In my previous post I discussed why an author needs to establish a way to communicate with his or her readers, or build an author platform. In this, 8th post in the series, Advice to New Writers, I talk a little about how to go about building such a platform. What Does Your Author Profile Look … [Read more...]
It’s Time for the Crouch End Festival!
It's here again! The Crouch End Festival, UK's largest community arts event, is now in its fifth year, and this, the 2016 festival will be bigger than ever. There's everything from open air cinema, live music, art, poetry, food and even a Latino Day when Crouch End goes all Latin. Check out the … [Read more...]
Advice for New Writers Part 7: Do I Need an Author Platform?
Whether you are a traditionally published author, an indie or something in between, the commonly accepted wisdom is that you need an author platform. But why? Why do you need to broadcast to the world about your writing? Why do you constantly need to post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, … [Read more...]
My Romantic Helsinki
All of my Nordic romance novels are partly set in Helsinki, so I thought I'd take you on a pictorial tour of the city, as featured in The Nordic Heart Romance series of books. In my latest title The Finnish Girl, Kaisa is 14 when she moves with her sister Sirkka and her mother Pirjo to one of … [Read more...]
5 Tips for Writing Historical Fiction by Clare Flynn
Clare Flynn is the author of A Greater World, Kurinji Flowers and Letters from a Patchwork Quilt. Clare's latest novel, The Green Ribbons, which is set in England in 1900 will be published in May 2016. But as luck would have it, today you can pre-order a copy of the new novel. (Tap here to order … [Read more...]
Turn Your Life Into Fiction
Do you want to tell your life story? Here are ten tips to turn your life into fiction. Truth and Fiction Doris Lessing wrote in one of her memoirs that we all re-write history and that therefore no autobiography can be an accurate account of events Yet during my MA in Creative writing some 10 … [Read more...]
Tea Shop Tales this Saturday 2nd April
I am delighted to be taking part in this tea shop story festival. I will be reading from my forthcoming novella, The Finnish Girl, which is a prequel to The Englishman, the first book in my Nordic romance series. I will also be talking a bit about how I use my own life for my fiction (and stay … [Read more...]
Indie Author Fringe at the London Book Fair
I'm really pleased to be able to tell you about an online event happening in April. It's called Indie Author Fringe. Indie Author Fringe by Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), offers FREE ONLINE DAY CONFERENCES for authors interested in self-publishing. This means best self-publishing advice … [Read more...]
The Navy Wife in The Helensburgh Advertiser
I thought I'd share with you how I got an article on The Navy Wife into a local Scottish newspaper, The Helensburgh Advertiser. The novel is set in the Royal Navy base in Faslane and the married quarters down the road from Helensburgh in Rhu, as well as in Portsmouth. Thinking the papers might be … [Read more...]
Three small changes
I’ve talked here a lot about my daily writing routine, and shared with you how waking up earlier in the morning is a great way to get more writing done. (Doh!) Buoyed by this experience, I decided to try out other changes to increase my motivation, and boost my energy during the working week. I … [Read more...]