News

I’m pleased and proud to announce the launch of the author-led publishing venture, Breakthrough Books, will take place at the Margate Bookie Festival in October. The event will be marked by the publication of two inaugural short story anthologies, Taking Liberties and Order and Chaos.…

Here’s a selection of reviews of the short story anthology Taking Liberties, which includes my little tale, ‘On The Brushes’. It’s great to see what readers, writers and book bloggers make of these stories by twelve established authors. Longer versions of what they have to…

The roses are in full bloom. The sun is shining. And young and older person’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … spring cleaning. Not the house! Of course not! Rather than going to the bother of dusting the cobwebs from the vacuum cleaner and…

Yours truly features in The Bookseller, the publishing industry’s bible, this week.

Why review the books you read? I can think of five gold star reasons. Reviews matter. They really do. Studies have shown that 95% of consumers read reviews before deciding on a purchase. I’m willing to bet that figure is even higher for books. Think…

For a writer, there’s little to beat the thrill of holding a book you’ve written. And today, I had that thrill as I unboxed paperback copies of Taking Liberties. This has been a remarkable experience for several reasons. Firstly, it happened unbelievably quickly; the wheels…

I’m chuffed to bits to let you know that Taking Liberties, the anthology of short stories by twelve writers, of which I am proud to be one, is released today and is available to order from Amazon and Kobo as an ebook. For those who…

Farewell, Mary Quant, spirit of the 1960s. I owe you a lot. You brightened up my life as a young teenager and twenty-something with your short skirts, hot pants and sharp haircuts. You were there for me when I left home, started my first job,…

Your patience is rewarded! Taking Liberties, the exciting new anthology of short stories, is available for preorder NOW, and will be released into the wild on 17th April. Each of the twelve stories in the book takes freedom as its theme. Among them, you’ll find…

What have I been up to, dear readers? You’ll find out soon. In the meantime, I’m teasing you with this cover non-reveal. But stay tuned and everything – including the zippy cover in its full crimson glory – will become clear.

All good things have to come to an end. Much as I find editing satisfying, it was time to call a halt, bite the bullet and send A Novel Solution onto my lovely publisher, SRL, for their verdict. That happened yesterday. My nails are now…

I just luurve editing, though I know some writers hate it. I can see their point. You’ve written a book. Typed ‘the end’ at … well, the end. You sigh with relief. It’s over. It’s done. Another one under your belt. But it’s not. Not…

Singer Sam Smith strutting his stuff in a Harri-designed black latex outfit on the BRITs red carpet has been grabbing plenty of headlines. No-one had heard of anything like it before. Apparently. I hate to break it to Sam but he isn’t the first to…

I have exciting news. Fanfare please! it gives me great pleasure to announce that A NOVEL SOLUTION, the story of a life-long people pleaser who finally has had enough, has been signed to SRL Publishing, an amazing publisher. As well as being award-winning, SRL is…

Did you know … ? …. that gin is actually flavoured vodka? That archaeobotanists use straw from the thatched roofs of old buildings to research ancient heritage grains? That indeed, there is such a job as an archaeobotanist? These and other gems I discovered on…

Thank you Alison of Sonning Common Library, Alex of Fourbears Bookshop in Caversham and all those who turned out to the very cheery Sonning Common Library on a dark, damp night. They listened attentively as I burbled on about Note to Boy and my time…

Very excited to be talking to the Friends of Sonning Common Library about my comic novel Note to Boy and my mis-spent youth as a BBC comedy scriptwriter. Tuesday 27th September at 7pm. Contact the library for details. Hope to see you there.

Do you review the books you read? I don’t mean the blockbusters whose names crop up with predictable regularity. They are managing quite well without our help, thank you very much. I mean, if you discover a new name among the bookshelves, take a chance…

Having read a couple of so-called literary novels recently, I’m now very much enjoying a more mainstream title. Of course there are different books for different moods and tastes but I’m increasingly exasperated by novels that encourage you to stop and admire their cleverness at…

This review of Nina Stibbe’s comic fiction, Reasons To Be Cheerful, appeared in the excellent Writers Review blog. Writers Review is a weekly blog hosted by authors Adele Geras, Celia Rees and Linda Newbery. It gives reading recommendations by published writers and independent booksellers. In…

Who’d have thought, when Note to Boy hit the bookshops almost two years ago that I would still be fulfilling some of the gin pledges kindly made when I was crowdfunding the book? Covid and geography have delayed the process but at last we are…

Are there any more satisfying words for a novelist to write than ‘The End’? Er, actually, yes. Finishing a book, for me, is an anxious, unsettling time. Why? For two reasons. One, because the end is never really the end. I’ve yet to meet or…

Huge thanks to Andrew and Helen and all the lovely people of Carterton who made me so welcome at the library on Tuesday for my author talk. It felt as if I made some new friends. A few snapshots of the evening. Thank you Carterton!

I’m a passable cook. I can knit simple jumpers. I’ve written some scripts and a couple of novels. And … no, that’s about it. Sum total of my skills. So I’m always in awe of those marvellously talented creatures who are brilliant at lots of…

I’m very pleased to announce I’ve been invited by the lovely people at Carterton Library to take part in an author event in June. Details nearer the time. Hope to see you there!

Writers, publishers and artists gathered for the second Oxford Indie Book Fair on 2 April, an event that showcases the work of local authors, independent publishers and other artists. Among the 45 exhibitors was the artist John Buckley, probably best known for creating the Headington…

So successful was the first Oxford Indie Book Fair that the organisers have decided to hold another one this year. Like last time, the second fair will be held at the Wesley Memorial Hall, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, a wonderful venue, on Saturday 2…

Here’s a selection of reviews of Note to Boy. It’s great to see what readers, writers and bookbloggers make of Eloise and Bradley, and wonderful to know they’ve brought some laughter into people’s lives – as well as a few tears and the odd cringe!…

Browse in any library or bookshop and you’re almost bound to come across a section devoted to books purporting to tell you how to turn yourself into a successful writer. I know. I’ve read quite a few of them. As you might guess, since you…

Just in time for Christmas, here’s a seasonal extract from Note to Boy, featured in this month’s Wycombe Talking Newspaper. Intent on lightening Eloise’s mood, Bradley plans an early celebration. Enjoy! And thank you, Paul at WTN!