advice | Alison Morton Author

Richard Dee: 'Write what you know,' they said.

My guest today is Richard Dee who writes science fiction and steampunk adventures, as well as chronicling the exploits of Andorra Pett, reluctant amateur detective. When he’s not writing, reviewing or blogging, he bakes bread and biscuits, cross-stitches and walks the Devon coast.

His first novel, Freefall, was published in 2013, followed by Ribbonworld in […]

Crossing the genres

Kylara Vatta from Trading in Danger, Elizabeth Moon Eowyn, Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien Carina Mitela, PERFIDITAS, Alison Morton

When I started pounding on my keyboard, I just wanted to tell a story. There’d be adventures and Romans, a heroine, a love interest, good guys and bad guys, a ton of action and […]

Helena Halme's top tips for writing in another language

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Helena Halme to my blog. A former BBC journalist, bookseller and magazine editor, Helena is a prize-winning author who writes contemporary Nordic fiction. Originally from Finland where she gained an MSc in Marketing, she also holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University and writes in English.

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A book reviewer's frustration

Reviewing books isn’t easy. It takes time and attention, plus sometimes, you have to damp down the pleasure that wells up when it’s a really good read. If I’m grabbed, sometimes overwhelmed, by the power of the story, I read on and enjoy the book, then I go back and read it more analytically.

However, […]

Let's hear it for 'shades of grey'

No, not Fifty Shades, but something a long, long way away from that.

Since 2016, I’ve seen a marked decrease in rationality, the lessening of the desire to examine and discuss and disagree in a civilised way, and for that to have become the norm.

‘Polarisation’ used to apply to the nutters at the far […]