fiction
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Have any of you been to Swanwick Writers’ Summer School? No? Perhaps you’ve heard about it. If not, it’s known to ‘writers the world over‘ and ‘is legendary for the warmth of its welcome. If you love writing then Swanwick offers you the opportunity to learn new skills, hone existing ones, explore your creativity, make new…
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I met the wonderful Shelley Wilson at The Bloggers Bash in London some years ago. She’s a writing mentor as well as the author of several self-help books and YA fiction. I recently read her YA novel, Hood Academy, described on the cover as ‘a gothic page turner’. And it certainly is! The blurb says:…
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I actually bought ‘One Day in December’ in December 2018 after hearing it was the book of the moment. I had good intentions – I was going to read it. Then, as always, life gets in the way and it gathered dust on my bookshelf. Fast forward to December 2019 and I’d just finished a…
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Do you enjoy writing dialogue? Then why not write a story that’s dialogue-only? This is the requirement for one of Writing Magazine‘s latest competitions. ‘No attribution, no description – just tell us what was said. You’ll need to use all your narrative skills to paint a scene, define a character and tell a story, while…
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I had high hopes of this book – the first in the series by Lev Grossman. The Times described it as ‘…Harry Potter for grown-ups’. Now, being a massive Harry Potter fan, I settled down, expecting to be taken on a gripping, enchanting and thrilling journey. The blurb says: ‘Quentin Coldwater’s life is changed forever…
Esther Chilton 