I don’t always get round to approving every comment that gets posted on the blog. It’s really just because I forget to check the comments and they sit gathering dust in my ‘comments pending’ file. So I thought I would have a look in there and pull out a few of the best. Thanks for …
2016 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Dostoevsky’s masterpiece, Crime and Punishment. To celebrate, Leeds University is holding a Dostoevsky Day on the 19th of February and I’ll be taking part. It seemed like a good excuse to read the novel again, especially as Penguin have recently published a new translation. And the translator, …
On rereading Crime and Punishment in the era of Making A Murderer. Read More »
1. An enquiring mind. It’s really important to know what’s going on in the world, starting with the 19 TIMES BEYONCÉ FLAWLESSLY SUMMED UP YOUR FAST FOOD EXPERIENCE 2. Cultural solidarity. This stuff is part of the culture now. I want to embrace modern culture. I don’t put myself above it. So, yeah, bring it on! Let’s …
My latest novel is turning out to be longer than I ever imagined. My current word count is around 146,000 words. I still haven’t finished and I have no real idea how long the finished book will be. I started to worry that it’s going to be too long, so I took to Google to find …
It’s weird. I’ve averaged writing more or less a book a year for the last eight years: My first published novel, Taking Comfort, came out in 2006. Then Gentle Axe was published in 2007. Vengeful Longing came out in 2008. Then I had a year without a a book coming out. That was 2009. Then …