My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
Winston is a rat. He lives somewhere near my garden. He’s brown, with a very long tail. He has a sweet little face. He’s not very old. He’s cute. And he’s very naughty. I think he must also be hungry. He spends a lot of time mooching around outside looking for food. And he steals …
When I first started writing, I was delighted by all the positive reviews about older protagonists. There weren’t enough of them. Evie Gallagher in A Grand Old Time was seventy five. Nanny Basham in The Age of Misadventure was older. The Five French Hens were in their seventies. Then an anonymous negative comment on social …
Continue reading Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.
I spend a lot of time writing novels and editing them. I write four novels a year, so that’s twelve edits too. It’s nice when they come separately and a bit scary when they come together but I enjoy what I do so much and I never worry about looming deadlines. I do have to …
Thank you for reading my blog! I’m bewildered by the miracle of blogging. I sit here in the middle of rural England at a desk writing a few random thoughts. I schedule the time for the blog to go out and whoosh! As if by magic, people across the globe stop to read it. As …
I'm a huge believer in positivity. It's not always easy to practise what one preaches, but it often seems that, on the days where we feel upbeat and cheerful, good things come to us and we feel strong. We succeed. On other days, when we feel a bit unsure of our potential, we're going to …
I’m really excited to tell you about my next Elena Collins novel, The Wicked Lady, which will be published in July. It’s a dual timeslip, historical, a little spooky, as ever. I have a feeling you’re really going to love it A few months ago, I went to St Albans to uncover the story of …
Continue reading Book update. What’s coming up from me this summer…
The winter is always great fun. First you get Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night, and the dark sky is our best friend, a backdrop of stars while we’re out trick-and-treating, or filled with billowing smoke and fizzing rockets in all colours. The smell of baking potatoes hangs on the air, fried onions, spicy parkin – whatever …
Continue reading You know it’s spring when…(A UK perspective.)
I belong to a wonderful writing group, in which writers' work of all genres is celebrated each month. The standard of writing is astonishingly high and I always come away feeling supported by others and in awe of their work. This is something I wrote for our last meeting. I don't have much time as …
Have you ever had a period of time – a day, a week – where you feel absolutely rubbish? There’s no logic to it – the sun may be shining, you may have just been told something nice and positive (but you don’t believe it…), you may have something fun planned, yet you somehow can't …
Continue reading What do you do when you get that sinking feeling?
Here's a story I wrote for Solitary Writers, the group I belong to. It might form the basis for somethng else one day. I hope you enjoy it. A Railway Station... A railway station late at night is a desolate place. This one’s no different, with its high metal structure arcing above, solitary pigeons rising …
That quintessence of dust 