I’ve written before about Zoe Fairbairns but the only book of hers I actually possess is Daddy’s Girls, which I picked up this week when thinking about our book group theme of brothers and sisters. I’ve really enjoyed rereading it, although it has provided a couple of surprises. First of all, although I must have … Continue reading Daddy’s Girls
Last week Nathan Bransford invited his blog followers to be agents for a day. The idea was similar to that of Pitch Parlour (one of my erstwhile haunts but sadly now in intermission) in allowing writers to judge their peers on the strength of a pitch letter and sample pages. (Most U.S. agents work from a … Continue reading Mind over matter
Interesting discussions at this week’s Alternative Book Club where we had all chosen a film or TV tie-in. I (and most others!) had somewhat perversely chosen books of which we had not seen the screen version, but this didn’t stop us having a lively spat on the relationship between the two genres. My own choice … Continue reading From page to screen (or back again)
In the late seventies, fresh out of a traditional university education,I rolled up for my first job in one of the new polytechnics, armed with more knowledge of its etymology than anything it might actually teach. This is when, in my desire to embrace all those new –ologies and –isms, I read Susie Orbach’s Fat … Continue reading Bodies
Mum used to say that Scotland had no real spring. Winter lingered on into April and May and summer often appeared from nowhere some time in early June, only to take itself off again around the time the school holidays began in July. After the Easter holidays, we at least gave up our winter coats (‘burberries’ … Continue reading Blazer Days
