Psychological fiction. Mind first, plot second. Credibility uppermost.
Category: Commentary
News, comments, articles related to reading, writing, reviewing.
Near Melksham there is a lovely manor house built in the 1460s by Thomas Tropnell. The Arts and Crafts gardens are worth visiting in their own right, as is the manor itself but on Saturday 5th & Sunday 6thAUGUST…
An exhibition of Breugel is showing at the Holburne, Bath, the first UK exhibition devoted to the dynasty. Not huge or cheap, but well displayed. The family tree shows the connections between the different artists. Breugel the elder, his two…
‘Icy short story’ could feature a crime, an arctic setting, or a scientific experiment – even cryogenics. These skilled stories heard by the packed audience at Story Fridays in Bath, UK. My own icy story explored the ultimate chill in…
The recent TV production, VICTORIA, enchanted viewers in the first three episodes thanks to the girlish, if skittish character of Jenna Coleman’s princess. The appearance of the awkward and distant Albert added drama, if not as much attraction, as riveting…
What genre? Writers are always advised to be clear about their book’s genre and to concentrate upon a target group for it. Fantasy stories, for readers of fantasies, sci fi for sci fi readers, and so on. But wouldn’t it…
Some few years ago I began my first writer blog: http://fictionalcharacterswriting.blogspot.com. But I didn’t want to show myself– I let my characters do the talking. Sadly, the characters didn’t live up to the image of Moliére’s group above. It was…
Settling in at home – again? Who is to decide what ‘home’ is ‘suitable’? How does it feel to the one ‘homed’? In HOMED, the second in my Crime Shorts series, a boy is being ‘helped’ to settle to a…
Yes it’s that time again. Christmas Dinner. Marie couldn’t get a cloth to match the curtains and now Cyril’s coming (groan), the rattan chair will need to be squeezed between whoever looks thinnest on arrival. It will ruin the symmetry of…
ARABIA. What is left to say? This was the first poem I loved, and it’s still my favourite. Here the country is the character, and like all well-drawn characters it is complex and has its dark side. Far…