Authors Electric

In the run up to Christmas, I saw a great gift idea: a year of reading, consisting of one book per month, chosen specially for the recipient and wrapped in brown paper so that each monthly read remains a surprise. Instead, I got a cheque (always useful on an author's income) and a Lindt chocolate teddy bear (can't go wrong with chocolate, although so far I haven't had the heart to eat him so he's currently sitting on my mantelpiece awaiting his fate). But I still like the mystery book idea, so I decided to turn some of my Christmas money into a year of reading for myself. Each month, I'll buy a book appropriate for the time of year, chosen at random by browsing in a real shop... and since my post on Authors Electric is towards the end of the month, I'll aim to review it here. January yielded A Winter Wedding at Bletchley Park  by Molly Green, picked up in the Works sale for just £1. A Winter Wedding at Bletchley Park by Molly Green Bletchley Park has fascinated ...

Enigma - Sarah Brightman - Kings of Leon - Clannad - Enya - Morrissey - Craig Armstrong Music and books; possibly the best combination for legitimate daydreaming. Loosely speaking I’m in the ‘romantic genre’. I always balk at this description, it is so restricting and has been my downfall in the past when submitting to agents and so on. ‘It’s… not quite romance is it? And why are you writing it from the male point of view half the time?’ Well, like my musical muse, I like to mix it up a little. From the emotional scenes, from the windswept Celtic landscapes (Enigma, Clannad, Craig Armstrong, Brightman); to the drama of arson, relationship conflict and fast cars, (Morrissey, Kings of Leon).    I think I began using headphones as a buffer to block out those bloodcurdling screams of children playing nicely, or of husband making a noisy clatter in the kitchen (all devised to make me feel guilty for sitting at the typewriter). Of course, as this process developed,...