Authors Electric

           Should it matter what I look like? I’m a writer, and what I do is make up stories with characters in them.   My books should speak for themselves.   My physical appearance should be immaterial.           And yet.   Over and over again I am asked for photographs of me.   It might be publicity shots for events I’m involved in, local newspapers and of course there’s also the online world – it just does not look right to have a Twitter or Facebook profile without a photo.   Don’t you just hate those blank-egg shapes that Twitter bestows on those of us too shy or private to post up a mugshot?   Though I’ve chosen not to have my photo along with the cover of my e-book, Good Recipes and Bad Women , it’s there on my Amazon page.           So.   What makes a good author shot?   Ought one to look...

MITSAKES In Junior school, I was proud and precocious, and rather good at English.   When my teacher, Mr Bart, called me to his desk to tell me that I had mis-spelt ‘all right’ as alright, I was indignant.   Of COURSE it was ‘alright.’   He patiently explained that I had used an American version of the two word English expression.   I refused to believe him.   I harboured a resentment for years. I know this does not put me in a very good light.   But it was the first time I’d come up against correctness in English, and the passion it engenders in people.   A comma, or not a comma?   The moral turpitude of those who dare to end sentences with prepositions!   The ignorant misuse of apostrophes!   The English language must be defended against the invading hordes of modernity and sloppiness! Years studying English, then teaching it and then even more years of proof-reading my own novels and other writing, have given me...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The majority of you, on reading that, will worry that I’ve lost the plot entirely.   But those among you who happen to be Jewish or have Jewish friends, will know that today is Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish New Year.   It’s a major festival, and heralds in ten days of reflection for Jews, in which we attend synagogue, review the past year, consider our actions, cast away our sins and then on Yom Kippur , the Day of Atonement, we ask for forgiveness. At least, that’s the theory.   And indeed, many Jews do precisely that.   For others, it’s a time for feeling vaguely guilty, to turn up at synagogue not quite sure what to wear and not knowing what page we’re on in the prayer book, and then going home to do the one thing that Jews always do at all religious festivals without fail – eat.   On Rosh Hashanah we dip apples in honey to usher in a sweet New Year.   And we also eat honey cake.   And apple cake.   And we have lunch ...

          I have recently become a grandmother for the first time, and it’s just as thrilling as people said it would be.  All the fun and none of the responsibility.  And lots to look forward to.           In particular, storytelling.  When I was a mother of very young children, the best bit by far and away was reading aloud, or making up stories, having a soft, warm body snuggling up on my lap, waiting expectantly to be entertained.  My older daughter loved books with flaps you opened to see the pictures – so much so, she wouldn’t look at any others.  So I had to ‘fix’ her other books by sticking home-made flaps in strategic places.  My younger daughter was one of those readers who had favourite books that she requested over and over again.  Even I got fed up, so I decided to take her to our local library to borrow some new books.  She was madly exc...

I suppose it’s because my day job is teaching that I’ve always relished reading aloud from my books.  No – all right – I’ll be completely honest here.  I like reading aloud from my books because I’m a show-off.  And also because interaction with readers is the holy grail of all writers.  Online interaction is good, but real-life interaction is better. When you have a paper book, and especially when you have a paper book published by a publisher, book readings do happen.  The publishers want to sell your books and so do bookshops.  They stock your books, and get you in to help move the stock.  Libraries want to encourage readers to walk through their doors, and will use authors as bait.  The sheer physical presence of a book attracts customers.  It’s like a triangle – with sellers, physical book and the author at each of the three angles. But how do e-books fit in to this?  If we are self-publishing e-books, with no publisher ba...