My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
I spend a great deal of my time writing. My latest novel is out! The Old Girls’ Network was released several days ago and I’ve started to edit the next one, which is very exciting. I’ve also just finished writing another - the life of a novelist is all go! - and I wouldn't change …
Continue reading Six books that inspire me to be a better writer
Recently an author-friend of mine said a novel she’d written had been refused by a publisher because there were four central protagonists, which they said was three too many. There is a template in romantic comedy that requires one heroine, someone with a problem that needs to be solved, one handsome male who might do …
I’ve read several good books over the summer months. Choosing from a wide range of genres and topics, here are seven books I’ve really enjoyed for a variety of reasons and I recommend them all. The list is random – there is no rank order implied. J Le Vieux, Biographie d’un Youyou. Azzedine Grimbou …
Continue reading Some of the great books I’ve read this summer…
It is always sad to read that a longstanding heroine has passed away. For years, when asked ‘Who’s your favourite author?’ I’d answer ‘Toni Morrison’, seconds before I wondered if I should have said ‘Jeanette Winterson’ or ‘Cormac McCarthy’. But Toni Morrison was always the first name on my lips. So when I heard that …
Continue reading Huge thanks to Toni Morrison for my torchlight tremors
It’s long been a belief of mine that kids of all ages should see themselves reflected in and represented by the curriculum taught in schools. Too often novels and historical books can inadvertently leave out groups of people so that many learners never find people like themselves in aspects of their own education. Of course, …
Continue reading Three recommended books to celebrate International Romani Day
I read Damian Le Bas' book The Stopping Places in two days. It's the sort of book that should be available everywhere, on all shop bookshelves, in libraries, schools and universities, and widely read. It offers a first-hand account about the Romani people, the culture and their experiences in society, in history and in the …
Have you ever experienced the phenomenon of a book you should have read, but somehow it has slipped your attention? For me, John Williams' Stoner was one such novel. Worse still, when it came to my attention, I thought it was probably about drugs and bought it expecting something similar to Hunter S Thompson's Fear …
I've just read three novels, all literary fiction, which are really enjoyable and memorable, albeit for different reasons. Whether you just like a profound and meaningful narrative, or whether you're inspired as a writer by well-conceived and well-written novels, there three are highly recommended. We are all Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler, is …
Continue reading Three excellent novels I’ve just read all prove that Larkin was right.
I totally love this book. Without doubt, it will be my book of the year. The blurb on the front cover predicts that it will be a classic in years to come. That's a huge claim, so I began reading it with interest and a bit of scepticism. But it is out there with the best. …
Continue reading Absolutely the best novel I’ve read this year
Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings is about the brutality of slavery in America's deep south, at the point when some attitudes had started to change. The novel charts the period between 1803 to 1838 and the first person perspective moves between Handful, a ten year old slave, and Sarah, the girl to whom she is given …
That quintessence of dust 