Authors Electric

  Why has a wider knowledge become so narrow? Every time I teach a new literary text to a student, I am excited to share the context of its historical period with them. Understanding the social and historical background to a text can help to bring it to life, illustrating what motivated the author, what they rebelled against or were shaped by, whether they realised it or not. It is crucially important when studying older texts, like Shakespeare or Dickens, which can seem so remote from the lives of young people today, but it is also important to remember that events which happened in the 1980’s and 90’s might as well be medieval to a 15-year-old. Studying Willy Russell’s  Blood Brothers   requires an understanding of Thatcherism and the politics that shaped the decade in which she presided over No. 10. Knowing the background not only enriches understanding, but it also helps to present the authors as real people with real lives. Furthermore, it is part of the curriculum i...

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.   Firstly, may I wish you a happy Christmas and New Year. Secondly, may I hope you receive many wonderful books as presents.   One of the joys of the post-Christmas and pre-New Year period is having more chances to curl up on the sofa with a good book. I make the most of this. My Christmas reading consists of books I receive on the big day (these always jump up my To Be Read pile) plus I catch up on writing magazines.    In the run up to Christmas I take in a number of related stories usually via film. To my mind, the best rendering of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is The Muppet Christmas Carol. Sir Michael Caine is superb in that. After that, comes the Patrick Stewart version.  Hogfather by the much missed Sir Terry Pratchett is the Discworld’s answer to Christmas and the story is a cracking thriller. Who is trying to get rid of the Hogfather and why and can Death, assisted by h...

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One photo taken by me, Allison Symes, at the Hiltingbury Book Fair. It may be the season of mellow fruitfulness (which is a wonderful expression and for me conjures up autumn beautifully), but it is also the signal Book Buying Season is here again.  Now for me, every part of the year is book buying season but with a certain event only being two months away, and books are excellent gifts as everyone knows, you can’t blame the publishers for focusing so much on sales in the next few weeks or so.  Equally naturally when I put certain lists together, the first thing on mine will be the books I’d like to see under the tree this year. There would  be something seriously wrong with me not to request any! Of course with book buying season well underway by the time this blog goes out, it will be accompanied by Author Event season too. I think the biggest challenge to all writers is encouraging those who don’t r...

Richard & Judy. I remember them as the king and queen of daytime television in the year or so of my life with a small baby when daytime television kept me sane. I don’t know when they stopped presenting This Morning , but these days it’s all about books isn’t it? I’ve not done any Googling or other research to write this, but the R&J book selection seems to be everywhere and being selected pretty much guarantees a book a place on the best-seller lists. Are spots for sale or sponsored in any way? I genuinely have no idea of the integrity of the spaces on this list and I’d be interested to know.  Do I read R&J books? Yes. Not specifically because they are R&J-recommended – I personally couldn’t care less who shouts about a book or how loudly. I do wonder if the couple themselves actually read the books they promote, though. I note they each add a foreword in their books, but do they write it themselves? Or do they merely add their names to something written in their ...

  I've been thinking a lot about consistency recently. Probably because a recent book tour of the states has had me being somewhat inconsistent. An exhausting schedule and different time zones meant that a couple of my podcast episodes got missed as did a couple of blogs, including this one. So, in what ways should we be consistent and how does it help us to be better as writers. This one will not come as a surprise to anyone reading this blog - it is important to show up consistently to write every day. In order to be a writer it is necessary to write. Yet, often writing can get pushed out by all the other things necessary in the business of writing. Writing every day is what helps us to be more creative, to complete our manuscripts and to release books. So, why do we so often let it slide? If this is you, pull out your diary and block out time every day that is sacred writing time. Being consistent with our writing is part of our contract with our readers - an unwritten contract ...

  Recently I rediscovered a long- lost love. No it wasn’t via Social Media, but it was unexpected and heart warming nonetheless. Life changing? Not exactly -   but it has definitely enriched my life in ways I am very grateful for... I recently rediscovered our small, one room, local book Library, with it’s bookshelf lined walls and it’s part-time hours. It was my grandson’s fault. Well as he is only 15 months old, I can’t really place the blame on him. But his mother was the catalyst. She wanted her son to find some new books to look at. It was sparked by her happy memories of visiting the library herself. Of finding an Aladdin’s cave of books, and sitting and enjoying the treasure there, and then gathering more books to take home. I must have started taking her and her brother when they were quite small, as we progressed from the brightly coloured picture books to ones that were more words than pictures. I remembered the time fondly too -  and wondered why, and when, we ...

  I know, I know, I'm preaching to the converted here, but hear me out. In order to be a good writer, one must first be a voracious reader. Hands up if you agree with that. Perfect we are all on the same page then, so this will be a short post. Well, no, actually.  'What?' I hear you say. We do need to be voracious readers. Yes, you are right and before you think I am going mad, let me explain. I am a voracious reader. I've been reading since I was three years old -- I was an extremely early reader. I'd read my way through the entire children's section of the local library before I was ten and was fortunate enough to be given an adult library card. Don't ask how that happened. I think it involved sacrificing chickens and my mother spending many hours wrangling with the head librarian. To be honest, I think the librarian gave in just to get this mad woman out of her library.   Anyways, I had read my way through the following series -- Cherry Ames Nursing Boo...

When I sat down to write this post, I was thinking about books and re-reading. Having recently moved house (and oh, the joys of arguing that the internet did not work, to discover 3 weeks and an engineer visit later that they’d connected the wrong house up, sure there could be a short story there, somewhere) I’ve been faced with the mammoth task of going through all my books. I should explain that we’ve already filled a bookcase with books to be read, and there are two more boxes of books that will get popped into this bookcases as we don’t have enough bookcase space for all the TBR pile… I should further mention each box measures 2 feet long, by a foot deep and a foot broad. And that there are fifteen of them. What can I say, I like books. (Don’t we all?) Anyway, I was contemplating these boxes and their contents. My wife and I discussed where we could store them. I suggested the loft, on the grounds they would be readily available to re-read whenever I wanted to. Wit...

Img-Eleanor Spiess-Ferris/ Ds-Roger Carpenter Perhaps this will sound gushy to the prolific masters of mystery novels among my distinguished colleagues here at Authors Electric . But I can't help being over the moon at the moment -- and deserving of a pause to enjoy! I reached another book publishing milepost the other day --  creating a cover for my latest book, putting production on it's final leg towards release, promotion, and, I hope, sales. It's a kick no matter how many books I've published, no matter how many candles on my author's cake. You can't judge a book by its cover. but the cover can get us to buy one, often as not. It sets the tone, particularly when it comes to fiction. It gives us a taste.  The best ones intrigue, tease, whisper compelling secrets and become an icon for the novel, its sequels and adaptations. Sometimes it's clever, morphing typography that tells the story, for example, Joey Hi's design for Lauren Beukes' Zoo City ....

Image Credits:-  Most images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. One photo taken by me at the Bridge House Publishing celebration event on 4th December 2021. One lovely thing about being a writer is we are easy to buy for. I don’t think it’s possible to convince non-writers new notebooks etc are vital. We know there is no such thing as too many. Just try telling them that… We will want books, stationery, pens etc. Then there are book related presents such as mugs with your book cover on or that of a favourite author’s as most have merchandise. I like that as long as the product is good. Pens, mugs, postcards, and book marks work for me. Things like clothing with books on do not work for me though I liked examples of writers creating face masks with their covers on. So, other than books, what would you have as writing related presents? To Have Pens advertising my books (have these. They look good. They go down well at events. Pens are always handy). Postcards (likewise and ...

Image Credit:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos.  I’ll be en route to Scotland when this goes out. I’m part of the Brechin/Angus Book Festival (19th - 21st November). I’m running a workshop (on flash fiction) and giving an author talk. It will be lovely to meet up with writing friends, who are also taking part. I love the idea of events to celebrate books whether you read them, write them, or do both. I can’t imagine my life without books. Nor do I wish to! Literacy is to be cherished.   I’ve sometimes gone to medieval weekends and return from those aware, had I lived then, I would most likely have been an illiterate peasant. I probably wouldn’t have reached the age I am now (and it is likely I would have died in childbirth).   I smile when people talk about what or whom they might have been in a previous life. It’s always someone famous, glamorous, or both. Never anyone who was a peasant! Funny that…    For all the horrors...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Girl-Susan-Price/dp/B08F6RYHJF/ My brothers put me on to Pinterest which, being artists and hooked on visuals, they are scrolling all the time. You probably know it yourself:- a website where people 'pin' images on 'pin-boards'. Some people keep their pins private, their principle purpose being to keep ideas for their kitchen refit or garden make-over in one easily accessible place. But others pin images connected to their hobby, or favourite place or interest, whether that's cooking, classic cars, scuba-diving or whatever and make them public. It's a pictorial blog. Creative types use it to share their latest art-work and writers set up boards for each of their books. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1532756879 A visual image is much more compelling than words, whether written or spoken. Sorry, writers, but it's true. I suppose that's why we try so hard to create a vivid visual image with words. If you want to remember a ...