Chris Longmuir on research for historical fiction - A Dangerous Destiny?

I’m delighted to welcome crime writer to the blog. I was entranced by Chris’s ‘The Death Game’ where I first met Kirsty Campbell so I had to know more. Chris won the Scottish Association of Writers’ Pitlochry Award for two of her contemporary thrillers in the Dundee Crime Series. One of these books, ‘Dead Wood’, […]

April 8th, 2021 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Authors, Guests, Research, Setting, Writing skills | 2 comments

How book bloggers help authors – 10 Dos and Don'ts

Bookbloggers read, review and promote books in their spare time. They don’t get paid. They love reading and want to share that joy with others.

Delving into a new world, meeting enthralling characters, being chilled or thrilled, rooting for the protagonist, biting their fingers off, never mind the fingernails, or sighing with pleasure or […]

January 21st, 2021 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Authors, Blogging, Books, Marketing skills, Other people's websites/blogs, Writing life | Leave a comment

Sounds and silence

Bringing in the senses to our writing adds a layer of richness and anchors the setting. It also grounds the character in that setting. It can emphasise an awkward gap in actions between characters, or provide a dialogue beat that isn’t “he said/she said”.

But what sounds could you bring in? Surely most people’s lives […]

November 30th, 2020 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Insights, Setting, Useful stuff, Writing skills | Leave a comment

Cathy Helms: Words of wisdom about book cover design from an expert

This week’s blog guest is designer extraordinaire Cathy Helms with some really good advice about covers! Cathy lives with her husband of twenty-eight years in Troutman, North Carolina; the house belongs to their cat, they simply live there to open the cat food cans. She earned her degree in Advertising and Graphic Design in 2008, […]

October 8th, 2020 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Alternate history, Getting published, Guests, Marketing skills | 8 comments

Anna Belfrage: Brain freeze – the dreaded writer’s block

This week’s guest is Anna Belfrage, historical fiction writer extraordinaire. Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna is the author of the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland […]

August 20th, 2020 | Tags: , , , , , | Category: Authors, Guests, Other people's websites/blogs, Writing life, Writing skills | 4 comments
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