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What do you do with a story you love, but industry doesn’t? [This blog post first appeared on LearnHowToWriteANovel.com in February 2019]. My first manuscript was nominated for a number of fiction awards. Called Pastor Swap, it was a story of a reality TV guru taking his cameras to suburban churches. It never won any … Continue reading Walking away from your baby →

[This blog post first appeared on LearnHowToWriteANovel.com in January 2019]. There was one vaudeville act that always fascinated me.  It wasn’t the clowns, the guy juggling the swords or the lion tamer who managed to stick his head somewhere near his pet. The act that always fascinated me was the plate spinner. This was the … Continue reading The Writer and the Platespinner →

[This blog post first appeared on LearnHowToWriteANovel.com in December 2018] The writing process can be easy to romanticize and even easier to describe. Find a laptop, and straighten it in front of you on the desk. Place your coffee mug just to the right – and make sure it carries a wrap-around slogan proclaiming your … Continue reading The benefits of writing out loud →

I’ve heard since I started on this fiction writing journey that writers aren’t successful. The money is low, the sales aren’t less than you think, the fame is fleeting, if that, and the time you invest is something you never get back. (Except if you’ve got a surname like mine. People seem to think I’m … Continue reading My view of success changed with one email →

Hi to all my followers, If you're just following the blog and not subscribed to my newsletter, you might be missing out on a chance for your name to appear in my next novel. I'm running a competition for subscribers - and all you need to do is enter the competition and make sure your … Continue reading To my blog followers … want your name in my next novel? →

[This blog post first appeared on LearnHowToWriteANovel.com in October 2018]. Writers can be a quirky bunch. We drive miles to that one restaurant we must experience … because our imaginary friends go there and we need to hear the clanging of the pans in the kitchen. We silently fume over a misplaced comma or an … Continue reading Connecting with my tribe →

[This blog post first appeared on LearnHowToWriteANovel.com in September 2018].   Getting feedback can be a tricky pathway for an author to navigate. We can sometimes err on the safe side to save our creative hearts, but can also be trapped in an endless feedback loop of conflicting advice as to how to improve our … Continue reading What’s the best way to handle feedback? →

There comes a day in a parent’s life when you have to let go. I remember taking our oldest child to his first day at school. There was a sense of handing over as he wandered into his new classroom, backpack from the nape of his neck to just above his knees, and welcomed by … Continue reading Moving onto child number two … →