Posts

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May I touch your hair?

I recently read a book by Aja Barber called Consumed which caused me to take a long, hard look at the clothes I wear, their provenance, and how the clothing industry is helping to fuel the climate crisis. I've really never been into fashion…
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Use this powerful tool to choose your next holiday read

Travelling and Reading: Two of my favourite things in the world. Imagine my delight, then, when I discovered TripFiction.com, a website devoted to location-based fiction. There are so many of us who, when we go on holiday, would love to delve…
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How Kenya, land of contradictions, can inspire a novel

Kenya: land of contrasts and contradictions. Of startling beauty and crippling poverty. Of sincere kindness and rotten politics. Of a thousand-hued landscapes and unyielding poaching. I've lost count of the number of times I've been caught…
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Mau Mau: The Kenyan Terrorists of the 1950's...Or were they?

The Mau Mau terrorised Kenya in the 1950's, their long, dreadlocked hair and wild eyes sending citizens up and down the country and far beyond into a frenzy of fear. Medieval-style oathing ceremonies took place, enlisting the support of the…
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"If God had meant whites and blacks to mix, he would not have placed them on different continents.” What some mixed race couples faced to be together.

One of the major themes of my second novel, The Girl and the Sunbird, is forbidden love. Mixed race relationships were once an enormous taboo and, in some parts of the world, remain so. I wanted to explore the repercussions of this in a colonial…
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The Girl and the Sunbird - Out Now!

So, what does it feel like to have a second novel published? It turns out, no less emotional than the first time round. Second books, compared to first, notoriously struggle. They try to live up to the first, that book you had in your bones…
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A Celebration of #WonderfulWomen - who do you nominate?

One week today, my second novel The Girl and the Sunbird will be published. To help celebrate this, in the week leading up to this I'm launching the #WonderfulWomen campaign. I'd LOVE for you to take part. Here's what it's all about... Think…
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Confessions of a Writer and / or Parent

You think that you are ‘there’ with your novel. You have worked on it tirelessly, stretching out plot, characterisation, setting etc for everything it’s worth. You send it to your editor, crack open a drink and breathe out a huge, deep…