Category Archives: Culture

Marieke Nijkamp – My Writing Process.

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Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp is out now in hardback by Source Books.  What you have written, past and present.

I wrote my first book—or what felt like a book at a time—when I was ten or eleven. It was, effectively, fanfiction of my favourite book at the time. It certainly wasn’t a full length book, but once I started, I never looked back. I’ve written books and short stories ever since! 

My first published novel was a contemporary YA called This Is Where It Ends, a story about a school shooting. It takes place over the course of fifty-four minutes and follows four teens who all have a reason to fear the boy with the gun. I followed it up with Before I Let Go, a YA murder mystery set in a creepy Alaskan town full of secrets, where one girl is trying to uncover the truth behind her best friend’s death. And now Even If We Break, a geeky YA thriller, but more on that later!

I also write comics and graphic novels, most recently The Oracle Code (with art by Manuel Preitano), a DC graphic novel about a young Barbara Gordon who has to solve the mysteries of a spooky Arkham mansion, all while adjusting to life in a wheelchair. And currently ongoing, Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp (with art by Yasmin Flores Montanez), about three girls, one swamp, and a whole lot of werewolves.

And just to complete the line-up, I also write short stories for MG and YA anthologies, and had the distinct pleasure of editing the anthology Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens.

•            What you are promoting now?

My most recent YA, Even If We Break is a cabin-in-the-woods thriller about five friends who plan to spend the weekend together to play the RPG that brought them together one last time. But their friendship has grown strained, there are secrets between them, and this is where the game turns deadly. Even If We Break is geeky, terrifying, and at its core a story about friendships and growing up.

•            A bit about your process of writing.

I’m a fulltime writer, and I generally write every weekday. Regular office hours, with the evenings for administration, email, interview questions… and occasionally some gaming! I try to be sensible about keeping my weekends a little freer, because work-life balance is important too.

•            Do you plan or just write?

Oh no, I plan, in detail! I’ve plotted books with spreadsheets and flashcards and entire character profiles. These days, I usually create a story bible in advance and a full outline with scene and character beats. It’s quite a bit of work beforehand, but I love it. If gives me a feel for the shape of the story and what needs to happen when. Even if some details end up changing between the outline and the story—or the balance between chapters changes just so.

•            What about word count?

A rough idea of word count is absolutely part of the planning, but that also very much depends on what the story needs!

•            How do you do your structure?

Chapter-by-chapter, question-by-question. 

•            What do you find hard about writing?

Writing is incredibly personal, and that’s terrifying sometimes. Whether it’s exploring parts of myself in characters or staying vulnerable to approach the emotional truth of a story, writing can be highly intimidating. 

It isn’t easy, but then again, it doesn’t have to be.

•            What do you love about writing?

I love stories. I love exploring new worlds. I love taking story threads and weaving them into narrative. Above all else, I love how stories shape us and how we can shape stories. I absolutely believe storytelling is what makes us human. 

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp is out now in hardback by Source Books.

 

The surprising Scandinavian approaches to child-rearing by Alex Dahl

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alex dahl, author, writer, childrearing, playdate‘Playdate’ by Alex Dahl is out now. Published by Head of Zeus and has been made into an excellent TV series called, The Stolen Girl.

 In the Scandinavian countries, children are raised quite differently than in the UK and most of the rest of the world, where fear culture feels more prevalent- fear of strangers, accidents, legal action, bad weather- the list goes on. The Scandi approach is rather less fussy and children are given an almost baffling level of freedom. They are expected to get to and from school alone, often from the age of six, sometimes walking a considerable distance, come rain or shine (or more likely, blizzards.) In the winter it is pitch-black dark when they leave home. 

When I was a child growing up in Norway, my mother’s policy was- spend most of your time outdoors, and if there’s a problem- fix it. I had a pocket full of band-aids and a bus pass, plus a few tried-and-tested recipes for afternoon snacks.

As an adult, and a domestic-noir/psychological thriller writer, I draw inspiration from the Scandinavian countries’ laissez-faire attitude, and will gladly admit that it’s rather convenient that certain plotlines, which may seem unlikely to happen in the UK are perfectly feasible in Norway. Like being asked to take a little boy home on a stormy evening, whose parents have failed to turn up- the very premise for my debut thriller, The Boy at the Door. It’s happened to me, more than once, and I’ve also turned up to pick up my kids from somewhere, only to be told that they’ve already been collected by ‘so-and-so’s dad’ or random uncle, whom I’ve never met. Or like sending your child on a sleepover when you’ve only briefly met the parents once, a decision that has disastrous consequences in my new thriller, Playdate.

I ended up doing some involuntary research when my own daughter went briefly missing during the edits of Playdate. I had recently returned to Norway and was adjusting to the Scandinavian style of parenting after a stint in London. I allowed my then nine-year-old daughter to take a bus alone home with a friend to the friend’s house after school. I was in my office, working on the book, when the mother of the friend called, several hours later. She asked whether the girls had gone to ours. Floored by panic, I explained they had definitely gone to theirs, and she said- well, they can’t have as the alarm was activated and the dog shut away in one room, and the first thing the girls would do when they get home is deactivate the alarm and let the dog out. 

The other mother immediately started to comb the neighborhood for them while I rushed over. We were about to phone the police, when she went into a local shop to ask whether the girls had been in, and another customer overheard, saying he’d seen two little girls in the nearby forest, trying to free a ride-on pink Barbie truck from thick mud. The girls had refused offers of help, having been drilled on the dangers of strangers… I got my girl home, but had never known such fear, and I went back over Playdate and infused it into the mother of the missing girl.

Playdate by Alex Dahl is available here. 

Booksellers Unveil Their Top Books of 2020

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Bookshops across the UK & Ireland have revealed their favourite books and authors of 2020.

This year’s shortlist includes: The Vanishing Half, by New York Time bestseller Brit Bennett; Diary of a Young Naturalist, by 16-year-old Dara McAnulty; the most hopeful book of the pandemic, Humankind by international bestselling author Rutger Bregman; The Devil and the Dark Water by 2018 Books Are My Bag Readers Awards winner Stuart Turton; South Korean sensational #MeToo bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo(translated by Jamie Chang); Cinderella is Dead, a retelling of the popular fairy tale by Kalynn Bayron; and 2019-shortlistee Alice Oseman forHeartstopper Vol 3.

 

Grace Dent to host virtual Books Are My Bag Readers Awards ceremony on Tuesday 10thNovember, sponsored by National Book Tokens

·       16-year-old nature writer, two graphic novelists, previously shortlisted Alice Oseman, South Korean sensation Cho Nam-joo, and nine debut writers among booksellers’ top books of the year

·       Books on sexuality, dance, Cinderella and Greek myths make the shortlist, hand-picked by booksellers

·       Record number of books from independent publishers are shortlisted

Nine debut writers are among the 25-strong shortlists across six categories. In addition to Cho Nam-joo, Dara McAnulty and Kalynn Bayron, the other debut authors shortlisted are: Eliza Clark for her celebrated novel Boy Parts; Summer Young for her Tracy Emin-like pamphlet Sylvanian Family;Elle McNicoll for her children’s fiction book A Kind of Spark; Jean Menzies for her retellings of mythical tales Greek Myths (illustrator Katie Ponder);Kiley Reid for her Booker longlisted debut Such a Fun Age; Douglas Stuart for his heart-rending novel set in 1980s Glasgow Shuggie Bain.

 

More than half of this year’s nominated titles – spanning Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Breakthrough Author – come from independent publishers, including Influx Press, Granta Books, Little Toller, Verso Books, Bad Betty Press, Nosy Crow and Knights Of. In addition, this year almost 40% of the shortlisted titles re from first-time writers.

 

The public vote opens today, ahead of Bookshop Day this weekend, to decide the winners across the six categories. The public is invited to vote for a winning title from each shortlist from Thursday 1 October until 11pm of Sunday 25 October, with the winners being announced on Tuesday 10 November at a virtual awards ceremony hosted by restaurant critic and author Grace Dent. The ceremony will be streamed at 5:30pm across the @booksaremybag YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels.

 

The 2020 Books Are My Bag Readers Awards Shortlist, as chosen by bookshops:

 

Fiction

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark (Influx Press)

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton (Bloomsbury)

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo (Simon & Schuster)

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (Dialogue Books)

Weather by Jenny Offill (Granta Books)

 

Non-Fiction

The Dance Cure by Dr Peter Lovatt (Short Books Ltd)

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty (Little Toller Books)

Humankind by Rutger Bregman (Bloomsbury)

Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent by Priyamvada Gopal (Verso Books)

 

Poetry

Homie by Danez Smith (Vintage)

Seagull Seagull by James K Baxter (Gecko Press)

Sylvanian Family by Summer Young (Bad Betty Press)

Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright: An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year by Britta Teckentrup and Fiona Waters (Nosy Crow)

 

Young Adult Fiction

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi (Pan Macmillan)

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury)

The Crossover: Graphic Novel by Kwame Alexander (author), Dawud Anyabwile (illustrator) (Andersen Press)

Heartstopper Vol 3 by Alice Oseman (Hachette Children’s Group)

 

Children’s Fiction

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll (Knights Of)

Blended by Sharon M. Draper (Simon & Schuster)

Gargantis by Thomas Taylor (Walker)

The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman (Pan Macmillan)

 

Breakthrough Author

Brit Bennett author of The Vanishing Half (Dialogue Books)

Jean Menzies author of Greek Myths (Dorling Kindersley)

Kiley Reid author of Such a Fun Age (Bloomsbury)

Douglas Stuart author of Shuggie Bain (Pan Macmillan)

 

Danez Smith, author of Homie, said: “Books saved me, save me, will save me as long as I have a spirit to rescue from its own darkness and the dark corners of the world. To think that my little words might be doing the same for someone else, even one person, makes the work worth it. To be shortlisted for the Books are My Bag Readers Awards is beyond an honor, it affirms for me that my duty to poetry isn’t some selfish need to confess and be heard, but that poems are how we nourish one another, how we make sanctuary and fight for one another. I’m humbled to share the company of incredible writers, and to share the love and need of poetry with booksellers and readers everywhere.”

 

Jenny Offill, author of Weather, said: “I am a former bookseller myself, so this feels like the highest of honors to me! I am utterly thrilled to be nominated by such a discerning group of readers.”

 

Jean Mezies, nominated in the Breakthrough Author category, said: “It’s an absolute honour to have been nominated for the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Award for Greek Myths, particularly given that it was chosen by booksellers. Exploring bookshops as a child and discovering titles on new and exciting topics thanks to the staff who curated their shelves is one of the main reasons I’m an Ancient Historian now.”

 

Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the Booksellers Association, commented: “Curated by booksellers, the book experts par excellence, the Books Are My Bags Readers Awards are truly special awards. The shortlist always gives a fascinating insight into the reading trends of the year, and this year’s shortlist is particularly poignant given the impact COVID-19 has had on both our reading and shopping habits. Consumers appreciated anew the knowledge, dedication and expertise of booksellers during lockdown; a time when for many books were the only thing to bring hope and comfort. While we were unable to physically browse in bookshops, booksellers found new and creative ways of pairing their customers with the right book at the right time.  

 

This year we encourage consumers to think about their Christmas shopping earlier than usual and to support their high street. Whether you shop in-store or online with your local bookshop this Christmas, the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards shortlist is the ultimate book guide for shoppers; there’s something there for everyone. We hope book lovers will continue to support bookshops this Bookshop Day and beyond.”

 

Alex de Berry, Managing Director of National Book Tokens, said: “Not only are the Readers Awards the only book awards where the winners are chosen by truly democratic public vote, they have also proved to be a positive platform for diverse voices. We are immensely proud to have helped create these awards and to continue to be able to sponsor them.”

 

The Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, now in their fifth year, are the only book awards curated by booksellers, and voted for by readers. The shortlist panel comprises: Katharine Fry (Blackwell’s), Meera Ghanshamdas (Moon Lane Books), James Routledge (Forum Books), Mog and Pauline Harris (Warwick Books), Amy Vale (Book-ish) and Joe Hedinger (The Book Hive). The shortlist categories open for public vote are: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Breakthrough Author. In addition to voting on the shortlisted titles in the categories above, the public are invited to nominate their favourite book of the year – any book they’ve read in the past year – as the Readers’ Choice winner.

The public can vote online at the following link: www.nationalbooktokens.com/vote

 

The Books Are My Bag Readers Awards are sponsored by National Book Tokens and are part of Books Are My Bag – the annual campaign celebrating the vital importance of bookshops.

 For more information visit www.booksaremybag.com / @BooksAreMyBag / #BAMBReadersAwards

 

SISTER SCRIBES: CASS GRAFTON ON HER LOVE FOR DAPHNE DU MAURIER’S CORNWALL

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I’ve been reflecting lately on which books stand out most to me, from childhood through to the present day, and a pattern has emerged: my all-time favourite reads at any particular time of my life had a strong sense of place.

From Enid Blyton’s boarding school stories, through my teenage passion for the Brontës’ wild Yorkshire moorlands, it’s clear I was hooked on places from an early age. Onward I went into Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts and Tolkien’s Middle Earth, always captivated by a good setting.

Alongside my fellow Sister Scribes friends, Kitty Wilson and Jane Cable, I have a deeply-rooted love of Cornwall, and whilst writing a recent novel, I thought back to when this fascination with the county began and realised it stemmed from my interest in a writer and her Cornwall-based stories: Daphne du Maurier.

It was the 1990s, and every autumn, my husband and I would spend a week on the south-east Cornish coast—days of kicking our way through crisp golden leaves, inhaling the smell of wood smoke from cottage chimneys, and watching the gulls wheel across steel-grey skies as waves lashed the rocky shoreline.

One of our favourite walks was the Hall Walk, which has stunning views across the charming town of Fowey and out towards Gribbin Head as you meander towards Pont Creek, onwards to Pont Pill and then back along the other side of the creek to Polruan.

During these holidays, I discovered Daphne du Maurier’s strong connection to the area, where she lived for many years, but at the time I had only read her most famous novel, Rebecca. I became fascinated with her life, devoured her biography and began to read her other works, beginning with the first full-length novel, The Loving Spirit.

Daphne often walked the Hall Walk from her then home at Ferryside, adjacent to the Bodinnick Ferry where it docked after crossing the river from Fowey. It was on this walk, at Pont Creek, that she came across a derelict schooner, the Jane Slade. Although the ship was rotting, the figurehead remained intact, and she became spellbound by the ship, not only often climbing aboard and imagining its past adventures, but also going on to make local enquiries into the vessel and the local family who had built her.

She absorbed the history of the boat-building Slades, sought out the family tombstone in the churchyard at Lanteglos, up above Polruan (the church where Jane Slade had been married and where Daphne herself went on to marry), and was also given access to some family letters.

Bewitched by all she was discovering and inspired by her surroundings, Daphne realised she had enough material for a novel, a book she wanted to write ‘in which atmosphere and a sense of place would dominate’.

The Loving Spirit (the title came from a poem by Emily Brontë) was published in 1931— with the Slade family becoming the Coombes and Polruan renamed as Plyn—and is still in print today.

The figurehead from the Jane Slade was given to Daphne, and it was mounted on a beam below her bedroom window at Ferryside, where it still hangs.

My love affair with Cornwall is as strong as ever, and I’m looking forward to when I can visit again, walking those beloved paths, taking in the breath-taking views and inhaling the atmosphere of the place my heart calls home.

 

Sources: Daphne du Maurier – Margaret Forster (1993), Vanishing Cornwall – Daphne du Maurier (1967)

 

 

 

INTRODUCING NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE ARTIST, JOANNA BLACKBURN

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I have always been creative and in my teens I painted in oils.  In early adulthood I explored many crafts and textile design on a commercial level.

Gardening is one of my passions too and I gained a qualification in Horticulture and Garden Design in 2002.  This included painting images of the gardens I was designing to help clients to envision them.  This took me back into painting and I began studying watercolours when on holiday in Scotland as this was the only time I had to indulge myself.  I sold my first painting there and this spurred me on to develop my talent further.  I joined a night class to learn more, became hooked and have not been able to stop painting since.

My paintings cover a wide range of subjects including birds and animals – whatever inspires me at the time.

The movement of water and different light conditions fascinate me so I love painting land, seas and skies. I enjoy capturing the beauty of the natural world and hope my work will uplift the viewer and fill them with a sense of place.

I paint in watercolours and acrylics mainly and also do encaustic work now and then.  This is painted by melting wax on an iron before smoothing it onto the surface.  Other heated tools can be used to work up the picture. I am really enjoying experimenting with this, creating fantasy landscapes which are totally different from my other work.

I have exhibited at various locations in England and Scotland and my work has sold internationally.  My work can be seen at www.joannablackburnart.com and www.facebook.com/JoannaBlackburnPaintings/

My Writing Process Glenda Young

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Glenda Young, author, writer, The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon by Glenda Young is published 1st October (£7.99, Paperback, Headline)

1.      A bit about you.

My name’s Glenda Young and I’ve loved writing ever since I was a child. I live in the northeast and my novels are set in the coalmining village of Ryhope where I was born and bred. You don’t need to know the village to enjoy the books, which are gritty and dramatic and have a feisty, young heroine at their core. All of my books are stand alone books and you can read them in any order. 

I’m a life-long fan of the soap opera Coronation Street run two Coronation Street fan sites – Corrie.net online since 1995 and the Coronation Street Blog which was launched in 2007.
2. What you have written, past and present.

I’ve written six novels to date published with Headline. The first four are now available and these are Belle of the Back Streets, The Tuppenny Child, Pearl of Pit Lane and The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon. Still to come are The Paper Mill Girl and novel six which has the title to be confirmed. The novels are gritty sagas, inspired by my love of soap opera, really dramatic with lots of action and some great women characters!

I’ve also built an impressive reputation as an award-winning short story writer.  Plus, I have an unusual claim to fame! I’m the creator of the first ever weekly soap opera Riverside to appear in The People’s Friend, the longest running women’s magazine in the world. My short fiction has appeared in magazines including Take a Break, My Weekly and The People’s Friend. In 2019 I was a finalist in the Clement & Le Frenais Comedy Award.

As a life-long fan of the soap opera Coronation Street I’ve written TV Tie-In books about the show including Coronation Street: The official colouring book, Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street, A Perfect Duet. The Diary of Roy and Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, and have written major updates to Coronation Street: The Novel and Coronation Street: The Complete Saga.

3. What you are promoting now.

My fourth novel is The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon. It’s a dramatic, gritty story set in a small village in 1919. It begins with a new born baby girl being left on the doorstep of a very grand house. The baby is left in a basket that has a scarlet ribbon tied around the handle. The housekeeper of the wealthy McNally family takes the baby into her care and names her Jess. Sworn to secrecy about the baby’s true identity, the housekeeper brings Jess up as her own, giving Jess no reason to question where she came from. But when the housekeeper passes away, grief-stricken Jess, now sixteen, is banished from the place she’s always called home. With the scarlet ribbon the only connection to her past, will Jess ever find out where she really belongs? And will she uncover the truth about the ruthless McNallys?

4. A bit about your process of writing.

I write in the mornings when I can concentrate better. I stop for coffee and have a break, do some thinking and then return to writing. I try to write 2,000 words per day. I find I’m much more able and creative in the mornings than in the afternoon. I live close to a lovely beach so I walk on the beach in the afternoons or go for a bike ride. This helps clear my head after writing all morning.

5. Do you plan or just write?

I always plan, even if it’s just a short story I’ll make a list of say, ten things I want to include from start to finish. I plot and plan loosely as I think all writers know that once you start writing your work takes on a life of its own and you should go with the flow to a certain extent. I liken my plotting and planning to building a frame on which to weave my words. It’s always flexible to change as I go but I always have a structure in place so I know what I’m doing and where I’m going, even if sometimes I go off on a side road for a little while.
6. What about word count?

For novels it’s usually around 100,000 words and for short stories for women’s magazines, it can be anything from 700 words up to 3,000 and beyond.

7. How do you do your structure?

For my novels I take sheets of A4 paper, one for each chapter and lay them out on the floor. Then I take my plot points and spread them out on post-it notes across the book, moving them around until I’m happy. Then I type up chapter plans, just a couple of paragraphs for each chapter so I know what I’m doing within each one. Then once I start writing, characters appear I never planned for, incidents happen I never envisaged and the book takes on a life of its own. It’s quite scary how it happens and I don’t truly understand it. Perhaps that’s the secret?

8. What do you find hard about writing?

Switching off. When I’m writing a novel it’s all encompassing, my entire concentration goes into my work for the duration I’m writing it. I’m living in that world and I love it, it’s all I can think about as I immerse myself into the story.

9. What do you love about writing?

Everything! From getting that initial spark of an idea to seeing my books on the shelves of the bookshops and getting amazing reviews online and in the press and on radio, etc. There’s nothing I don’t like.

10. Advice for other writers?

Never give up. Never.

http://glendayoungbooks.com

@flaming_nora on Twitter.

My Writing Process Alex Hart

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Alex Hart, my writing routine, my writing process, author, writer, Take Me Home, My Writing Routine:

I’ve written since an early age, whether it was short stories, poems (dreadful ones!), or novels. I read voraciously and love many genres. I have worked in the film and television industry for over twenty five years and have always felt passionate about story telling whether on screen or in books. To be able to disappear into someone else’s world, even temporarily and experience a different life is something that will never lose its thrill.

What you have written, past and present.

I’m currently working on a couple of novels, one which is the next in the series of Take Me Home, and another which is a standalone thriller. 

What you are promoting now.

Take Me Home is a mystery thriller. The main character Harper finds a young girl left alone in a New York store and sets out to find out where she has come from. No one has reported her missing yet the little girl May says she misses her mom. Harper is someone who is strong and feisty. She paints outside of the lines, yet relentlessly strives for the truth. Despite her outwardly spiky edges, she is sensitive and warm-hearted. I hope she is someone the reader enjoys spending time with, along with her friends TJ and Reggie (the yin to her yang, the cheese to her macaroni) as they try to unravel the mystery along with her. It raises the questions, ‘What would we do in that situation?’ ‘How far would we go for strangers and those we love?’ and ‘What constitutes family?’ 

A bit about your process of writing.

I’m pretty disciplined when I have a project I’m working on. My day usually starts at the gym (before Covid!) where I am waking up my brain and beginning to think about the task ahead. Once I am at my desk, I often turn off my phone so there are less distractions and set to on that day’s goal. If I have the book planned out, I’ll always aim to write a chapter a day; even if I know what I’m writing is trash. If I started to edit as I went along, I think I would come to a grinding halt. If there is something on the page, I at least have words to play with. 

Do you plan or just write?

I always plan. I don’t know any other way. For me, a plan is a safe way of being able to go off piste sometimes, as I know I can always refer back to it. Things often change when you’re writing; either something you are sure was going to work, suddenly falls apart in your hands, or you get further inspiration meaning the story changes direction. I think, so long as you have a plan you can explore these options without going off on a tangent too much. 

What about word count?

I really don’t think about it in the first draft. I just want to get the bones of the story down and I’ll worry about word count later. Often or not, it just works out at the right length. 

How do you do your structure?

I always work with paper and pen at the beginning, just writing down notes, random thoughts, character traits etc and once I am able to formulate a basic beginning, middle and end, I begin to scratch out a structure. If I get stuck, I always refer back to the usual; Joseph Campbell, Christopher Vogler, Robert McKee, Syd Field, Dan Harman. I’ll re-read what they’re saying and think how my story and characters fit and start penning out a potential paradigm. 

What do you find hard about writing?

When I lose confidence! There’s nothing worse than facing the day thinking ‘something isn’t working’, ‘I’m the worst writer known to man’, ‘what was I thinking even attempting this?!’ I think this happens to all writers at some point of their journey. You’re all alone in this room, with your imaginary characters (who you have become close to and feel you are letting down) and you only have yourself to argue with. When those days come, (and they do!) rather than give up and beat myself up further, I make myself write 100 words. Often or not, I’ll end up writing more and suddenly you’re up and running again. 

What do you love about writing?

Everything except for the above days! 

Advice for other writers.

The same any writer gives, read, read, read, write, write, write. For me, there is no other way. My motto has always been, ‘Get it down, then get it done. Get it written, then get it right.’

 

TAKE ME HOME by Alex Hart is published by Orion (Paperback, £7.99) on 1st October.

 

Take Me Home by Alex Hart Book Review

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take me home , alex hartTake Me Home by Alex Hart is a tightly written thriller which is classically New York. It dives deep into the characters and really tells the story. Full of twists and brilliant description, Take Me Home is the perfect thriller to take some time out of your day and just enjoy. 

How much would you risk for a child who isn’t yours?

An ingenious, taut, global thriller for fans of Linwood Barclay and Harlan Coben…

When struggling journalist Harper returns a dress to the shop she bought it from that morning, she sees the same little girl sitting in the exact same place she saw her hours ago.

No one in the shop knows who the girl is.
No desperate parents have contacted mall security to say they’ve lost their daughter.
And the local police have no new reports of a missing child.

The girl says she misses her mother.
But why is nobody looking for her?
And what if finding her home is the worst thing you could do?

Take Me Home by Alex Hart is available here.