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So, I’m back to work tomorrow after a nice, if tiring, seven days off. Tiring maybe, but its been a good mid-term break between Summer and Christmas. And productive too! Emma and I are now living in a transformed house,…
Continue readingIn a little over three week’s time my curious little tale of Mr Tumnal will be published. It’s been quite a journey for me over the years and as I write this I am filled with a mixture of excitement…
Continue readingPeter met the stares of his friends with a grin. ‘How many books are published each year? How many books have ever been published? There’s no such thing as an original story – just an original way of telling the…
Continue readingLast Saturday we visited the brilliant 26 Characters exhibition at Oxford’s Story Museum. This morning I was reading some of the accompanying book, and by chance I got to the bit where children’s author Frances Hardinge talks about why she…
Continue readingYou probably can’t guess how how much fun I’m having with my new story. Peter is turning out to be something of an anti-hero, I think, as I wait for Lucy to make an appearance again. Already there are a…
Continue readingSo tonight sees me finding the first of a regular series of evenings which I can devote squarely to my writing. Thursdays have been, for the last 14 years(!!) band night, and since I’ve been with Emma Thursday’s have thus…
Continue readingThere is something quite special about being back in the writing zone. I’ve missed it. On the 27 July 2013 I finished my last novel, and since then I’ve been keeping my creativity going with editing Mr Tumnal, along with…
Continue readingHow Novels Work by John Mullan Whether you are already and an author, aspire to write books, or just enjoy reading them I would recommend this book to everyone. I would defy you to read this and not think about…
Continue readingThis evening I find myself tired. In my day job, it has been Open Day, and the October one is one of our biggest and most important for next year’s recruitment. I always feel a bit of a fraud for…
Continue readingI am creative. I am an author. I got these wise words from Joanna Penn and her latest blog post about Lessons Learned From 3 Years As An Author-Entrepreneur. It’s weird to say this considering how much I love books, always…
Continue readingTwo years ago it seemed like just about the entire country was in the thrall of the London 2012 Olympics; we were all still talking about that Opening Ceremony; and the music that featured in it was still ringing in…
Continue readingI’m between books. I’m not completely done with Mr Tumnal, but I’ve not started something new. I think I want to write my In Your Own Words story I have brewing (which is every bit as weird and wonky as…
Continue readingTonight on Front Row tonight they were discussing the challenges of keeping the dialogue of teenagers authentic with writer of E4’s Youngers Levi David Addai and star Calvin Demba, along with reflections from Val McDermid, Phil Redmond and Joss Whedon on how they’ve tried…
Continue readingHowever much we either liked or hated school, we all have favourite teachers from our school days. And a lot of people – and probably all creative people – had inspirational teachers. I’ve had a few in my school days……
Continue readingAlice Nuttall is a PhD student at the university where I work, and it was a colleague of mine who pointed me in the direction of her debut novel, Spider Circus. I am really glad that I was because I…
Continue readingOn Friday, while standing in the queue for the S5 Oxford to Bicester bus I saw, for the third time, a man with long, unkempt, black hair and wearing a medieval-like tunic. On Saturday, while passing some time in Bicester…
Continue readingThe Wave in the Mind: Talks & Essays on the Writer, the Reader & the Imagination by Ursula K. Le Guin I don’t usually comment on the star rating that I give to books, but with this one I feel it is…
Continue readingToday has been Emma’s birthday. As something a bit different this year, we’ve had a night away at the Bourne Valley Inn in St Mary Bourne in rural Hampshire. Yesterday we visited Avebury to see the biggest stone circle in…
Continue readingWrite by Phil Daoust (Editor) I first encountered this joy of a book when I attended a talk on a cold, snowy day at the Oxford Literary Festival in March last year. A couple of students from the Oxford Brookes…
Continue readingI’ve been getting some good feedback recently for Mr Tumnal, but this one that I got absolutely blew me away… Have been reading since about 9.30 this morning, have reached Chapter 10 of part 2 … it’s safe to say…
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