Writing Life

Kamila Shamsie is not the sort of speaker I had been hoping to see this week. She was frighteningly accomplished. Perhaps she should be. The author of five published novels, she is six years younger than me. By my rather crude calculations, she must have had her first novel published when she was in her mid-twenties….
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What a relief it is to be back on line after a week with no email or internet access! They say that the need to check your emails is like an addiction. I have felt completely stranded. So what were these communications that I was so anxious that I was missing out on? News of…
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It seemed very appropriate for Alison Weir, historian and now historical novelist, to hold her talk at Southside House, which is described, quite accurately it seems, as charmingly eccentric. Surrounded by heavy gilt-framed portraits and antiques, Alison gave her talk in the dim lighting of the music room. Although my view was obscured by a pillar, I was thoroughly…
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I hope you will forgive a little plug for my home town’s book festival, Wimbledon Bookfest, which takes place from 3rd – 11th October. The festival is launched with a community event in St Mark’s Place in the town centre on Saturday 3rd. Although the theme of this year’s festival is Darwin, one of the highlights…
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Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a recording of Radio 4’s Bookclub and to put questions to Linda Grant, author of When I Lived in Modern Times, which won the Orange Book Award in 2000. Linda spoke beautifully, so much so that she had answered most of the questions on my list…
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When reading reviews for my book, I have to ask myself who is the better writer. I have today received a heartfelt review from a lady called Mimzi who is saddened by the fact that she is unable to share her favourite reads with a friend who is no longer with us. What she was able…
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There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in the shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. (Julius…
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For once, neglecting the garden has paid off! What I thought were weeds turned out to be poppies, so the view from my writing desk has vastly improved. It turns out that a career in insurance is now essential for a route into the world of creative writing. My good friend, David Slade has had…
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Having left a ‘proper’ job to avoid public speaking, I hadn’t expected to standing with a microphone in front of  a room full of people quite so soon. Fortunately, that room was full of family and friends, which made my first book talk more of a pleasure than I had expected (helped along by the fact…
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After a week of publicity, I am now back at home researching material for my new book. Without giving too much away, I am reading into true stories of people who have been struck by lightning. As someone who has always turned off all of the electricity in the house and hidden under the table…
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