My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
Let’s start this blog post by saying that our sense of smell is a gift. I’m fascinated by smells; I have a keen sense of smell. I can often smell things others can’t. And I love to include smells as an integral part of my writing. It’s evocative.It's beautiful. Or it's powerful. While walking in …
This week I went to the RNA Awards Ceremony as a nominee for Historical Romantic Novel. The Wicked Lady. It’s the first time I’ve been nominated, so I had no idea what to expect. I’d seen The BAFTAS on TV and I assumed that’s what it would be like. It was. Pretty much. A really …
Continue reading The Speech That I Should Have Made At The RNA Awards
There are various things I don’t really do if I can help it, in terms of feeling certain emotions. One is regret. I don’t see the point of it, unless we learn from it and then put it away. You can’t go back and change things. Yes, it might be nice if life had taken …
I was sitting with friends, discussing that old favourite topic, what the world was like when we were kids. It was the usual smug stuff about how we made our own fun and life was tough but we were happy, we had no central heating and there was ice inside the windows in January, blah, …
Continue reading Remember the games we played in the old school yard?
I don’t really care about Valentine’s Day. I’m not bothered about the commercial aspect of any of those occasions, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a total party girl. I love to celebrate. Big G just got a new job. I just sold a million books. Celebration time, come on! But …
Continue reading The Big Valentine’s Dinner Date. If you could choose anyone, who would you invite?
Just a short blog from me today, as I’m currently up to my ears in edits and new novels. Even though I’m writing ahead of deadlines, I have a new story on the go and I’m editing The Cornish Witch and The Silver Ladies Seize the Day. Check out the blurb on Amazon. I think …
Today’s blog post is about the cold. This month has been freezing. Baltic. Icy. I mean electric blanket at night sort of freezing. Scarf and gloves and extra socks during the day freezing. I don’t care how silly I look in that bobbly tassel hat with Amsterdam knitted on it as long as it keeps …
A message from me, to wish you all the best. Thank you for reading my books. Thank you for being my friend. Thanks for your warmth and kindness. Thank you for being you. I wish you the very best for 2025: Good health. Happiness. Love. New and wonderful experiences. May your heart be filled with …
Didn’t someone on TV accused of misconduct recently say that his critics were mainly ‘middle class women of a certain age.’ I think I heard that on the news... A certain age. Let’s unpack that. It means the number of their age is left deliberately vague - perhaps too many years have passed that it's …
So, what am I up to? I'm having so much fun. The weather is chilly, so I’m about to set off into the cold to research an Elena Collins novel. I’m going to start writing it from the middle of this month. It’s a venture into history, fiction, fact, speculation, lots of exploration and the …
That quintessence of dust 