The Top Ten Books from my Childhood (and what they say about reading – and writing)
Until I turned twelve we lived in the middle of the countryside, where there was no library, no bookshop, and there were no other children within a few miles. Between games of imagination, I read whatever books were to hand, over and over and over. Some of these were...
Small but difficult steps – extract from April’s newsletter
April 2023. Small but difficult steps My Big Thing this year was The Leg. I'm finally out of the contraption which was holding bones and ligaments together and am now trying to build up strength. It's depressing how weak my bad leg is after eight weeks of being...
My top ten crime writers and their best novel
The last in my series about crime writing, this blog finishes with a personal selection of my favourite crime writers and their (IMO) best novel. So far in the series I have covered crime and thriller locations, top weird and wonderful narratives, crime and thriller...
Get energised by spring, get help, get published – extracts from March newsletter
March 2023. Spring is on its way. I'm still laid up in bed with that broken leg I mentioned last time. In fact it turned out to be not just a broken leg, but also torn ligaments on both sides of the knee. So a long recuperation. However I'm trying to work around this....
Top ten books to get you in the mood for spring
It's March and here in Scotland the weather can go either way. Right now my cherry tree is in blossom and I'm considering getting the garden furniture out. But in March 2018, Edinburgh was buried in snow thanks to the 'beast from the east'. Thankfully books are not...
Keeping going in adversity – extracts from February newsletter
February newsletter - keeping going in adversity. Last month I bounced in with lots of resolutions and urged you to join me too, right? Well the first obstacle hit me rather hard - a broken leg and knee while skiing in January. Ouch. People tried to cheer me up by...
Top Ten Crime and Thriller Series
As avid readers, is there anything better than discovering a new series of books to devour? Crime and thriller books seem to lend themselves particularly well to series, presumably because early on the writer can establish the main character - the professional or...
Let’s get things done! Reading and writing smarter and faster. – extracts from January newsletter
A Happy New Year to you all. This year, I'm all about chucking off the sluggishness of the Covid years to Make Things Happen. And I hope to drag you all along with me. I'm a firm believer that stating your intentions for the year does help, so that's what I'm...
Top Twenty Books of 2022.
Welcome to my review of books read in 2022. I read over eighty books and it's always fun to look back over the year and spot trends. I discovered many brilliant UK YA books compared to 2021 when the market seemed dominated by the US. MG writing is also still amazing...
Ideas for Christmas presents – extracts from November newsletter
My blog this month is another in the series about crime fiction. This time it's about unusual narratives, which is more interesting than it sounds! Yes it's a bit niche, but whether you're a writer or a reader, I think you'll enjoy seeing the many different ways...