Ten Books that have Influenced my Writing

Ten Books that have Influenced my Writing

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Last year I was invited onto a fellow author’s blog to talk about the ten books that have influenced my writing. It was difficult to choose out of the thousands I have enjoyed throughout my life, but when I look back more than a year later with two of my own novels...
Debut Panellist at Iceland Noir

Debut Panellist at Iceland Noir

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I’ve been attending crime writing festivals for the past few years, initially as a fan and a reader, and later as a crime writer hoping to find her way onto the publishing ladder. A couple of weeks ago I attended my second Iceland Noir in Reykjavik, and this time I...
That Lucky Break

That Lucky Break

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I’ve never been superstitious. If a black cat crosses my path, I’m more likely to emit a remarkably authentic ‘meow’ than worry about whether it passed from left to right. But Friday the 13th of October 2017 turned out to be the luckiest day of my year. It was the day...
The Benefits of Literary Festivals

The Benefits of Literary Festivals

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The author’s working life is a solitary one. No one else can translate the data in a writer’s head to the screen or notebook. The task is theirs alone, a one-person job. In the quiet of the office, the shed, or the corner of the dining room table (in my case), the...
Christmas Ghosts

Christmas Ghosts

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We used to think there were ghosts in our house. In the dead of night we regularly heard phantoms moaning, occasionally shouting. Our mother hushed them with her calm throaty whispers and smoothed their anguished brow. For a brief flicker of an eye in the darkest part...
Reviews that Set Your Book on Fire

Reviews that Set Your Book on Fire

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As a novelist on the road to publication, I was urged early on to register as a reader and reviewer on sites such as Goodreads. To quote the great tutor, Stephen King: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.”  Immersing oneself...