It’s that time of the year. Well, at least where I live, this is when the hedgehogs come out of the closet (or whatever bush they generally hide under) and become visible – and audible. It starts with a quick panting sound, like that of a miniature steam engine making its way up a hillside. […]
It’s strange, isn’t it, how the creative juices start flowing the minute you lie down to sleep, Well, come to think of it, it’s not all that strange. There you are, halfway to dreamland and your mind just goes “aaaah” after a long day and relaxes. Your synapses open wide, an odd word or scene
As per a short little notice in today’s local paper, NASA has come to the conclusion that our galaxy, dear old Milky Way, will collide with the neighbouring galaxy, Andromeda. Fortunately, this humongous pile up is not scheduled to happen for another four billion years or so. Phew; for a moment there I feared extinction
… and it sure doesn’t come natural to me, which is why writing a good synopsis is something of a challenge. It must be short, give an insight into the characters’ personality, tell the main plot, reveal the end and all of this preferably in 500 words. Aaagh! My 110 000 word novel and they
Last week I read a little article about the biological reasons behind divorce. Turns out that while we’re designed to be monogamous (well, more or less) it used to be the average lifespan was like 35 or so, so long before a couple got tired/bored with each other, one of them had probably died. (This
Sometimes the characters in my novels spring to rather scary life. In my head, I mean. I don’t see hallucinations. Initially, I control the plot and the characters. I decide what they say, what they do, how they feel – well, you get the picture right? As the characters flesh out, they start deciding what
I have this thing about birds. Not only are they the last remaining dinosaurs on earth (I know, I know; that’s stretching it a bit) but they also know how to fly. Not all of them, of course, but the majority of our feathered friends can soar through the air more or less gracefully. People
Writing novels set in the seventeenth century has its disadvantages. Like when your heroine ends up in a situation where you just know she’s dying for a piece of chocolate – except that chocolate hasn’t been invented yet. Or when the scene you’ve just written calls for cold fingers clasped around the comforting warmth of
In my mother’s attic there’s a little black notebook in which my grandfather detailed the expenditures of his early married life. Year one there is a new winter coat for my grandmother, a dining room table with two chairs, three shirts and a pair of shoes. That’s it. The dining room set becomes complete three
Sometimes people ask me why I write books. “Are you hoping for a bestseller?” they snicker. “Pfff! Don’t be silly,” I say with a depreciating little shrug. “I just want to share my work with others.” Ha! I’m lying through my teeth. OF COURSE I want my book – all my books – to be