Thank you for dropping by my blog. I post about a variety of topics including book reviews, my author journey, the writing craft and more. All my blog posts are listed below, but if you fancy looking at a particular topic, you can check the drop down menu on 'blog' on my main site menu. New blog posts added weekly, Monday or Tuesday afternoons GMT. Hope you enjoy!
This week on the blog I review this wonderful book. It is New York in 1899. Diva Ella Shane is an opera singer famous for playing ‘trouser roles’ – playing the male leads. When the Juliet to her Romeo drinks real poison at the end of a performance, at first everyone believes it’s an accident. However, after a dashing duke comes all the way from England with unanswered questions, Ella starts to suspect foul play. This book has been amazing from
It’s been a while since I did a blog post about the world or setting of my novels, so this time I thought I’d talk about Edwin of Deira. Deira was an east Yorkshire kingdom. It was originally a Brittonic Celtic kingdom, that was then taken over by the Angles sometime in the 5th century. Edwin became renowned in this period for being a king of both Bernicia and Deira, which would then become the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Edwin was
‘Finding You’ is the third book of the author I’ve read. It follows ‘The Vintage Bookshop of Memories’ and the novella ‘Christmas at the Vintage Bookshop of Memories’. You can check out all three books here. Both of Holland’s previous books are romance dramas, whereas here she delves brilliantly into a mystery. Laura is a young woman from Manchester living homeless on the streets of London. She is on the run, alone and not knowing who to trust. After she meets
This week on the blog, I’m thinking about antagonists. Why are they needed? What makes a good antagonist? Do they have to be the villain, or even a character in your novel? It’s a topic I’ve been thinking about for a couple of weeks. Mainly since I’ve started plotting, researching and writing what I hope to be the 4th novel in my historical fiction series. My main character (MC)/protagonist, Imogen, is a different character from my first three books. After spending
This week on the blog, I’m reviewing the complete edition of ‘I, Richard Plantagenet’ by J.P. Reedman. It’s been a while since my last historical fiction read and I was not disappointed by diving into this one. This edition actually contains two novels, ‘I, Richard Plantagenet: Loyaulte me Lie’ and ‘I, Richard Plantagenet: Tante le Desiree’. Both books explore the life of Richard III from his first person perspective. These books were a fascinating read. Both are written wonderfully, with the
This short story was originally published this blog post in September 2018. It was in response to the #TurtleWriters image prompt below, but it didn’t transfer to my new site. I thought I would edit it and re-post it. Thanks again to @RosettaYorke and @HillBillyHorror for the prompt! Warning that this short story is a horror. There’s nothing gory about it but it might not make for the ‘nicest’ reading! I stared at the ruins of the church, eerily stood in
This week on the blog, I thought I’d discuss points of view (POV). This is probably one of Obi Wan Kenobi’s most famous quotes, talking to Luke Skywalker about *that* particular spoiler. It’s a fascinating example of how much storytelling can differ, depending on who is telling it. So, what are the different types of POV and how might you decide which POV is best for telling your story? 1. First person POV This is one of the most common narrative
Today’s blog will talk about the real history of Rheged, where my historical fiction series is based. I originally posted this back in 2018, but it didn’t transfer when I set up this new website. When I first wrote it my second novel was in the process of publication and I had just started work on the third. The week before Christmas I finished my second round of major edits on my 3rd historical fiction novel. As I’m now proofreading it
I first came across this book after seeing a Christmas-themed trailer on social media (also made by this talented author). Fantasy is a genre I’m falling more and more in love with and I knew this would be the perfect novel to curl up with for the start of 2021. Meet Matthew, a 12-year-old boy, a quick-witted ‘ordinary’ hero that everyone can root for. During a tour of the British Museum, Matthew suddenly comes face to face with the haunting figure
Happy New Year all! For my first blog post of 2021, it seems fitting to talk about the goals I want to set for this year. Yesterday I sat down and scribbled a few ideas for what I’d like to achieve by the end of 2021. Here’s hoping I can get this all done! 1. Proofread my 3rd historical fiction novel and get it ready for submission This is a big one. I’m setting myself a rather optimistic goal for my