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This subject came up as a part of a conversation between myself and a writer, who happens to be a registered nurse.  Why are hospitals thought of as places as settings for romantic and sexual encounters in fiction?   In a very real way, they are not a sexy place at all; they are practical, caring places.  Much more concerned with keeping you going than getting you off.  Yet there is that air about them.  In the 1980’s I did a few discos for nurses, and I can tell you there is a high level of sexual tension.  So I can...

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I have had a couple of letters on the subject I blogged about a little while ago.  The subject was about our readers, and do they see our characters in the same way as we see them?  And does it matter?  I had a wide variety of views on the subject.  Some writers were so passionate about making the readers see their characters in the same way that they did.  An interesting technique a couple of writers shared, was to use the image of a famous actor to give the reader a kind of shortcut.  Other writers were almost indifferent, letting...

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IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE. JAN 27, 2018 I know I have touched on this subject before, but music is a kind of key to our lives, so a couple of bits came to mind.  I heard an interview with the crime writer Ian Rankin, who claims his heavy rock music, as a tax-deductible expense as he can’t write without it playing.  I can paint and listen to music or talking books, but there is no way I could write with music going.   My own writing is done in a quiet room.  Any noise breaks my concentration.  So...

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For over fifteen years I have worked within the publishing world as, a writer, cover artist, graphic designer, and now publisher.  A topic keeps coming up, which surprises me.  Writers spend months, sometimes years writing and editing their stories.  Finally, they have a book.  They get cover art, and it is all ready to go.  Then they stop.  Surely as I writer, I have done my bit at that point?  And the books just sell themselves? If only that was true.  So many authors seem to consider that once the book is set for release their job is over, and...

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Something light for the start of the week.  It is said that everyone has a book in them.  It is something I believe.  As for my own book, it is something I have thought of myself for a while.  At some point, I will write about my art.  I haven’t really got a catchy title for that yet.  I have recently been working on a book about my time as the landlord of a UK pub restaurant.  The title I have for that book is, “30 Years Behind Bars.”   I have managed to combine a lot of different jobs at...

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