All good authors research their stories, so I’m told. It’s been a bit hard to research some of mine as it involves a lot of magic. I was alright on the sailing parts as I’ve done a bit myself. There is one story line involving drugs, I didn’t research that personally but relied on my […]
Read more "Author research"I have a friend (I know hard to believe but I do) he’s called James. We meet as teenagers probably in the church Youth Group. I don’t remember anything from that time apart from we liked different music and very different politics, I do remember lending him a suit for a wedding. I had a […]
Read more "Everyone needs a friend like James"This book, A Brand of Fire by Ben Blake, tells the story of how the Trojan war started. It sticks to the known version pretty well but adds personality to the famous names and nuances to the events. I studied ancient history but a slightly later period, classical Greece, so I know the story but […]
Read more "A Brand of Fire, a book of mythical proportions"10 things I would tell my younger self; 1. Don’t use credit cards I have spent years living off credit cards eventually you end having to have credit cards simply to maintain the ones you have. I’m paying them all off now but I dread to think of how much interested I’ve paid over twenty […]
Read more "10 things I would tell my younger self"I’m sharing this with you without the need for you to pay me money, give me your e-mail address or take a four-part course. 1. Write a few hundred words happily tapping away knowing that Dickens will be worrying his crown is under threat. 2. Do a quick edit the following day, a little bit […]
Read more "The way to Write a perfect book"Back when I was an evangelical Christian no church event was complete without quiche, for some reason every brought a quiche. Not nice homemade ones but rather soggy efforts from Tesco’s. Despite this traumatic childhood experience I have retained my love of them. Not just any quiche, I get home made ones from the local […]
Read more "Give quiche a chance."I have finally decided after a lot of indecision and faffing around to split up. Not with my lovely wife of course but my book. I had sent it away to an author friend of mine who has given me some very useful structural feedback. I have now taken the plunge and split it in […]
Read more "I’m splitting up"