Books

I’ve just been on the mammoth journey from dreamily coming up with an idea about a girl who remembers everything to seeing it evolve into a novel in a bookshop. ...

The creator of cat detective series No 2 Feline Detective Agency, Mandy Morton explores anthropomorphism in books and how it has served her well for 60 years Suffolk born writer ...

My debut novel was initially inspired by a John Donne poem. I read John Donne’s poem, ‘To Sir Henry Wotton’ while in secondary school and one line really stirred something ...

I’ve done this ever since I was little. I tend to slip a book into my handbag before I go out and often sneak a few pages of reading in ...

This is my first novel to be published. Lateness is all. I started writing when I was a young woman, and I have been writing in different forms for decades ...

Getting on well with other people is one of life’s biggest rewards but also one of its biggest challenges. Having a positive mindset towards other people helps you treat them ...

Writing a YA book has been by far my favourite genre to write. It was the most defining, scary, awful and exhilarating time of my life. In many ways I ...

Some days, being a best-selling author lives up to the excitement such a lofty job title would suggest. For instance, there was last year’s Thrillerfest awards gala in New York ...

As Taylor Swift said, “Haters gonna hate.” The best response is to “shake it off” with more speech. Talking back to hate can empower individuals and communities. Censorship doesn’t always ...

Reading is like breathing to me. Growing up, my favourite book was Little Women and I yearned to be Josephine March, sitting in the garret, reading books and eating apples. ...

‘My name is Challenge’ (Dr B. to Matt Pearce in temporoparietal) I have worked for many years with young people, particularly those who failed by the educational system for one ...

The kernel of your story: Be clear in your mind what it is that makes each book in the series a stand-alone story. It may be a unique twist at ...

As an author, there’s no better time to pen a thriller. Last year alone, the genre shifted 18.7million copies, outselling other types of fiction for the first time in history. ...

I grew up with four younger sisters. They made me a feminist. They are a bit like the spice girls, diverse, feisty, each blazing their own trail. They taught me ...

Publisher Marcia M. Spence shares the things that have helped her move forward when she’s faced challenges. Marcia has Trigeminal Neuralgia (a severe facial pain illness) and has dealt with ...

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 produced so much volcanic ash that the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried under 4 to 6 meters of ash. Some ...

These songs are not the result of a writing project. Indeed, none of these songs was intended for publication. It would be a foolish writer who sat down and decided ...

In Rachel Clare’s debut novel, her main protagonist struggles with coming to terms with her facial birthmark. Using her own experiences with having cerebral palsy, Rachel has used her personal ...

The hardest thing about managing change in business is recognising it is happening in the first place, even if it's you who has initiated it. Whenever you change an organisation’s ...

The average graduate will owe an eye-watering £50,000 by the time they finish university – the highest student debt in the developed world. Three-quarters will never clear their loans and ...

Buddha bowls, the Instagram-worthy one-bowl meal loaded with a healthy, balanced mix of protein, vegetables, and good fats, have been around for ages yet their popularity is blazing hot right ...

Brent Jones is the author of GO HOME, AFTON, the first of four parts in a new serial thriller that delivers audiences an unlikely heroine in the form of a children’s ...

I once read that the most useful time management tool ever was to compile a to-do list for the following day the previous evening. So, in fact, my day always ...

Writing in the Sunshine, Writing in the Shadows. I’m a writer, and as a tribe, writers don’t tend to get out much. There may be parties and award ceremonies – ...