Keeping cool in the heat

Closed windows

Summer is here – warm, lazy days, extra wine, days out with the family and friends, a holiday away. But when the temperature is persistently over 30C, I tend to wilt. Yesterday reached 39C in the shade. My Muse has gone for a protracted lie down somewhere in a cool cave several metres underground.

Enter […]

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 […]

The political author's dilemma

Reposted after update 2024

Bit of a tricky one, this.

Whatever genre you write, something of you, the author, creeps into your work. Perhaps it’s shades of your opinion, your wishes or even your frustrations. Perhaps you are writing a story that you wish you were living in a far, far away place and […]

Plagues ancient and modern

Statue of recumbant Roman woman

Recently, I caught Covid-19. Not a unique story these days, but I’d dodged it until last month. Vaccinated five times and an avid mask wearer, I’d been hyper-careful. I was nervous last year when I started to go to author events, either to speak or take part. I was a rare person at the London […]

A Writer’s Life in a Day?

The dream version

I spring out of bed at 6 a.m., go for a two-kilometre run, return for healthy breakfast of muesli and fruit, no caffeine. Shower, then ten minutes of calming yoga. Dress in relaxing linen separates and drift to my desk ready to start creating at 8 a.m.

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