The Writer as an Outsider
'As writers, we are all anthropologists, observing the natives and commenting on their customs. As...
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Rejection – Or How to Fail Better at Writing
'I tried to remind myself of the rejections other authors had faced. JK Rowling was...
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What no one tells you about getting published…
(A love story in twenty-five parts) SONY DSC When the Royal Literary Fund asked me...
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My favourite children’s book
'It's such a moving, powerful story but it's also beautifully written. It's about kindness and...
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My desert island book
I’d want to read it on a desert island because it would remind me of...
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My favourite translated book – The Glass Bead Game
My favourite book in translation is ‘The Glass Bead Game’ by Herman Hesse. The Royal...
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One Year Later – How Somerset inspired my thriller
'The Pines is a rambling farmhouse that our parents, David and Eleanor, converted years ago,...
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Wuthering Heights – the novel that has influenced me the most
When I was a teenager, I steadfastly refused to believe that so-called ‘classical literature’ could...
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Life-changing literature
I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and...
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The best writing advice I ever received
The thing about being a writer and not having a ‘proper’ job is that we...
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Letter to my younger self
What would you tell yourself if you could? The Royal Literary Fund recently gave me...
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How I write
The Royal Literary Fund has recorded a mini -podcast with me on how I write...
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