Totally out of character – or a perfect fit?

One of the great things about reading is that it lets your imagination take flight. You can visit places real – and wildly unreal – and be taken on a roller coaster ride of a journey with characters that you may empathise with, hate, or maybe a mixture of the two. Readers become invested in […]

More than words

Where do you like to read? Or are you one of those people who can dip into a book anywhere? The thought was inspired by the photo that accompanies this piece. It’s taken by my good pal Jill Reidy of redsnapperphotography.co.uk and is of a woman peacefully reading her well-thumbed paperback while all around her […]

Playing it by the book

I love reviewing and I’ve done it for many years, handing out my considered opinions on everything from trips to Disneyland Florida to television shows. Through it all, I always enjoyed book reviewing, and I was thrilled when I was invited to write for CrimeFictionLover.com Finally, I’d found my people! I’ve now been with the […]

A New York State of Mind

I’ve just returned from a jam-packed and exciting visit to New York City. It’s a place that’s close to my heart and when I’m there I always hear a soundtrack of New Yorky songs running through my head. For this visit I even came up with a playlist! But a trip to New York also […]

A neat bit of typecasting

It’s wet and windy and suddenly Spring seems a long, long way away. So here’s a little fun for Hump Day. Anyone else think the music should be The William Tell Overture? Carriage, return!

Instilling the need to read

Where do you get your love of reading from? At the end of last year, a good friend died. Dorothy and I had connected through books and over the years we’d shared, swapped and dissected a whole raft of genres. Her husband Terry was an occasional reader and all of us had our little ways […]

What’s your story in 2019?

Welcome, 2019! Another 12 months of opportunity lies before us – what does the future have in store? My crystal ball is at the repair shop, I’m afraid but I’m hoping for more great books, both to read and review and to work on in a professional capacity. If your new year’s resolution is to […]

Talking the same language

“You say to-may-to and I say to-mah-to” may be dismissed as a light-hearted line from the song Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off (written by George and Ira Gershwin for the film Shall We Dance, since you asked), but it makes a serious point for writers. How does your character speak? Are they quietly spoken […]

From the archives: All my own work

Just recently, I’ve been giving some thought to my previous writing and I thought it would be good to share some of it with you all. So, here’s the first in an occasional series looking back at articles I’ve written. Enjoy! Criminal Records: On a Crime Fiction Soundtrack

The proof is out there…

What does a proofreader do and why do you need to use one? My work begins when the editor has had his or her say and the manuscript is almost ready to be sent out into the wild. I’ll be looking for the following things: Spelling mistakes Typos Punctuation errors Grammatical errors Missing or duplicate words Tautology Incorrect […]