Conference fever mounts

The Romantic Novelists’ Association conference in London is fast approaching. Flowing over the 9-11 July weekend, it’s already promising to expand into a five day event, with many delegates arriving Thursday and not leaving until Monday. Twitter has been alive with anticipation and discussion of details not only of sessions but also shoes; a special […]

Writing bootcamp at the Circle of Missé

Never having taken part in a creative writing course, I was excited, but a trifle anxious, when I was invited to join a ‘writing bootcamp’ at the Circle of Missé, a creative centre near my new home in France.

Lead by Annie Kirby, a renowned short-story writer who is also working on a full-length novel, […]

Researching – a transferable skill

Working out how to get from Poitiers in France to my son’s graduation in Nottingham, I found myself treading a familiar research path. I’d always been able to dig info and knowledge out of the corners they were lurking in, but these abilities were honed into concrete skills when I was studying for my MA […]

Bonjour la France!

On 26 May, we waved good-bye to the removal van, stuffed the poor cat into his travel cage and headed for the Tunnel. Nothing desperately exciting happened on the way, but we stumbled into the house on arrival, did the minimum and didn’t emerge until the following day.

The removal van arrives here in two […]

Variety is the spice of life…

Although I’m working hard on my third novel (in between packing boxes!), and I think it’s important to focus on your main work, I’ve found it useful to tackle other, smaller projects. It stops you getting fixated, helps you draw breath mentally and makes you use different writing muscles in your head. You use different […]