Authors Electric

Me in an army helicopter Like lots of authors, I sometimes get asked to give talks on what I do, so I've put together a talk which I call The Perils and Pitfalls of Being a Writer.  As the name suggests its full of little stories and anecdotes of the fun, adventures and misadventures  you can get up to when you're a writer. In my case it's mainly when I'm out and about doing magazine articles. Because I write about anything and everything, the topics range from antiques to animals and from collectors to celebrities - and all things in between.  Quite a lot of the stories revolve around writing for Dogs Monthly, such as interviewing the couple with a nine stone puppy which didn't just chew my pencil as I sat taking notes, it devoured my entire hand. “Excuse me but you dog is eating my hand!” isn't a phrase I often come out with. Off out with the Thames Police Then there was the time we went out with the Thames Police on their launch w...

Coventry's very own Lady Godiva, Pru Poretta.  They say that inspiration is all around us, and if any of you have taken part in your local Heritage Open Days run during September by the National Trust, you're probably buzzing with new ideas. Here in Coventry, the Heritage Open Days weekend began on Friday with the city celebrating 1,000 years of the birth of Coventry.  As many people know, Coventry is famous for the story of Lady Godiva, and the city is so fortunate to have its own resident Lady Godiva. A lovely lady named Pru Poretta who has taken on the role for the last 30 years or so and is a real ambassador for the city. Lady Godiva (Pru Poretta) in the new Coventry Cathedral. On the Friday of the Heritage Open Days, Pru headed a multi cultural procession from the town centre to the new cathedral for a ceremony which included the unveiling and presentation of a unique Travelling Tapestry, created and inspired by hundreds of people. ...

Me working in Switzerland I've been writing about Man's Best Friend – dogs, for well over 20 years. And recently my output has doubled. Payment for these articles hasn't doubled however, in fact I'm doing a whole series of animal welfare charity articles for free for an on-line magazine, because it's a cause dear to my heart. Writing about dogs began way back in the 1990s when I spotted in Freelance Market News (which I still get every month) a listing for a dog magazine called Dogs Monthly . At the time one of my dogs, Pippa, was taking part in an amateur dramatic production at the Wheatsheaf Theatre next door to my house. My teenage son and his pal used to do the theatre's sound and lighting, and when the play called for a dog to walk on with one of the actors and be fed crisps, my son thought Pippa would be perfect for the role. She didn't get an Oscar but she did get interviewed on the radio – yes honestly! And I got my first article ...

I was trying to think of something interesting and inspiring to write about for my Authors Electric blog this month, and thought I'd look back at the blog, to remind myself what other authors had written in the hope it might kick start my blogging brain! So I Googled Authors Electric – or rather I didn't Google Authors Electric, I hit the wrong keys and Googled Arthurs Electric . And got a whole different category of topics and websites. I was suddenly faced with all the information I needed if I wanted to get my chainsaw serviced! It had to be word association, because when I thought of chainsaw I immediately thought of two things – and they both have a writing link. Hurray! I'd got my blog idea by default – very weird, but I'm not complaining. So, chainsaws! And my first thought was of the horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the time I interviewed the leading man from the original film, Leatherface himself – Gunnar Hansen. My second...