Author Interviews

7 July 2022

Seven reasons to be humble by Daryl R. Van Tongeren, author of Humble

What is humility? According to researcher and college professor, Dr. Daryl Van Tongeren, humility is about knowing yourself, checking yourself, and going beyond yourself. It’s an honest awareness of your ...

6 July 2022

An open letter to Molly Keane, 1904-1996 by Jean Hanff Korelitz, author of The Latecomer

Dear Molly, I was thinking of you the other day, when I was appearing at the Festival of Writing and Ideas at Borris House in County Carlow. The festival took ...

5 July 2022

Top tips for solo travel later in life by Kate Wills, author of A Trip of One's Own

As a veteran solo traveller I’m often asked when the best time in life to take a trip by yourself is, and my answer is always now. I’m constantly meeting ...

4 July 2022

Seven tips for reclaiming yourself by Sophie Leone, author of The Book of Revelations

Why is it we find concepts like ‘self-care’ or ‘being unapologetic for being ourselves’ so challenging to implement? The long and short of it is: we live our lives overstretched. ...

4 July 2022

Honest and practical tips for young writers by debut novelist Elisabeth Krauel

When people ask me what I was just thinking about, I usually just say “Oh, nothing”. It would be a little too complicated to explain the truth. Most people don‘t ...

4 July 2022

Author Rebecca Stott discusses which films inspired her new book Dark Earth

Five years ago I made a trip through the deserts of Jordan with a group of friends in a hire car. Two days in, while we were in the desert, the ...

1 July 2022

How journalism gave me the tools to write my first book by Tufayel Ahmed

I didn’t necessarily set out to be an author. From the youngest age, flicking through the local free community newspaper, I knew I wanted to be a journalist. I loved ...

30 June 2022

Seven things I'd like my readers to know about me by Deborah Jenkins, author of Braver

1. I am severely deaf and partially sighted due to long-term conditions. This has made me aware of the need for better accessibility and has, I hope, made me an ...

29 June 2022

How I found out about the Biddenden Maids and why I wanted to write a story about them by GD Harper

Every Easter Monday, in the village of Biddenden in Kent, a queue of elderly residents forms outside the old village workhouse, which has now been converted into residential property. At ...

28 June 2022

Six ways to break into publishing by Shawn Nocher, author of The Precious Jules

I sold my first novel, A Hand to Hold in Deep Water, on the crest of sixty. Now sixty-three, I’m looking forward to the release of my next novel, The Precious Jules. ...

28 June 2022

Rebecca Barrow, author of Bad Things Happen Here shares seven things about her

- The island of Parris: paradise or poison? Luca Laine Thomas lives in Parris, the beautiful island plagued by the unsolved deaths of young women - most significantly, Luca's best ...

28 June 2022

Samantha Hayes, author of The Ex Husband shares the things she'd like her readers to know about her

1) I left school at 16 with only a handful of O Levels and unwittingly enrolled in the cliched ‘University of Life’. Over the next few years, I fell in ...

23 June 2022

Five tips for writing graphic novels by Emily McGovern author of Twelve Percent Dread

Play to your strengths: If you’re good at drawing horses, write a graphic novel about a horse. If you like drawing cars or machinery, write a story involving those. I like ...

23 June 2022

Modern day parenting and how it's changing by Lauren Ho, author of Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic

As we walked in the shadow of the Parthenon some years back, my best friend cleared her throat and said, in the tone of one confessing to a murder, "I ...

23 June 2022

Things that make my summer complete by Phillipa Ashley, author of A Golden Cornish Summer

I have a confession to share. One day in June, I spent an hour on deadline day deciding whether I needed a teapot-shaped handbag instead of finishing my novel. To ...

23 June 2022

An open letter to Jane Casey by Cressida McLaughlin, author of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday

-  Hi Jane, It’s me again! I feel like I’m constantly Twittering at you, trying to moderate my admiration for you and your books and play it cool, and always ...

23 June 2022

How my art school background inspired me to write Stargazer by Laurie Petrou

I was admitted into the Queen’s University Fine Art Program in Kingston, Ontario, in 1995. I swore I wouldn’t go to Queen’s, because my brother was two years into his ...

23 June 2022

Graham Bartlett, author of Bad For Good writes an open letter to Lynda La Plante

Dear Lynda, I must have been totally bonkers not to reach out to you sooner. But it was deliberate, I promise. Let me explain. No one can accuse me of ...

23 June 2022

Mara Yamauchi, Olympian, marathon runner, coach, commentator & author shares her inspiration

If you are female and want to run a marathon, there are thousands of races all over the world to choose from. The only real challenge you face is training ...

23 June 2022

Top tips for writing psychological thrillers by author A.A. Chaudhuri, author of The Loyal Friend

I adore psychological thrillers. I guess it was blockbusters like Gone Girl that got me hooked on this genre. I love the way they delve into the human mind, analysing ...

23 June 2022

Comedian Laura Lexx shares why she doesn't describe her characters' looks in her new book Pivot

It was so easy to write every thought and feeling my main character, Jackie, would have. So why did I find describing her face so difficult? If she’s got blue ...

23 June 2022

The healing power of nature by Jane Johnson, author of The White Hare

THE WHITE HARE is a novel about the deep connection between landscape and people and how we often lose touch with the things that matter. Two damaged women and a ...