My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
David Mitchell's novel, The Bone Clocks, passed me by last year although several of my writer friends raved about it. But I am on a writer's quest to read even more widely than I used to. Everything is inspiration: popular novels, YA, book club novels, clever writing, predictable writing, and - above all - successful …
'The Dressmaker,' a novel by Rosalie Ham, was recommended to me by a writer who knows what she's about. It is out on film at the moment starring Kate Winslet and it really doesn't look like my thing. Set in Australia, the novel's strapline reads 'an unforgettable tale of love and hate and haute couture.' …
Continue reading Review: The Dressmaker – mischief and mayhem
This is a blog post I may return to again and again: there are lots of books I wish I had written and today I will discuss three of them. By 'books I wish I had written,' I don't mean simply that I enjoyed the book or even that I admire the narrative style and the …
I am fascinated by etymology and I enjoy juggling with words but, as a writer, I try not to create blatant stereotypes in my characters. The word stereotype comes from the 1798 French adjective, stéréotype, which is a "method of printing from a plate." It has come to mean a set idea that people have about what someone or something …
Continue reading Three authors, three ‘Russians’ and my own novel
Most writers read a lot. I remember one of my brilliant tutors on my Master's course telling me I have an 'ear' for writing and I replied that I read all the time. She suggested the two weren't always connected, but I believe that good writers inspire good writers. To that end, I have just finished …
Continue reading Iain Banks, Petina Gappah, Saul Bellow and me: a writing lesson
"O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe, Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!" Patrick Gale's novel epitomises everything a good writer wants to do in their own writing. I began reading 'A Place Called Winter' a few days ago and, at first, I thought it was a slow-burner. The …
That quintessence of dust 