News & Reviews

The Scone Effect

Forget bakewells, victorias, roulades and other members of the Great British Bake-Off,   if you want to raise a smile, try the humble scone.   First of all there was Alexander McCall Smith’s The Unbearable Lightness of Scones . I don’t think I have actually read it, but being familiar with the tenor of the Scotland Street novels, I  … Continue reading The Scone Effect

Worth celebrating

Since the lovely people at Leaf Books have seen fit to commend me for my ‘short travel writing’ piece submitted in August, it seems only fair to celebrate Kilcreggan , the obscure but enchanting place where it began. To go next to the article when it’s published in Issue 3 of their magazine, Leaf would also like me to submit a further … Continue reading Worth celebrating

Going fishing

Look very carefully and you’ll see a tiny frog in this picture, spotted in the gorgeous Krka National Park in Croatia.  I’m guessing he could be on a fishing trip, but what about me? I’ve always felt a good title is a clincher for any piece of writing. I have at least two short stories … Continue reading Going fishing

The Lacuna

I wouldn’t normally comment on a book before it’s finished, but since this one has already taken up a fair chunk of my life (and crossed several countries with me!) I think an interim report might be allowed. The Lacuna is the life-story (we start at the age  of thirteen and I assume we are going to … Continue reading The Lacuna

Choices

Short story writer Nik Perring has been extolling the merits of reading  recommendations and so here are a few of mine, in no particular order (unless possibly the order in which I read them!)   Oswald Wynd ‘The Ginger Tree’ Penelope Lively ‘Road to Lichfield’ Margaret Attwood ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ A.S.Byatt ‘Possession’ Barbara Trapido ‘Brother of the … Continue reading Choices