Interview with Ruth Jenkins, Spoken Word Poet & Textiles Artist

It is wonderful to welcome Ruth Jenkins onto my blog, talented spoken word poet and textiles artist. I first met Ruth a couple of years ago through activism circles. She is now part of my writing group and is rarely to be found without some…

In Defence of Life and Love

IN DEFENCE OF LIFE AND LOVE. A CONTEMPLATION WRITTEN IN HAIKU Morning I leave and wildflower meadow grounds me: cornflower, sainfoin. This is why I go. I will march for this beauty; this wildness roots…

An Interview with Poet Caroline Mellor

It is such an honour to have on the blog today talented poet Caroline Mellor. I became aware of her work through her facebook posts and I must confess, this is a first for me - to buy a book as a direct result of being drawn in by social media…
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How to start a new novel

I finished writing The River Days of Rosie Crow a pretty long time ago now. Before that gem of a Christmas present knocked at my door of agent representation back in December, I was spending my time - A LOT of time - sending that novel off…

Interview with young writer Mandisa Mathew

'There is something freeing about being in a world you have complete control over.' It's wonderful to have on the blog today seventeen year old Mandisa Mathew. We knew Mandisa's family when we lived in Nairobi; Mandisa was a friend of…

Just Stop Oil - Criminals or Heroes?

My sixteen year old daughter has challenged me in the past months, asking me why we talk about our concerns around climate change, but never get involved in activism. We talk about it, feel angry, afraid and a whole range of other emotions,…

Shirley Read-Jahn: Life, Writing, Illustrating, Dancing & Parkinson's Disease

Shirley Read-Jahn is an old friend or, more accurately, an old friend of my mother's who I've also come to know and love over the years. If you've read my third novel The Secret Life of Alfred Nightingale, you'll remember that my protagonist…
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Rejection and Acceptance

This is a photo of me back in 2005, when I was twenty-seven years old. I had finished writing my first book, The Poet's Wife (which I called In the Shade of the Orange Tree - this was later changed by the publisher) and my then-boyfriend-now-husband,…
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Top Five Books of 2022

In no particular oder, here are my top five reads from this past year, books that have stayed with me and I know will do for some time. I have three fiction here, one non-fiction and a travelogue. I'm not normally into anything vaguely…
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Yours Sincerely: The Climate Letters

Over the summer, a wonderful poet called Linda France did a call out entitled 'Yours Sincerely: The Climate Letters.' This was an invitation to use our pens and imaginations and continue the powerful work that words can bring to the ongoing…