Long story short, or A quick catch-up in lockdown

Long story short, or A quick catch-up in lockdown

These are strange times, with lockdown in its fifth week amid fears that the unseasonably warm weather will make people complacent about social distancing.  This time in 2014, I was in Penzance on holiday. It was my first visit to Cornwall, and I hope it won’t...
Too many carts, or, the benefits of reading aloud

Too many carts, or, the benefits of reading aloud

At the last of this summer’s writing boot camp sessions, Brenda was reading from her new work-in-progress. She’d only just started writing it – a story set in the countryside in the early years of the 20th Century – so as she was reading it...
Silver Crow Books – another title launched!

Silver Crow Books – another title launched!

Last night saw the launch of Brenda Bannister’s The Tissue Veil, the second title to bear the Silver Crow Books logo. “Conceived in London, delivered in Frome” is how Brenda describes her coming-of-age novel about two young women, a hundred years...
My first sale!!

My first sale!!

Well, if you’ve been selling books for a while, you’ve probably forgotten the thrill of handing over the first copy to a paying customer.  However, when I signed a copy of ‘The Shame of Innocence’ yesterday for my friend Melina Robinson, the...

Mighty oaks, yeah?

Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow – as the saying goes. There’s a lot of truth in that old proverb. I used to write on my own, no interference, no feedback, no ‘critical friend’ to take me aside and give me a few tips. In hope and expectation,...