When I was sent a review copy of this book I immediately saw that it was beautifully written. I guessed that the subject matter would be bleak, but despite the brutality of the heroine’s life in Niger, her story as told by Northern Irish writer Gavin Weston is lively, engaging and pleasure to read At … Continue reading Harmattan, a study of life in Niger
It hasn’t really been a week for getting much writing done as most of it was spent in the wonderful city of Edinburgh where I combined a day of intensive research with another couple of days of equally intensive sight-seeing. So what if those pesky pandas were taken off show? Everything else came up trumps including, remarkably … Continue reading Research – not always what you expect.
When author and editor Jane Riddell approached me about a year ago with an invitation to appear on her Papillon blog I was delighted to accept and also fascinated to learn that her recently finished novel was called Water’s Edge, which for quite some time was the name of my own book until it became … Continue reading Jane Riddell and Water’s Edge
Some books are imbued with the atmosphere and character of a place. The first that springs to my mind is Graham Swift’s Waterland, a story that somehow couldn’t be told in a different location, and more recently for me Jane Rusbridge’s The Devil’s Music was very much characterised by its seaside scenes (but not just any sea-side … Continue reading Tripfiction – does what is says on the tin
This is a quote from Mark Bacon (no relation)’s blog which on the face of it sounds like heresy. I mean, what is t’internet all about if not the absolute delight of hopping straight to a reference and reading it on the spot? Compare and contrast the days when we followed a footnote which led … Continue reading Hyperlinks can be annoying
