Originally posted on Judith Barrow:
Image courtesy of Pixabay When I was a child my mother took me every Saturday to the small library in our village. I was allowed six books – usually all read by the Wednesday (I was one of those kids who read by torchlight under the bedclothes – and got…
Category Archives: reading
Shepherding Readers
Looking for a good read? There’s a new kid on the internet block of book recommendations: Shepherd.com. It is still growing and developing, but I can vouch for it being a site with excellent taste because it features one of my historical fiction books, Long Shadows. Visitors can browse books in two way. They canContinue reading “Shepherding Readers”
Reading, Writing and Multitasking
A really good piece of advice for novel writers is: read. Read novels, read lots of novels, read every day, keep reading. That’s the way you learn how a book works, how it is constructed, what it gives and what it takes. You learn what language can do. So any decent writer obeys this adviceContinue reading “Reading, Writing and Multitasking”
History, Legend, Myth and a Broken Obelisk
There have been many occasions when I have seen or heard something, a single image, that immediately inspired a potential story. There’s the ruined cottage two fields down from my garden. There’s the dark lane I used to walk along, coming home from Junior School, where all sorts of unpleasant people might be lurking. There’sContinue reading “History, Legend, Myth and a Broken Obelisk”
Unsung books & all the fun of the fair
Originally posted on Making it up as I go along:
The recent Big Jubilee Book List is the latest in a trend that’s been around for a while now. ‘Top 100 Books to Read Before You Die!’ ‘The BBC Believes You’ve Only Read 6 of These Books!*’, ‘Most Popular Books of (any year you care…
Home, Hearth and Murder: domestic drama
Back in 1816, Jane Austen (yes, I always try to bring her into anything if I can) commiserated with her nephew when he reported that he had lost two whole chapters of his own tentative novel. She hadn’t stolen them, she promised. “What should I do with your strong, manly, spirited Sketches, full of VarietyContinue reading “Home, Hearth and Murder: domestic drama”
In Praise of Dots…
“He threw his manly arms around her, carried her to the bed and …” That was how scenes involving people, you know, DOING IT, used to end. Dot dot dot. Leaving school girls giggling and fantasising about what the dots actually implied. Then baldly honest liberation intervened, the dots disappeared and we readers were draggedContinue reading “In Praise of Dots…”
Bridging the Gap
A few years ago, I heard an interview with 100-year-old Diana Athill, editor and novelist (Woman’s Hour, I think), and she talked about the potential joy of losing her memory, forgetting she had read a book and being able to discover it all over again. It reminded me of books I have been able toContinue reading “Bridging the Gap”
It’s a Crime
Crime Fiction comes in many forms – international thrillers, historical mysteries, psychological dramas, police procedurals, court dramas, cosy crime… the sub-genres are endless, but they all dwell on crime. What is the appeal? Real life crime comes in many sub-divisions too, but crime fiction ignores most of them. You don’t get thrillers centring on crimesContinue reading “It’s a Crime”
In Praise of Libraries
I was at an event in a library a couple of years ago, chatting with author Roz Watkins about crime writing. The library was Newport Community Library. No, not that Newport, the other very small ancient borough in Pembrokeshire. It is maintained by volunteers and donations because all around the country small libraries are beingContinue reading “In Praise of Libraries”
Thorne Moore 