Identity Crisis
Freya and Lucy sit on a wooden bench outside the front of their school. Sweet-smelling roses surround them in an ornate garden edged with perfectly shaped hedges and manicured flowerbeds. But instead of savouring the horticultural delights, their gaze fixates on the wrought-iron gates, hoping for a fleeting glimpse of any fit boys passing through…
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Centenarian Inspiration
I thought I would dedicate a blog post to one of the main characters in the book I’m currently working on. The reason being I was inspired by a special lady who frequents our café. I first met Betsy four years ago when she was ninety-six! Yes, she turned one hundred this week, and my…
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Curtain Twitcher
I blink my eyes to try and get a clearer picture of what I’m seeing. What looks like dozens of tiny pink mice are hanging lifeless on the washing line in our neighbour’s garden. It’s a dull, grey day, the mortar-coloured landscape exacerbated by the net curtain hanging between me and the bedroom window. I…
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Phone Junkie
I throw my rucksack down in the hall and make a beeline for the kitchen. There’s no smell of burnt food or trails of kitchen paraphernalia, which means either mum’s not cooking until much later, or, (hopefully), we’ll be having a takeaway tonight. There’s one packet of skips left in the cupboard which won’t go…
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The Stalker!
Every good novel needs more than just the classic hero and villain archetype. They also need side characters that provide depth, especially in psychological thrillers – which happens to be my genre. My current work in progress has a side character who is stalking my main character, but this stalker offers much more than a…
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I Found You – by Lisa Jewell
Book Review I’m a real fan of Lisa Jewell’s books, and this one didn’t let me down. She has a way of writing that’s easy to read, with plenty of exciting action and intriguing storylines. The book is written with short chapters and plenty of cliffhangers; I had difficulty putting the book down at times.…
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How to Become an Author?
So you want to write a book? Then this post is for you! FORGET YOUR WRITING SKILLS FOR A MOMENT In the early stages of becoming an Author, it’s easy to suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’. Should I really be doing this? Am I good enough? Is my writing worth reading? The answer is yes! Above…
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How to Write a Convincing Antagonist
Every great story needs both a protagonist and an antagonist: it’s the conflict between these two characters that keeps the audience invested and pushes the plot forward. What is an Antagonist? In simple terms, the antagonist is ‘the baddy’. Every story has a protagonist (usually the main character) and a contrasting antagonist. In fiction (especially…
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A Book That Reconnects you with Humanity!
I am a little later than most to the reading party. However, I’m now making up for lost time by reading around five to six books a month at the grand old age of fifty-six. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the odd book on holiday, or reading on a long-haul flight. I…
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The Family Upstairs & The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
1. The Family Upstairs – 4.5⭐️ Lisa Jewell is fast becoming one of my favourite authors of psychological thrillers! I listened to ‘The Family Upstairs’ on Audible, which was well narrated. I will, however, be buying hard copies to place on my beautiful bookshelves since these are books I would highly recommend to any thriller…
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