I’m always on the hunt for corset wearing tips on behalf of my tomboy heroine Laurette. Or rather stays, given she lives in 1653. So who better to ask than an experienced period drama extra? I was lucky enough to pin down my friend model, TV and film extra Deborah Hirzel for a chat. Deborah’s […]
“What would Elizabeth Bennet have eaten?” should not really be a question dwelt upon by an historical fiction author writing about the 17th century. However Elizabeth Bennet is my spirit animal. I’m a huge Jane Austen fan. When I head to La Muse Writers Retreat in France the DVD of Pride and Prejudice always accompanies […]
Getting your book published is tough. In the UK there are many events where you can get information, but it’s harder when you don’t live in London. As a resident of York, I’m always on the look-out for good online resources. I first came across best-selling author Harry Bingham, head of Jericho Writers online members […]
Bernard Cornwell has written over 55 novels and sold more than 20 million books worldwide. 20 million. Just let that sink in. He’s one of my favourite novelists. I devoured the Sharpe series and am now into his Uhtred Saxon/Dane epic. UK appearances are rare as he lives in America. So I jumped at the […]
Review: Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage in Seventeenth-Century Britain by Dr Nadine Akkerman Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A book on the real-life equivalents of my novel’s Royalist she-spy is Christmas come early. When I saw that even the dedication was written in code, I knew I was in for a treat. In safe hands The Interregnum – […]
Invisible ink is essential for my seventeenth century fictional spies. Some of my lazier agents even write in it uncoded. I thought I’d expand on a Twitter exchange with Civil War Tours who asked for my advice on secret messages. Heating it up All the inks below reveal themselves when you heat the parchment over […]
While researching my dissertation on Aphra Behn, I found her short-lived career as a spy fascinating. When I picked up The Rover its alternative title of The Banish’d Cavaliers made me wonder – what did those flamboyant losers of the English Civil Wars get up to when Oliver Cromwell was in power? And so the […]
I’m a huge fan of television and cinema. I think very visually. So I suppose it’s inevitable that when writer’s block strikes, my brain brings up snippets from films and TV series to help. Here are some favourites to evoke a feeling or idea. Fear, advice and suspicion: The Matrix On the face of it, […]
For any unpublished author with a Twitter account, #PitchCB is the stuff of legend. On the fourth Friday of every month, the UK literary agents of Curtis Brown invite Twitter pitches. Here are the guidelines. On 22 April 2016, I joined the hoards – probably about 300 of us – with this: 1653. Oliver Cromwell’s […]
“I do not know of any creative soul who does not dream of calm, cool, grass-growing days in which to work without interruption.” When I read this glorious sentence from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, I sighed in agreement. I find it tough to switch from my ‘Business Head’ of being a copywriter to my ‘Book […]