I’m not quite sure what I expected from last night’s Historical Fiction Masterclass run by Writers and Artists, but with around fifty people crowded in a room in Bedford Square on a very rainy night in London town, it was more about the chemistry of the two presenters – Celia Brayfield and Sarah Dunant – … Continue reading Research is freedom. I agree with Sarah Dunant.
Writing a character is always a leap of the imagination, so is it any more of one to take on a member of the opposite sex? Maybe not, and I certainly haven’t had a problem with creating and speaking for the odd romantic hero, but many years ago when I first read The Ginger Tree by … Continue reading Man writes woman: The Ginger Tree
I was sent a copy of Daphne Kalotay’s Russian Winter some time ago and for some reason it languished on my shelf, not rejected but simply neglected, until a passing friend happened to mention she was stuck for something to read. Try this, I said, and tell me if it’s any good. Within a few … Continue reading Dancing for Uncle Joe
Knowing this Scottish historical novel by Margaret Skea had battled through the scrutiny of Authonomy authors and the Alan Titchmarsh People’s Novelist Competition, I was really keen to read it, but at first I was uncertain. The writing was polished and clearly backed up by detailed research but could I be gripped by this tale … Continue reading Turn of the Tide: Scottish history comes to life
I’m not really a crime aficionado and read only the occasional detective story, but I met Chris Longmuir at the Love A Happy End event in June and I’ve been looking forward to her prize-winning Dead Wood ever since. Apart from anything else I’ve entered the Dundee Prize and was keen to see the kind of book that … Continue reading Dead Wood by Chris Longmuir
Ali Bacon, Author 