Books read and enjoyed in 2024

As in previous years, reading books has given me enormous pleasure. Let’s be honest, I’ve been a voracious reader since I was five. This year, I published a new historical novel, EXSILIUM, the sequel to JULIA PRIMA in the late 4th century plus spent a lot of the year participating in events and drafting […]

Helen Hollick and Harold the King's Big 25

Celebrating any anniversary is an excuse for joy, bubbly and dancing. Celebrating a special anniversary for a book warms the heart of the author to sun-like temperature. I experienced this for INCEPTIO’s 10th in March 2023 and published a special edition hardback.

So imagine how Helen Hollick is feeling celebrating the 25th silver anniversary […]

Deborah Swift: Operation Tulip – incredible courage in occupied Holland

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Deborah Swift to the blog as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour. She’s a USA TODAY bestselling author of twenty books who is passionate about the past. Before becoming a writer, Deborah was a costume designer for the BBC. Now she lives in a former English school house […]

Jane Davis and The Bookseller's Wife

Today I’m delighted to welcome writing friend Jane Davis back to the writing blog. I’ve loved her books; they regularly appear in my best books of the year round up. Her first novel, ‘Half-Truths and White Lies’’, won a national award established with the aim of finding the next Joanne Harris.

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Is writing and editing a novel a process?

Yes and no.

Writing a novel is creative – you have to have a purpose, some characters and a setting which all interact. Throw in a triggering act to stir them all up and get the story going. Storytellers have known this since the year dot.

A modern novelist is basically a storyteller with a […]