Readers | Alison Morton Author

10 things for a good read?

Yep, it’s an old question, but a good one and here’s my personal take on what makes a good book for me.

A well-paced story, with a clever plot so I’m intrigued about what happens next. A clean and clear style that flows easily. Enough detail to trigger my imagination, one or two small things […]

As I promised in the previous post, I’ve turned my beady eye to current bestsellers and read through some of the Amazon bestselling rankings reviews. These are some of the words the readers and critics used about them:

The Thread – Victoria Hislop Twin timeline, discovery, history, fast narrative, sense of pace, fresh, intrepid storytelling, […]

Why do you buy the books you do?

Wouldn’t every publisher, agent and writer want to know the answer to that one?

I’ve been on the Goodreads site, rating the books I’ve read. Analysing my own behaviour as a reader, I’ve been surprised by what I’ve picked out: historical fiction, adventure, romance, thriller, literary, fantasy, young adult, psychological, crime, contemporary, epic, speculative/science fiction, […]

What do readers really want?

A fun thing around Twitter #thingsnottosaytoawriter recently had some wry and clever responses from writers, some tinged with irony, even bitterness. Some were made up, but some were things that had been said to them in true life: Does this sort of thing sell, then? Where can I download your book for free? Since you […]

Did the books you loved make you into the writer you are?

Drafting my latest query letter, I did a little exercise. No, not twenty press-ups on the floor, but one prompted by this particular agency’s submission guidelines. As part of the marketing approach, I was asked to thinking of two to three (i.e. three) comparable books. That wasn’t a problem, but it started me thinking about […]