Every now and then I’m jolted into action and realise that if I want to call myself a writer, I should do more than do laundry, cook dinner, wash the kitchen surfaces, iron pillowcases and rewax the floors. What follows are excerpts from my brain.
Writer’s block – yet another writer with yet another tip
Writer’s block is painful. Everyone gets a form of it at some point, and most writers have ways of dealing with it. A frequent fix is to ‘just write anything’ until the feeling of being blocked passes.
TEASER: Rebuilding Alexandra Small
With (hopefully final) edits well underway on what will become my next romantic comedy novel – Rebuilding Alexandra Small – I thought I might tease you with an extract from one of the earlier chapters. No spoilers (beyond those on the dust jacket), just a conversation with a stranger that sets Alexandra on the path […]
Grief: A visit to the museum
My mother died in February. At the time, the virus that now traps us in our homes was little more than a rumble. Second or third story on the news, rendered insignificant by reports of heavy rain or Boris Johnson’s latest infidelity. We were lucky in many ways. We had the funeral she planned, she […]
How’s your lockdown going?
How’s your lockdown going? I’m borderline depressed. So I don’t plan on ending my lockdown life … or doing anything with it. I haven’t learned another language or finished work on my next book. Each day, the government issues press briefings; shit sandwiches where the bread is also made of shit. If you go on […]
Five lockdown whinges
These are my five reasons not to be cheerful. I share them hoping that by getting them off my chest, depression will lift. And if you recognise how yourself in these words, you’ll feel better too.