January is a harsh month. Not just because here in the UK it’s cold, usually wet, and seemingly always so dark, but it’s also a long month – payday is a long way away, the majority of funds have been spent at Christmas, or for Christmas, and now it’s back to work with the next […]
As a new writer the most repeated piece of specific advice I heard was linked to be consistent with your narrative’s point of view. In other words: don’t head-hop. Of course, they also tell you not to break the rules unless you know them. Over the weekend I was reminded of a book I read […]
Whenever I open a book to read for the first time I have a great sense of anticipation. Will this be my new favourite read? Will I be able to close it half way through, or will it keep me gripped until the end? Very rarely do I ever consider, ‘how will this book make […]
Well, since I’ve been trying to promote my own book [if you missed the launch of my short story collection, The Memorial Tree, last week where were you?!], I’ve been considering what it is that makes us love the books we rave about. Isn’t it every authors dream to hear readers say that they enjoyed […]
I’m an avid reader, but when do you stop reading a book? How do you decide that it’s just not the story, or characters, or writing for you and close it up and never pick it back up again? I can admit that, sometimes, when I expect to struggle I carry on reading regardless. I […]
I’m not really one for reading the classics. I once read Wuthering Heights just so I could declare a dislike for it – having given up on the novel previously because of the hatred I had for Heathcliffe, despair with Catherine, and impatience with the narration by the housekeeper. Still, I make an effort on […]
Reading is my biggest distraction from life. No matter what else is going on around me I fall between the cracks of the words and into the page. I’m known to read books in a single sitting, if I can. Slotting a bookmark into a novel and halting the story, even if I know it […]
