narrative' choose. And if someone else's life sounds more interesting, then…
Machine Love
I have fallen in love. With a car. This is not something I would have expected of myself, not just because I am an unabashed, problematical, die-hard Romantic, in the most conventional 'human' sense, but because I don't like machines. So I have been trying to analyse the reasons why: Apart from a £400 beaten-up old black Ford Something (containing a supersonic engine that someone had inserted…
Creative Frictions
We all need something to push against. It takes a few decades to realise this. Growing up, our lives are structured by authority: 'Time to go to bed!' 'Time to wake up!' 'Time to get dressed!' 'Time to eat!' 'Do your homework!' By our teens we are longing for the 'freedom' of independence. Then 'freedom' comes and we realise we need to apply some structure to it or nothing gets done. So we have…
The Value of Words
My novel A Family Man, which took a year to write, is currently available to purchase for 99p. This is thanks to an Amazon Summer Promotion and I couldn't be more pleased. Last month, due to selection in a similar cut-price 24 hour deal, my book Relative Love rocketed from 125,000th to 12th in the Kindle Bestseller Rankings. The next day it began its descent, but, oh my goodness, it was a giddy…
Endings etc
A good ending is the hardest thing for a writer to pull off. Readers can be swept along by fabulous narratives, full of twist and turn, but it is the final chapter - the lingering taste in the mouth - against which a story will ultimately be judged. And rightly so. It is the point where things come together - make sense - or fall apart. A bad ending exposes the author as a fraud. A good…
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