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Latest Articles
Tense Thriller Exploring Mental Health: The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood by Susan Elliot-Wright
There's something special about finding a writer who is passionate about the same things you are and brings them into their books. Susan Elliot-Wright's novel The Flight Of Cornelia Blackwood is a tense and gripping thriller. But at its heart, it's an exploration of...
Identity and Belonging: Still Lives by Reshma Ruia
Sometimes stories just capture the wonderful essence of what it means to be human. Of where we find our place in the world, of how we relate to the journeys we've been on, and how all of that gets muddled and confused along the way. Still Lives by Reshma Ruia is...
Powerful Tales of Family: Baby is a Thing Best Whispered by Keely O’Shaughnessy
The great thing about hosting this site is all the amazing books that appear on my radar. Keely O'Shaughnessy's powerful flash fiction collection Baby is a Thing Best Whispered contains rare, startling stories that really jolt you. Featuring many characters on that...
Being Creative With A Long-Term Condition
For regular visitors, you may have noticed that my personal blogs have been somewhat erratic of late. While I’m keeping up with my frequent reviews and interviews with brilliant writers, my own voice has faded into the background somewhat. Rather than jumping back in...
More stories
It is done. I have typed the last word, finished the last scene, put my (relatively) new characters to bed. In...
In the book I’ve just finished reading, several rather unpleasant things happen. Arguably the first most significant...
It’s not often I finish a book in which the plot is almost entirely about a relationship, and I feel that it has been...
While I’m not the first, and I very much doubt I will be the last, I thought I’d share some ideas that were roused in...
Today I had the joy of experiencing a running buddy while out on the streets. As I ran past him, he came into step...
Last month, I went to the Emerald Street Literary Festival. Filled with intelligence, literature and inspiring ideas,...
I first heard about ‘Empress Cixi’ through a BBC documentary called ‘The Ascent of Woman.’ An impressive summary of a...
There’s something immensely satisfying in a novel that appears to start out one way, and then takes you somewhere you...
Genderspecs – Challenging gender stereotypes, one blog at a timeIt’s a pretty exciting week for those struggling to be...
A very interesting concept – three possible outcomes for the same couple. We’ve all questioned the ‘what ifs’ in our...