You know that feeling of excitement and joy you get when you first buy a new gadget or beautiful item? And how, after a very short time, that initial excitement starts to fade, and eventually, the item just becomes part of your background stuff? Well, that feeling of excitement never faded for my Fisher Space Pen. I love it every time I use it. It … [Read more...]
The Stone Thrower playlist
My new book, The Stone Thrower, just came out in North America, published by the brilliant ECW Press, who also published Instruction Manual For Swallowing over there. As part of ECW's BackLit series, this edition has bonus material at the back: my desert island books, an extra story, and a playlist of music to throw stones to. I wanted to share … [Read more...]
Why you should write in your pyjamas, plus a workshop and new books
Write in your pyjamas A couple of weeks ago, I was back at Arvon's Totleigh Barton in Devon tutoring with the lovely Jen Hadfield. We were talking about our own writing habits, and discovered that one process had given us both a creative jump start. Early in our writing lives, Jen and I both read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Have you read … [Read more...]
Litro podcast
Listen here to me chatting with Litro's Emily Cleaver about The Stone Thrower and the inspiration behind the story collection, PLUS actor Cliff Chapman giving a cracking reading of the title story. … [Read more...]
North American cover design for The Stone Thrower
Check out the cover design for the North American edition of The Stone Thrower from ECW Press. What d'you reckon? I'm thrilled with it. This was my favourite of the three proposed versions they sent over, so I'm glad it ended up as this one. At its core, the collection is about the fragility and vulnerability of children, and the fragile and … [Read more...]
Writing tools I can’t live without #1: Evernote
Last night, I went to chat with a writing group in Clapham. When one of the writers asked me about my writing process, I started talking about Evernote, and quickly realised that no one in the room had heard of it. So just in case you're not aware of it either, I want to recommend it to you, whether you're a writer or not, as the ultimate … [Read more...]
Litro magazine’s Proust Seat interview
I just did Litro magazine's Proust Seat interview and revealed all sorts of things about myself...first memories, the literary character I most identify with, which fictional world I'd travel to given half a chance. See the full interview here. … [Read more...]
I’ve got writer’s FOMO
There’s a wonderful sense of freedom that comes at the end of a book project. After being locked into one idea for a year or two or three, you’re free to do whatever you like, experiment, play. But then, at some point (the point I’m at now), you’ve got to decide on THE NEXT PROJECT. Once you’ve settled on it, you know it’s going to be with you … [Read more...]