A Look Ahead at 2019

The start of a new year means something different depending who you ask. For some, it's a clean sheet, a blank page full of possibilities. After all, who doesn't love a fresh start? For others it's a sense of drawing a line under the past year and putting a stop to looking back on the …

Autumn Update

I love autumn. Specifically, I love handknitted socks, blackberry and apple pie, and watching the leaves change colour. All of this means I feel decidedly content as I sit here editing my second novel, with a mug of hot chocolate and a view across the garden to a recently-restocked birdfeeder. It's not an accident that …

Where do you get your ideas from?

There are a few questions that strike fear into the heart of every author. Or, if not fear, at the very least, a strong shot of awkward uncertainty how best to answer them. Things like What is your book about? or Are you going to put this conversation into your next novel? And high on this list …

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards

Spoiler alert: I won an award! I'm speechless. Luckily, that's never stopped me writing though. Foreword Reviews is a book review journal based in Michigan, which focuses on independently published books. Each year they hold their INDIES Book of the Year Awards in a range of categories. A couple of months ago, I learned that …

Library Secrets 4: We Know Everything

'How many toes does a crocodile have?' I didn't know the answer either, but a colleague at the library service was asked this once. There's an assumption that still exists in places that librarians know everything.  Historically, libraries were where you went for all your information in a pre-Internet world. I never really wanted to destroy …

Library Secrets 3: How Not to Request a Book

Libraries are pretty amazing. They are designed to be helpful to their readers, and you can go in with any request. If they don't stock that book, they might be able to find it elsewhere for you. But even the most helpful library assistant gets exasperated by some types of request. Here are three to …

Library Secrets 2: What to Read in Prison

For the second part of my look at things you might not know about your library service, we're talking about the library books that make their way into prisons. In the UK, some local authorities provide a library service for their prisons. I was curious, so I asked a group of librarians what kind of …

Library Secrets 1: Libraries Have Panic Buttons

Something that's hugely helped me as a writer is the time I spent working for the local library service. It was my first job after uni. I learned some things there that might surprise even the most avid bookworm about what goes on behind the scenes at your public library. Libraries have panic buttons. And …

Writers Research the Weirdest Things

As I've written before, a writer's search history can make you wonder if they aren't plotting to kill somebody. Today, as I read up on native British sheep breeds (yes, you read that right and no, I'm not working on the sequel to Animal Farm) I thought it was time to recap some of the weird …

Daft Things People Say to Writers

Picture a writer. What do you imagine? The stereotype is usually someone with big dreams but who turns out to be extremely sensitive when it comes to criticism. And has a caffeine addiction to boot. It's true that a degree of sensitivity and introspection can aid the creative process. But this ends up in tension …