April 2025 … I recently had the pleasure of reading The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth (Pan Macmillan, 2022) which falls into a genre known as ‘domestic thriller’. It follows the …
From The Stack – ‘The Soulmate’
Writing as an Outlet
March 2025 … A little while ago I formally retrieved my draft of Trials of Henry from my little wooden vault. It was a token thing to do but an …
Creating plausible characters
January 2025 … One of the surprising things I have encountered through my evolving writing career, is how creating characters for stories has encouraged reflection about myself and those close …
Opening lines
December 2024 … Recently I have been paying more attention to opening lines of my works. I received feedback from a professional editor, Lauren Daniels, for one of my pieces, …
Noticing Things
November 2024 … [Spoiler alert: This blog reveals the culprit of a murder mystery.] Recently I had the chance to watch the 2013 British crime drama, Broadchurch. It was an …
Reading … as a writer
October 2024 … An unexpected side effect of my focus on creative writing has been how it has changed the way I read. Reading a novel used to be a …
Taking the Plunge
September 2024 … While on a well-overdue holiday I had the chance to visit Zürich – the home of Henry Wirz, the central character of my first novel Trials of …
Stereotypes in Stories
August 2024 … In February this year I submitted a short story to a competition. The story had been submitted to another competition six months earlier but just missed the …
Timing
July 2024 … Since launching myself into developing a writing craft my awareness of the structure of stories has changed. Whether a theatrical production, a movie or a novel, my …
Pattern Stories
June 2024 … Late last year I began working with a creative writing mentor, Dr Kate Ryan. Since I spent a great deal of time contributing to short story competitions …