Writing a series – The essential supporting cast

Delighted to welcome Helen Hollick back to give us some insight into series supporting characters. I know the value of them as I use them ruthlessly throughout the Roma Nova series!

Helen was first accepted for traditional publication in 1993 and became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The […]

Clare Flynn: The Colour of Glass

I’m delighted to welcome Clare Flynn back to the writing blog on the occasion of her (rather wonderful) new novel The Colour Of Glass. Clare Flynn is a well-established author – fifteen historical novels and a collection of short stories.

Having lived and worked in London, Paris, Brussels, Milan and Sydney, […]

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 […]

Thriller, mystery, action adventure, suspense, or what?

What’s in a genre? More precisely, what’s the difference between the genres in the title? Are there any hard lines between them?

And what do we, as readers, get from each of them?

Action stories feature a lot of movement-heavy exciting scenes including but not limited to fights, shootouts, car chases, foot chases, explosions, fast […]

Unpicking a legend by a legendary writer

Writing friend Helen Hollick is no stranger to this blog, nor to publishing. This week, she’s celebrating not only her 70th birthday, but also her 30th year of publishing books. (And I thought I was doing well with my 10th year!)

First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today […]