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Is it a part of the writer’s trade to explore life through their characters?  I have known writers who live a second life that way, trying things out in a fantasy world that they would never do in the real world.  One Author confessed to me that she discovered more herself through the sexual encounters of her characters than she had with her husband.  She mentioned freedom, a liberation to try her fantasies out on the written page and found it more fulfilling than the fantasy alone in her mind.  There was something naughty about sharing her intimate thoughts with...

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One of the things writers are reluctant to talk about is writer’s block.  I must confess I have suffered from it in the past, and indeed I am suffering from it today.  No idea what to say in a blog, so I thought I’d talk about a block.  They do say that writer’s block is nature's way of telling you to shut up, but today that is not going to happen.  Block happens to me usually when I am stressed over things, which are not related to writing.  Something will put me in a bad mood and all creativity seems...

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Veterans Day in the USA yesterday, I believe the commemorations will be today, as is our own Armistice commemoration today.  Every year in the UK we stop at 11 am on November 11th the time and date of the end of the First World War.  It seems fitting that this day is given as a day of remembrance for all those who gave their lives or were injured in the service of their country. A time to write.  I co-wrote a non-fiction book on the First World War about 3 years ago At the going down of the sun and I have edited...

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This question was prompted by last weekend’s exhibition.  A friend of mine was working on a collage picture.  A second artist came up to her and asked: “Why are you a collage artist and not a painter?”  My friend was outraged, how dare an artist give the impression that her college had less value than a painting.  I thought about the nature of the question.  Do authors who write for an adult audience look down on children’s’ writers?   Do thriller writers think less of romance writers?  Or non-fiction writer looks down on fiction?  Is there a hierarchy of writing?  And...

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I had some lovely comments on the subject of where you like to write, thank you for that, It is always great to get feedback.  I do love my office most of my writing is done there, but I do like getting out too.  We had a big patio laid last year and the plan had been to sit out there and write.  I have no idea why I didn’t but I have made a mental note to do it next summer.  I was writing in a coffee shop yesterday.  I don’t mind the noise, with the exception of screaming...

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There are times when you have to look right when you just have to put comfort aside in favor of style.  I guess the question is how do you get that balance right?  Have you got a dress code you stick to every day? And how far does that dress code go? I must confess that for the most part in the studio comfort is the dress code, especially when on my own, sweatpants and baggy sweaters are the order of the day.  But only when I am on my own.  When we have visitors I have to dress more...

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Snail mail is getting less these days, except of course for junk mail.  What is the most surprising thing you have had through the mail?   The reason I ask, I received a catalog of xxx rated DVD and sex toys which I mistakenly opened over breakfast.  I do get a bit of funny mail, partly because I have worked around the world of erotic images for nearly thirty years, but mainly because I made one bad purchase about twenty-five years ago.  For a joke, we bought a friend an inflatable sex doll sheep.  He is Welsh and well Welshmen and...

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The thing that has taken me away from my desk in the studio is an exhibition.  Primarily it is an art exhibition, but I have included a section for BVS and some of the other books we publish.  The feel of an exhibition is very much the circus coming to town.  We decamp from the studio, load books, art, and display material and move to a new location.  The studio looks like a wreck and will look even worse when what isn’t sold comes back at the end of the show.  I tend not to do that many shows because...

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A discussion with an author friend prompted this question about favorite places to read or write.  Reading is simple, anywhere and everywhere.  I am always reading.  Either scripts, of which there is an unending supply, or I read a lot of books for pleasure.  Mostly audiobooks as I can multitask, gardening, cooking or painting mostly and yet there is my favorite place, the bath.  I love to read in the tub.  It is a place I chill and take stock of the day.  Where do you read?  Is there a reason for reading there or is it just a joy...

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In life and in literature is there anything more tantalizing than something just out of reach and yet the hope is there that you will receive your prize.  I think it works well in the arena of romance and erotic romance.  For romance, there can be the social dance of will the characters finally consummate the relationship in bed.  For some storylines, it can hold the reader on the edge of will they won’t they for the length of the book.  In erotic romance, the dance can be very different, by the nature of the genre, you are almost always...

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