Alongside the humour in my novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, Matty’s story tugs at the heartstrings. But readers differ in what they find particularly poignant. One early reader told me, I was all right until I got to the nuns. The most tragic part for me came when I was researching ballroom dancing for…
My previous post was about the female friendship at the heart of my novella, Stolen Summers. This is about my character Matilda’s short-lived friendship with a male patient and the surprising discovery I made when I was researching his background. I made Eustace a Black World War I veteran, partly to do my small bit…
It’s often said that we choose our friends – but we have to find them first. We make friends from the people we cross paths with, from our schoolmates, neighbours, co-workers and people who share our leisure pursuits. We might choose friends who have similar interests and outlooks to our own. But not always. Sometimes…
The history of mental health care is littered with discarded treatments revealing the practitioners to be barely more rational than the patients. One fad that seduced me for a short time when I worked as a clinical psychologist was ‘earplug therapy’ for people who heard unwanted voices. Wacky as it seems, there was solid research…
For some, history means kings, queens and political intrigue. For others, it’s a litany of colonisation and war. At my school, history leapt from Roman Britain to the industrial revolution, where history meant innovation, manufacturing and machines. Now I enjoy fiction that honours the lives of those the history books have often neglected: working-class people;…
Do you ‘read’ audiobooks? I often meet booklovers who express an interest in my novels and short stories but prefer to listen rather than read. About eighteen months ago, I bought some kit and did a record-your-own audiobooks course but, after much frustration, concluded it wasn’t for me. But never say never. When my fellow…
When readers asked about a follow-up to my debut novel, Sugar and Snails, I was surprised. Although I had thoughts about how my character, Diana, might have developed since 2004 when the novel is set, I didn’t plan to explore them in fiction. My perspective turned on its head shortly after I submitted my third…
I’m interviewed by Yvonne Battle-Fenton for her podcast, Bookable Space, about my novel Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home. I also read three extracts, one from each of my main characters’ points of view. Yvonne asked me about the inspiration for this novel and what it was like drawing on familiar settings: Cumbria where I grew…
What a delight to be interviewed again on Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM. This time the focus is on Lyrics for the Loved Ones, the follow-up to Matilda Windsor is Coming Home, which Hannah and I discussed on the programme in August 2021. Hannah was curious about what it was like to return to…
Fiction is a branch of the entertainment industry, so even serious novels need to raise the occasional smile. But even though there were moments of comedy in my first two novels, I wouldn’t have thought humour was my strong suit. That changed with my third novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, published in 2021. It…
