Being realistic in historical fiction

My guest today is Antoine Vanner is author of the Dawlish Chronicles, naval fiction set in the 1870s and 1880s. His latest novel, Britannia’s Gamble, was published last month (October 2017). Royal Navy officer Nicholas Dawlish is a fascinating character, very much in the mould of Hornblower, something that attracted me to Antoine’s novels. The […]

Do you have transferable skills for the business of being an author?

Did you ever think you’d write a book? Or several? Many writers come to it late or write part-time; they’ve had or still have a Real Life. Faced with the organisation behind marketing their book, which seems like rebuilding Rome, they worry about their inadequacies on the business side. All they ever wanted to do […]

'Ebooks vs. print books' is a false battle

Are ebooks and print books in some sort of fierce battle to the death with one another in which the only outcome is total dominance? Will ebooks soon drive their dinosaur cousin to extinction or will print books will see ebooks off and show the whole digital phenomenon to be a mere flash in […]

Online etiquette for authors

Few people look at Debrett’s Guide to Etiquette and Modern Manners these days. Just for those unfamiliar, this book covered how to reply to an invitation, how to address H M The Queen and which knife and fork to use for each course, amongst other subjects.

Old fashioned as these things sound, they are […]

Charroux - a different litfest

You know the score – a crowd of writers keen to learn and interact and readers eager to adore the great ones, hurrying from pillar to post, same old topics thrashed over, expensive food, even more expensive drink, lots of undercurrents and exclusive events, groups and cliques and a carefully orchestrated bookshop with selected titles.

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