There was an interesting juxtaposition of articles in a newspaper this week and, while I first thought it was a mean trick by a grudging sub editor to put the two side by side, I realized that one was a harrowing story of bravery while the other was … well… an over-indulgent whine. In other words, a poorly considered first person column. Continue reading →

I love radio – listening to it and appearing on it. I love watching television too, but I’m not quite so keen about appearing on TV – not that I’m asked often. But radio? Yes, give me a radio appearance any day.

I’m still feeling tense about the recent TV recording Sue and I did – more of which when the programme is screened. Until then, our lips, brightly coloured and contoured by the make-up department, are sealed.

As well as having to perform well under bright studio lights and in front of a live audience, we had to take different outfits. The idea was that the wardrobe people would pick those which would look good under studio lights. Continue reading →

I’ve a new respect for people who take part in televised events. Sitting on the sofa at home watching the box, it all looks so easy: participants chat happily, respond calmly to comments and answer questions.

But let me tell you – when you’re in the sights of a studio camera, complete with hot lights and an audience, it’s nerve-racking.

And the worst of it is deciding what to wear. Continue reading →

Have you ever been described as ‘depressing, judgmental and ignorant’ and then been accused of being a dummy?

Well, actually, you might have. If you saw one of the glossy magazines that came with a particular Sunday newspaper yesterday, you could have looked at the so-called fashion spread where a coat costing nearly £3,000 was featured with matching £1,000 trousers (mentioned but invisible as they’d been cropped out of the photo), and asked: ‘Who spends that kind of money on clothes?’ Continue reading →

How should authors interact when they are taking part in book events? Should they stay quietly at their tables, behind piles of their recently published novel?

Should they concentrate on a book they’re reading and avoid looking up?

Or should they leap forward whenever anyone comes near and start doing a major sales pitch?

It’s an interesting dilemma and something considered by freelance copy editor, Emma Mitchell, who wrote a blog on her website asking: ‘Do we expect too much of authors?’ Continue reading →

Ask many writers where their characters originate and they’ll shrug and say they came from within their imagination; they appear or develop over time.

For me, they’re often sparked by spotting someone in a coffee shop or on a train. I won’t take the ‘whole’ person, but rather ‘pieces’ of them – the way they walk, the way they’re dressed, or something they say – and blend them into a character.  Continue reading →

When Sue and I visit events such as book clubs, forums and literary festivals to talk about our writing and our books, one of the common questions we’re asked is: ‘How do two people write together?’

Some assume we sit side by side staring at a computer screen, throwing out words and phrases until we agree on a sentence.

Which would be lovely – but it wouldn’t be too productive as we’d keep breaking off to laugh about an idea or get up to make a sandwich – any distraction to avoid simply sitting and writing. Continue reading →

Well, there’s us told!

A recent website post by Laurie Gough, who describes herself as a journalist and travel writer, details why she believes self-publishing is ‘an insult to the written word’. And, judging by the number of comments at the end of the post, she’s insulted – not the written word – but several writers who are making something of a success out of self-publishing.

Ms Gough would ‘rather share a cabin on a Disney cruise with Donald Trump’ than self-publish. (I reckon Trump got off lightly.) Continue reading →