January 2026 marks five years since I started posting on this site. I began with regular blogs and in due course added various pages. My posts range through short fiction, essay-type reflections, garden musings, updates on current activities, interviews with interesting people, and occasional thoughts on the process of writing. The pages are home toContinue reading “Five blogs to follow”
Category Archives: Reading
Thoughts on starting to write a second novel
My first novel was written over the course of one calendar year and serialised online in 12 parts, as I produced them. When it concluded I was struck by the enthusiasm of some readers for a sequel, or even a series, based on the same characters and places. When the book was published this summer,Continue reading “Thoughts on starting to write a second novel”
Encountering ‘The Bookshop Novel’
In the summer of 2018 I bought a copy of Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Bookshop whilst on holiday in Aldborough, on the east coast of England. It was exceptional weather, with huge skies, endless shingle beaches, and great places to swim. The Bookshop, set in this very same landscape in the year 1959, was excellent holidayContinue reading “Encountering ‘The Bookshop Novel’”
Quotidian 