Friday night in Anam Cara saw Vanessa Gebbie, Tania Hershman and I reading from our work to a small though enthusiastic crowd. The roads were incredibly icy on the peninsula so we were chuffed that anyone risked coming out at all.  Hearty souls, these Irish, with an...

I'm up here in the frigid Northwest (that's Ireland's Beara Peninsula to you) at my beloved Anam Cara Writers Retreat.  I knew I wanted to post a blog today, but rather than discuss what I had in mind -- I'll do that another time -- I want to alert you to a wonderful...

Besides my own life as a writer, I do like to use this blog as a forum for conversations with other writers. I'm amassing a terrific list of these dialogues which I have held and posted over the years. They use to be listed under interviews over there on the right of...

As an adjunct to my post about marketing, here is something new I've been fooling around with -- the audio clip.  Using the not-quite-as-straightforward-as-it-seems software called Audacity (good name, though) I was able to record a short clip from A Clash of...

The orchestra that I play with, The Kensington Philharmonic, has it's first concert of the season tonight at Chelsea Town Hall in London.  That meant a two hour rehearsal with the soloist yesterday, an afternoon run-through today, and then the concert tonight  at...

Fellow blogger, Lauri Kubuitsile, led me to this excellent article, "Should I Tweet?"  It's not specifically about Twitter, but it is about the importance of marketing within the literary world.  Let's face it -- the job of a writer today is twofold: (1) write the...

Over the past month, I have been working with a wonderful writer/activist art filmmaker, Nancy Boulicault, to create a sort of trailer for A Clash of Innocents.  But it's a bit different.  This short, 2- minute film  isn't really about the book. It's more about the...

Yes, yes. I am in hyper-promotional mode. I've been spending my days setting up events, scheduling talks and workshops, pitching articles.  All the stuff a writer has to do these days to get her stuff up and out.  Don't get me wrong - I'm more than happy to do it. ...

In yesterday's Guardian, Tessa Hadley wrote a piece which she said was "in praise of novels set in the present day." She asserts:     In a few hours - or tomorrow - the words of the rest of this piece will be written, that don't exist yet; by the time anyone reads it...

I know Gareth Calway's work from his novel, River Deep Mountain High, which I loved. But he and I share a stubborn refusal to limit our work to novels only. So when I discovered that he was beginning a tour of masked theatrical events about Boudicca and King Arthur, I...

I have really loved spending this month visiting other blogs, meeting other readers I otherwise wouldn't have known, and talking, talking, talking.  We've covered a wide range of topics that lead from A Clash of Innocents itself then onto my own life, then meandering...

It's the last stop on the A Clash of Innocents launch month blog tour, and it somehow feels right ending up at the site of Debi Alper.  To me, she has come to symbolize what blogging means - friendship, humour, comraderie, sensibility and silliness, and the knowledge...

Well, I'm nearing the one-month mark since the launch of A Clash of Innocents and that means one more week of my blog tour.  There will be other interviews and blog stops coming up, but today and Thursday will mark the end of what I guess I'm thinking of as "the...

One of the great pleasures of promoting a book, not to mention having a book to promote in the first place, is visiting book clubs.  To me, the incredible profusion of book clubs of all types, sizes, interests and genders is a key sign that our civilization is still...

What is it about sheds that seems so romantic, so blissful and otherworldly (Alex Johnson and Sarah Salway -- are you out there and nodding your heads?)? My blogging friend, Debs, has invited me over to her shed in the Channel Islands for a good old fashioned chin wag...

I have known DJ Kirkby for several years now, first as  a blogging buddy and now as a real life friend. She is a woman of great generosity and heart, both of which are evident in her new novel, Without Alice, published by Punked Books:      Have you ever had a secret?...

For several years now, Change.org has sponsored "Blog Action Day" in order to harness the communication skills of bloggers to initiate an annual discussion on some topic of global significance. This year, the topic is water. How simple, right? For many of us, water is...

Today, I'm talking to the poet, Mike Horwood, a fellow Ward Wood author.  Cambodia, planning a novel, the role of inspiration...it's all here. Take a look and join in the conversation. I should also say that Mike has one of the all-time best author's photo at the top...

I think most writers have themes that run their work, whether they realize it or not.  I know I  have some: life after tragedy, the meaning of home, the role of science and art in creating perception.  But there is a theme which lies off to the side but very much a...

I know Poetry Day is not just for kids, but I do think of schools  and children when I think of it, maybe because back when I was teaching more than I seem to be now, Poetry Day was often used as an "excuse" to get Mrs. Guiney in for a workshop. I always love working...

Today is my last blog stop for a bit, and I'm thrilled that I'm spending it with the talented Nik Perring.  I love his flash fiction and Not So Perfect is one of my favourite bedside books, perfect for dipping in and out of.  Today, he and I are discussing writerly...

It's been a great joy getting to know Glyn Pope through his blog over the past few years. He is a man with a real seriousness of purpose and dedication to his craft. Plus, he's good fun.  Today he's putting me through my paces, asking me all sorts of questions about...

Please check out my blog visit over at DJ Kirkby's beautiful new site, where we'll be chatting about various things writerly, and there'll even be a give-away of A Clash of Innocents.  Good luck......

Well, the launch has come and gone.  What an amazing night!  Here are some photos (2 of me, 1 of Adele Ward of Ward Wood Publishing introducing me):One of the big discussion points was the book cover, which everyone loves and was curious about. Carol and Helen had...

Tonight! I'm running around like crazy trying not to get nervous so this is just a quick hi to say it's all happening at the zoo, over 100 people have said they'll be coming, and hopefully I'll remember to ask someone to take photos so I can post them tomorrow (or...

The wonderful Sarah Salway has asked me to talk about my views on the writer as entrepreneur and to discuss the rather iconoclastic route my own writing career has taken. Teacher that she is, she has asked me for some helpful hints as well which I have happily...

In the autumn of 1978 I met my husband, Mr. D, at graduate school. He was studying Bronze Age archaeology and I was studying ancient Greek language and literature. Our passion for the classics brought us together and this past summer we celebrated our 28th wedding...

One of the great pleasures of this past summer was reading Clare Dudman's wonderful new novel, A Place of Meadows and Tall Trees. Set in Patagonia in the mid-19th Century, it follows the dashed dreams and stubborn hopes of a group of Welsh colonists determined to...

My friend and fellow poet-playwright, JD Smith, has graciously agreed to be the very first stop on the new yes-it-is-really-happening "A Clash of Innocents" Blog Tour!  And if you allow your mouse to wander over to here, you can see what's been written.  And then, if...

I know I usually blog on Thursdays, but I couldn't wait.  Look what was delivered today -- and a whole week early. I love my publishers!And come on -- it's real now. So ask me a question, anything you'd like to know about the book, the process, the research, me. Just...