My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
Abraham Lincoln said, ‘Think of strangers as friends you haven’t met yet.’ The other day, Keir Starmer said that the UK risks becoming ‘island of strangers’ without more immigration curbs. Some politicians claimed that his words had echoed Enoch Powell’s notorious rivers of blood speech, which imagined a future multicultural Britain where the white population …
Like many writers, I tend to disappear into the writing cave and become a little reclusive while I’m working on a new novel. I’m sure if the house caught fire, I wouldn’t notice, I'd be too busy writing another chapter. TC has taken my beloved Colin’s place, lying on the laptop and 'editing' with his …
Friends and family -despite distance, time and change, we are there for each other.
A blog post about how the real inspiration for writing novels comes from - you.
I know I’m blogging here about the novels I’m currently working on, but let’s not start with what I’m writing just yet - I’ll get on to that in a moment - let’s just set the scene first. I’m lucky to be way ahead on all writing schedules and outside right now, the weather is …
Once a week, on a Wednesday, I appear on a community radio show, 'CakEhole with Julie Mullen,' and we talk about all things to do with novels and writing for fifteen minutes. It is one of the highlights of my week as Julie is so much fun to chat with. Based on our conversations, I …
I read something a few days ago about a writer who couldn't work during the Coronavirus lockdown period because she couldn’t think straight with all the current change and restriction: basically, she said, her brain was in ‘flight or fight’ mode. She said that it was hard to concentrate on creating something new and exciting …
I decided to have a couple of weeks away from writing. It was a simple idea - it was summer time, so I'd write nothing, just let the summer shine in through the mind’s window and the brain bask in the warmth. After all, I have three new novels more or less completed – maybe …
Continue reading Sometimes what’s outside affects what’s inside: on nature and inspiration
As writers, we are often told that we should write about what we know. That much is true – we write about people, places, relationships and the vagaries of the human condition. So much of what we write is based on what we know already. But sometimes our writing ventures into places and areas we …
Continue reading The joys of research for a writer- and the scrapes…
I’m an avid reader. I’m the sort of person who will read everything: all genres, crisp packets, adverts on buses. I have my preferences, of course – I love anything by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Shakespeare, Jeanette Winterson, Ian Hancock, Roddy Doyle, Sarah Winman, the Brontë’s, Zola, Turgenev, Cecelia Woloch, Kamila Shamsie and lots more. Reading …
Continue reading My top ten reasons why I love writing novels…
That quintessence of dust 