Author of the Allensbury Mysteries

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IWSG: Taking the unenforced day off

Every month I post on the first Wednesday as a member of the Insecure Writers’ Support Group. The group was set up by Alex J. Cavanaugh to bring together writers to offer each other support. Pop along to the website… Continue Reading →

The scourge of comparison-itis

I’m a voracious reader – of mostly crime fiction – and this means I have a lot to compare my writing to. Every time I pick up a new book to read or see a recommendation on Twitter, my heart… Continue Reading →

A step closer to self-publishing

I’ve long cherished a dream of seeing my work published. At first it was a desire to see my work in print, displayed on a shelf in a bookshop, but in recent years my dream has been refined. Instead my… Continue Reading →

Why I’ve brought in ‘The Red Pen’

A couple of weeks ago I embarked on a major mission. I printed out the first 100 pages of Book One, having decided to wield my red editing pen over it, prior to perhaps self-publishing. About a week later, I… Continue Reading →

Coping with a setback

This week I’d planned to post about how well my writing has been going recently, but in keeping with the laws of ‘pride comes before a fall’ I then suffered a setback this week. It wasn’t a major setback but… Continue Reading →

New Year, New Me

It’s taken a long time (and about four drafts) to decide what my first blog post of the year would be, and here it is! Usually I get caught up in New Year enthusiasm and throw myself wildly into new… Continue Reading →

Writers’ guides – friend or foe?

When you’re trying to solve a problem, the natural reaction is to get advice from friends and colleagues. It’s the same when you’re learning to write, and that’s where writers’ how-to guides come in handy. They’re cheaper than enrolling on… Continue Reading →

Can you write a novel in a month?

November, and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), will be upon us within a matter of days and across the world, writers are preparing for this particular marathon. Their aim is to complete 50,000 words in just 30 days. It’s an… Continue Reading →

Trying (and failing) to understand ‘sock puppets’

During the last week, I’ve spent a lot of time reading articles and tweets about ‘sock puppets’ and trying to get my head around it. For those of you who don’t know, a ‘sock puppet’ is a writer, who uses… Continue Reading →

Restarting after a sabbatical

Recently I realised that my Work-in-Progress – my beloved second novel – has not advanced a word in about seven months. This hasn’t been by choice. A bout of illness left me exhausted, struggling to just get through a normal… Continue Reading →

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