My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
Reading was my first glimpse of magic. My mother read to me, which makes me very fortunate. On her knee as a baby, a toddler, a preschooler. I was allowed to point to the words, to sound them out, to close my eyes and breathe in the beauty of descriptions, characters, adventures. I read everything …
This third part of my ‘Getting Published’ guide is all about finding, working with and being grateful for editors. Here’s a true story for you. I go to a great writers’ group each month, and I recall a few years ago at a meeting this wonderful man became really passionate when I was talking about …
A few weeks ago I blogged the first part of ‘How To Get Published’ and the response was overwhelmingly nice, so here’s part two. Of course, this is a guide. There are no guarantees. I know lots of people –six I could name without pause – who are brilliantly gifted writers and why they aren’t …
I love Greek theatre. And it really helps me when I'm writing novels. It helps me create character, action, contrast, tension. It’s a really big deal for me in all my books, whatever the genre. So here we go for some cool elements of Greek Theatre for you to incorporate into your next novel. Or …
I’ve just finished two edits and a novel recently. Book number thirty, maybe - I'm not good at counting them. But this means it’s time to do a few things I’ve missed out on recently. Think. Read. Chat. Blog. Hang out. I haven’t been away in ages, and it would be lovely to do a …
I’ve been in the writing cave recently. I’ve had two edits back to back – one for Golden Girls on the Run, which is out in December and I can’t wait for you to read it – and one for the new Elena Collins novel, published early next year. I’m really excited about that one. …
I recently read There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak and absolutely loved it. It’s currently reviewed at 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon and I highly recommend it. So much so that I left a five star review. So many other people loved it too, so I’m in good company. Of …
Continue reading A Plea to Readers: Please Leave Book Reviews
Sometimes my daily word count impresses people. I don’t seek to impress anyone, but often writers find it difficult to write a large number of words in one go. Or even start writing a novel. That's normal. But for some reason, I don’t have that problem. People say, ‘How many words did you write this …
Continue reading When I Wrote Five Thousand Eight Hundred Words In One Day…
I loved writing The Silver Ladies Do Lunch, and the stand-alone follow-up, The Silver Ladies Seize the Day. I enjoy writing every novel, immersing myself in characters and plots and emotions, and I suppose there are different reasons why each novel feels just a little bit different. This one is number twenty four, but I …
Continue reading The Silver Ladies Seize the Day. (And why we should all do the same.)
Back at the end of February, I went to Poole for the LLPP launch event in Poole, Dorset. It’s a project promoting the sale and use and availability of large print books, making reading accessible to everyone. I’m a great lover of libraries. I visit them all the time. I’m so lucky to be the …
That quintessence of dust 