Authors Electric

  As you read this it is pancake day or Shrove Tuesday which means it's almost Lent (yes I know this is a writing blog, bear with me). Every year I give up sugar, however, for the past few years I have also done a writing challenge. Before you get to be overwhelmed by my dedication to the craft of writing I should point out I failed miserably every year. What was the challenge? It was a 40 day writing prompt and you are supposed to write a piece of prose, short story, flash fiction, a blog post or even a poem every day. I think this was where I fell down - the thought of all those different pieces of writing froze my brain.  Those of you who know me well know that I would never in all my days call myself a poet. Yes, I write rhyming picture books but those appeal to the average 3-7 year old. Not really what I'd call poetry. I was thinking of giving you an example of my poetry but decided you were already suffering enough during a worldwide pandemic. Why would I make your eyes ...

Since Wattpad is proving to be such a fruitful source of readers, (hits for The Fabulous Dreams of Maggie de Beer are now heading towards a quarter of a million after about four months), I am now in the process of putting up a new book, one chapter at a time, (serialisation worked for Dickens after all ...) The Secrets of the Italian Gardener is set inside the palace of a dictator about to be overthrown in the Arab Spring. The story is told by a ghostwriter who, while inside the palace writing a book for the dictator, meets a wise, elderly Italian gardener who gradually unravels the story of who really holds the power and wealth in the world. He literally discovers "where the bodies are buried". As the rebels draw closer to breaching the palace walls the ghostwriter is also struggling with his own breaking heart and an overwhelming burden of guilt. The inspiration for the story comes from the times I have spent during my ghostwriting career amongs...