Authors Electric

I have just re-read Wild Swans , by Jung Chang, for my book group. It wasn’t my choice, as I read it several decades ago, and I thought I remembered it. But once I opened it I realised there was so much I didn’t remember at all. Even though I had a Polish father, and was well aware of the paranoia associated with a totalitarian government due in part to a trip to Poland in the middle of the Cold War in 1966, I still hadn’t grasped the full implications of mind control. Mao was a ruthless and heartless dictator, and the hero worship he encouraged looks far more familiar today than it did then. The England in which I grew up was a safe and relatively honest country, and I simply couldn’t believe it could be so dangerous to say the wrong thing. The China of Wild Swans bears a strong resemblance to the North Korea and Russia of today, and strong rulers are in vogue with populations who believe what they read on Tiktok, Instagram and Telegram. This time, I saw things very differently from ...

For my first blog with the esteemed writers of Authors Electric, I’d like to share something about myself as a writer. I won’t bore you with my personal history, my likes and dislikes, shoe size, etc. Almost anything you want to know about me is on my website if you’re curious enough (except maybe the shoe size). I’ll address something that is not always evident about most writers, and that is … are they plotters or pantsers? Let me explain the difference. A plotter researches a book before writing it, laying out an overview with major plot points. Plotters know what will happen at the beginning, middle, and end of the book. Character sketches are usually part of the outline. R.L. Stine:   “If you do enough planning before you start to write, there's no way you can have writer's block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline.” John Grisham:   “I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on ...

From ghosties and ghoulies and long leggerty beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us ... Yes, the witching season is upon us once again this month! If you're looking for something both seasonal and canine, might I recommend Haunting Hounds? Although I don't normally make a habit of plugging my books here in such an in-your-face manner, I will make an exception for this one, as it's in aid of a really good cause:  50% of all royalties are going to Scruples Whippet Rescue , which does a wonderful job of rescuing and helping to find new homes for whippets in need. It was really good fun to write; and although it's a little bit tongue in cheek in places, there are a couple of stories that really gave me goosebumps when researching them, such as the tale of the Newgate Black Dog and that of fighter pilot Guy Gibson's Labrador who became the mascot for the Dam Busters squadron.     As well as o...