Anyone out there who has read my memoir, The Baby Box, could be forgiven for assuming that I am an only child. One friend certainly did and said that being an only child explained why my mother was so harsh with me. No, my mother was harsh because I upset the middle-class, domestic apple-cart big … Continue reading Whose Memory?
Category: Writers & Books
Book Group Discussions
As all writers and readers know, the idea of book groups appealed widely and now there are countless numbers of groups across the country as well as, no doubt, other countries. Years ago, I was a member of an online book group. It was run the same as other groups: one member suggested a book, … Continue reading Book Group Discussions
A Table of Your Own
To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the publication of A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, The Royal Society of Literature are staging a Dalloway Day with events taking place in Fitzroy Square (No 29 was home to Virginia and her brother in 1907), The National Portrait Gallery (paintings associated with the Bloomsbury Group) … Continue reading A Table of Your Own
Crossing Continents
I've been away from London taking a break from daily life and the publishing world. I've been in Russia, a place which brings to mind those books and short stories set in that far away country. Years ago, Radio 4 broadcast Tolstoy's War and Peace as a serialised drama. Newly married, we had no TV … Continue reading Crossing Continents
Memoir and Memory
I’m organising my papers – newspapers, downloaded articles, book and film reviews – you know the kind of things. A year later, or even a couple of months later, that article we ripped out of a magazine or downloaded and printed, doesn’t seem quite as interesting as we thought it was and what with the … Continue reading Memoir and Memory
A Wednesday Post
I thought I'd post a 'writing quickie' in the middle of the week. The Baby Box has been selling well but the market is slowing down. Which is a media phrase for 'need to make a bit more effort'. I've had many encouraging reviews but this one, sent by a writer colleague, is particularly welcoming. … Continue reading A Wednesday Post
Reading the Gothic
They say in order to write well, it is necessary to read. I want to write the Gothic, so I must re, or re-read, novels within that genre. And maybe one or two not in the genre, ie ghost stories, I clearly understand what is not the Gothic. A general definition of Gothic is: relating … Continue reading Reading the Gothic
Writing the Gothic
Yesterday evening I went to an event of the Royal Society of Literature. I've been a member for several years now and would recommend membership to all concerned with reading and writing. Even if you can't always attend the events, the RSL Review keeps you up to date with events and life at the RSL. … Continue reading Writing the Gothic
New Year, A New Project
At a recent gathering of friends, someone announced she was having a book published in 2019. During questions re content and date of publication, it emerged the book was a memoir. I volunteered that I, too, was having a memoir published in the coming year but that mine was a self-publishing project. All discussion stopped … Continue reading New Year, A New Project
My Bedside Table
The monthly writers magazine Mslexia has a regular column called 'X,s (celebrity's name) Bedside Table.' My bedside table is an old wooden table I painted a blue-grey. It has two surfaces, the top and a shelf near to the floor. The permanent features are a lamp with shade, a travelling alarm clock - I never … Continue reading My Bedside Table
