Carole Blake and I

I can reveal a secret. Carole Blake often told a story of the pitching pest anonymously. The day after it happened I wrote a post called Pitching at Parties. Yes, dear reader, “Sensible and Savvy Agent” was Carole and “Sensible and Friendly Author” was me. Wild horses tearing me apart in the arena will not […]

Talking about author events on the BeginSelfPublishing podcast

Well, this is all very exciting. Tim Lewis of the BeginSelfPublishing podcast asked me to talk about author events; what I’d done, how to get speaking gigs and practical tips for doing them.

I was flattered to be asked, given his previous line-up of guests, but very pleased to pass on what I’d learned.

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My name's Alison and I'm a Facebook-aholic

I’ve never had so many friends, just under a thousand. I have Close Friends, Friends, Acquaintances, I can follow them or not, I can Poke them and Add them to one of the groups I belong to (very bad form).

I can invite them to my Author page. I can Like, Love, go Haha, Wow, […]

Jane Davis's Counterfeit Self

What a pleasure it is to welcome the talented Jane Davis back as my Thursday guest! Jane is the author of seven novels. Her debut, Half-truths and White Lies, won the Daily Mail First Novel Award and was described by Joanne Harris as ‘A story of secrets, lies, grief and, ultimately, redemption, charmingly handled by […]

Writing is bad for you

There, I’ve said it. I’m deep in the last third of my sixth book and I should know better. The crisis is coming, the characters’ nerves are shot and all I see is failure and death. I can’t sleep more than five hours nor stop thinking about those poor souls living under oppression or the […]