Cover design is an unappreciated artform and yet it is also an author’s first – and possibly their most important – promotional tool. In his touchingly modest Booker acceptance speach, Julian Barnes went to great lengths to praise his cover designer, Susanne Dean, for turning A Sense of an Ending into ‘a beautiful object.’ Something that people would want to own. That…
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Today, I’m delighted to be interviewing indie author, Joanne Phillips, whose books regularly appear on Amazon’s bestseller lists (Can’t Live Without was an Amazon top 100 bestseller in 2012.) She’s the author of romantic comedies Can’t Live Without and The Family Trap, and the Flora Lively series of mysteries. Before becoming a writer, Joanne had…
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Jane: I’m delighted to be speaking to Linda Gillard. Linda Gillard lives on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands and has been an actress, journalist and teacher. She’s the author of six novels, including STAR GAZING, short-listed in 2009 for both the Romantic Novel of the Year and the Robin Jenkins Literary Award (for…
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I don’t know if today’s storm will go down in history as a worthy rival to the Great Storm of 1987, an event that is at the climax of my novel, These Fragile Things. I hope all you bookish folk in the South of England have survived the experience intact. I thought it timely to…
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I’ve written before about how reviewers are the modern-day patrons of writers, but have  you ever agonized over what to write, wondering if an author will actually read your review and what it might mean to them? Yeterday, I a new review was posted on Amazon.com for my photography-themed historical novel, I Stopped Time. From a photographer!  …
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Jane: Today, I’m interviewing the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013 (Thriller/Suspense) winner, Jo Chumas. Firstly, Jo, can I offer you a very warm welcome. I know that you’re having a very hectic but exciting time, so thank you so much for interrupting the celebrations for your book launch and agreeing to answer a few questions.  …
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Careful: birthday t-shirt supplied by my sister, Anne Clinton…  

Last week I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by fellow indie author, Evie Woolmore, on the challenges of writing authentic historical fiction. You can read the results here. Do also spare a moment to visit Evie’s page on Celebrating Cover Design!

One of the great pleasures of being an author is connecting with other writers and sharing details of our journeys. Recently, I had a virtual meet-up with novelist Gary William Murning. His quirky and highly readable fiction focuses on universal themes – love, death, loss and aspiration – but always with an eye for an…
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When we first met, my editor at Transworld told me over lunch that her biggest mistake in publishing was turning down The Kite Runner, not because she didn’t love it, but because she ‘didn’t think anyone would be interested in a novel about Afghanistan.’ My copy of Khaled Hosseini’s debut says that over eight million…
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