Today, I welcome cosy-crime writer , Lesley Cookman to the Writers’ Hub. Her stories are such refreshing great fun. Lovely easy comfort, Christmas reads. She has a new novel out published by HeadlineAccent. But, of course, she writes ‘series’ so do look for her stories. By the way, I absolutely love this post. Five Things I Learnt About Writing Cosy … Read More
Writing a Series of Standalones by Deborah Swift
Today, I welcome Deborah Swift to The Writers’ Hub. I really love Deborah’s books and enjoy them all. The paperback Entertaining Mr Pepys dropped through my letterbox last week. It is superb. Here is what Deborah writes about writing a series, and in this particular instance, a Trilogy about Samuel Pepys. His mistresses are her protagonists. They are all engaging … Read More
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Today on The Writers Hub I would like to share a review of my favourite novel of this summer. I had the privilege of visiting Ann’s Bookshop in Nashville in June. Of course I was tempted and returned to Oxford with a few books by this author whom I had not read before. The cover is beautiful but the story … Read More
Summer 2019
I hope you have all been enjoying summer. It has been a time for the garden. Beautiful weather for the most part. I have been exceptionally busy since March. Here is a very brief summary mostly in pictures. During March and April I participated in two writing valuable retreats. The first was at Mill House, Devon where I began writing … Read More
Medieval English Gardens- The Paradise or Love Garden
Gardens and medieval estates are significant in my current work in progress. The Damask Rose is set during the later part of the magnificent thirteenth century. From the thirteenth century on, the medieval royal court was exceptionally interested in experimental gardening. The Tower of London and the Palace of Westminster possessed extensive gardens, orchards and vineyards. London was full of … Read More
Meet Author Fiona Valpy and The Bee Keeper’s Promise
I met Fiona at this year’s RNA Awards Ceremony. She was shortlisted for The Historical Novel of the Year Award with her fabulous novel The Beekeeper’s Promise. It was my personal joint favourite in tandem with Charlotte Betts who wrote The Palace of Lost Dreams, a novel I had beta read before its publication. Read both! Today Fiona visits The … Read More
Meet Karen King-Six Things I Have Learned About Writing Popular Women’s Fiction
Meet Karen King who is a very successful author of Women’s Romantic Fiction. Today she lets us into a few of her writing secrets with ‘Six things I have learnt about writing popular women’s fiction’. Her advice is excellent. Welcome, Karen, to The Writer’s Hub. Thank you for sharing this with us. Characters are King and should be relatable When … Read More
Winter 2019 News Update
I have been very busy this winter and as a consequence terrible at keeping my news updated. We visited India again after Christmas which is always inspiring. This visit we spent four amazing days in Varanasi as well as several weeks in Goa and a few days in the famous Taj Hotel at The Gateway to India in Mumbai. This … Read More
A Voyage of Discovery Five Aspects of Writing Historical Fiction by Paula Lofting-Wilcox
Today I introduce Paula Lofting-Wilcox, author of The Sons of the Wolf Trilogy, set circa 1066. It is a wonderful story. Here is a taster of Paula’s writing story with a few sterling writing tips worth reading. 1) Keeping it Real Since I started writing Sons of the Wolf back in 2005 after being inspired by a battle re-enactment and … Read More