The answer is of course – when it’s also a book. We’ve all heard stories of writers who’ve had their blogs turned into books in one of those rare incidences when some savvy publisher realised its potential and decided to grab the proverbial by the thingumajigs. And before you can say The New Harry Potter,…
Sharing a Box of Frogs
If I had a virtual box of blogs, it’d definitely be worth sharing, unlike a box of frogs which I imagine might fare better in the garden down by the pond. In recent weeks, several fellow bloggers have generously shared one or other of my blogs/websites, prompting new comments and more followers (which is nice). Having been ultra…
‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The twelve short stories collected together as ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ were first published in The Strand Magazine, beginning with ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’. Arthur Conan Doyle’s first two novels featuring the consulting detective (‘A Study in Scarlet’ and ‘The Sign of Four’) hadn’t made much of an impression…
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Word…
Way back at the end of 2013 I posted a short piece celebrating finishing my second novel. It went something like this: And the last line is finally on the page! The Architect’s Apprentice is finished and the bad guys are finally unmasked. Course, there are still questions, leaving plenty of scope for a follow…
Meet and Greet Weekend @ DBDO: 2/12/16
Saying the Same Old Thing…
One of the challenges in writing novels is how we use language. A big part of that language (obviously), is the words we use to say what we want to say. And while there are a fair few words available, it can be tough to constantly come up with new ways of saying the same…
‘Cold Comfort Farm’ by Stella Gibbons
Cold Comfort Farm I’ve wanted to read this novel since seeing the movie version back in the late 90’s (starring Kate Beckinsale, Eileen Atkins and Ian McKellen), but it’s taken me til now to actually get around to it. Stella Gibbons was working at the Evening Standard in 1928 when the paper decided to serialise…
6 Silly Book Things We Never Notice…
Reading a book is a lot different to writing a book. There’s a ton of stuff we take for granted that publishers and printers (and of course, indie authors) know all about, but that might not be obvious to the newbie author/publisher. Now, I don’t consider myself to be a newbie but every day I…
London Bridge is (sometimes) Falling Down…
One of the difficulties of writing historical fiction is the lack of pictorial and other evidence – photos, newsreels, podcasts etc, which means the images we can get our hands on are so much more meaningful. And then of course, there are the wonderfully talented people who turn their talents to building realistic models (such…
Historical Writing – Fact or Fiction?
Writing about times long past can be great fun, but how accurate do authors need to be with historical fiction? While most readers expect authors to just ‘make stuff up’, a bit of good old fashioned research can make a world of difference. I’ve always believed that writers should use their imaginations – after all,…
Colin Garrow 