You might have heard me jumping up and down with excitement a couple of days ago, when I found out that I had been longlisted for the Voss Literary Award. It is a huge honour to be on such a list. It came as a big surprise, and shook up my semi-solitary writing life. Book … Continue reading From the Editing Room Floor
BODIES OF MEN: THE LAUNCH
The launch of Nigel Featherstone’s Bodies of Men was a wonderful celebration. I was invited to say a few words about the man and his novel. Here they are.
Map is Not Territory
At the moment, I’m researching my third novel, and gradually working my way toward building a sense of place. One of the basic elements I like to have in my mind is a simple map, just to have a sense of the physical spaces my medieval characters will negotiate.
Doodling
I’m hoping to learn, or allow myself, to draw with no judgement, no purpose but to play, to let loose that young child with the fat paintbrush. No, to be honest, I do have a purpose, but a wide-ranging one: to encourage right brain creativity, which will, I hope, allow my writing to be more easily set free from my thinking, controlling brain.
Location, Location, Location
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer, embarking on a new novel, must be in want need of a fieldtrip. And so, at the end of last year, I headed off to …. the UK, of course! But we writers can be secretive creatures, so I’m not going to tell you too much … Continue reading Location, Location, Location
Gargoyles
I love gargoyles, and when I was travelling around England and in Paris, I took lots of photos of them. Little did I know then that one of them would insinuate its way into my novel. At the base of the roof was an army of gargoyles, stone-grown and weather-worn, each one distinct, all … Continue reading Gargoyles
