A writer’s journey takes place largely in the imagination. When I first pitched the idea of writing a detective novel set in 19th century St Petersburg, I had never been to Russia. I’d read some Russian novels in translation. One of those was Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. I picked it up from my school library, …
First of all, an apology. I’m sorry it’s been so long since I blogged. And second of all, another apology. I’m sorry I’ve started blogging again. But I do have news, so I thought maybe I should resurrect the old bloody blog. What news? Basically, free books. And very cheap books. And more free books. …
I’ve long been fascinated by animation. The idea of someone’s drawings coming to life has always seemed very powerful to me – an incredibly direct form of creativity. When I was younger, I tried my hand at it the old fashioned way – creating minutely different images on paper or cells to photograph frame by …
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look? It’s a dark, twisty story about a man named Quinn And I need a job, So I want to be a paperback writer…. Paperback writer! (With apologies to the Beatles) Summon Up The Blood is …
Every now and then a review comes along that makes you think you’re not entirely wasting your time. There are readers out there who get what you’re trying to do and respond enthusiastically to it. One of those is Ellie Hawkes, who has just posted her review of Fortune’s Hand on her blog, Elspells. All …