The End of An Era in My Writing Life: why I'm giving up penning two monthly magazine columns after 16 years

Literary Easter Eggs in Books: a jolly post for Easter weekend, plus a link to download a free Kindle ebook of my fun novelette, "The Clutch of Eggs" for

Overture & Beginners for The Importance of Being Murdered Usually my last blog post of each month is a conversation with a fellow author, often about their new book. But this month, as I've just launched my latest cosy mystery novel, The Importance of Being Murdered, I'll be talking to myself! …

In this week's new blog post: What's an Authorpreneur and Why Am I One? - thoughts from the London Book Fair, ALLi's Indie Author Lab, and more

New on my blog this week: A Tale of Two Clutch Failures: What I Learned When My Car Broke Down - plus news of two speaking gigs in London and a review of Jane Davis's latest historical novel

How We Can All Be Winners - Inspired by the 2026 Winter Olympics - plus news about my new book, to be published on 26 March, what I'm writing now, and what I'm reading

This week on my blog: In Conversation with Hastie Salih, author of stories set across London and Kurdistan, about under-represented minorites and conflicts of cultural and political identity

Let's Hear It for Anne Brontë... her wondeful, underrated novels, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Grey

This week on my blog: The Remarkable Hazards of 80s Office Life - the inspiration for my new play, "Murder at the Office"

New on my blog: It's a Wilde, Wilde Life with Oscar - how the Victorian wit continues to pop up everywhere - and how he inspired my new novel.

This week on my blog: a nostalgic post about my Grandma and my primary school days in Sidcup, Kent ,

PLR: Just one of many reasons that I love public libraries - plus a new author event at Bath Central Library

The Not So Commonplace Book - why I love the low-tech habit of recording memorable quotes in a notebook - plus recommended reads for January

Where Did 2025 Go? Reflections on keeping diaries, including my top tip to help you make the most of your new year. Plus, tada! - my finished 2025 temperature blanket!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Reading for Pleasure - new on my blog, to coincide with Jolabokaflod

The Joys of Armchair Travel - new on my blog this week, with book recommendations and reviews

In Conversation with Susan Grossey, Author of Historical Crime Fiction - new on my blog this week (and includes link to get a free ebook by Susan - highly recommended!)

What I Learned from My Umbrella - this week's new post on my blog, which also includes a review of AA Abbott's latest psych thriller, "Lies Between Friends"

How I'm learning to love October - with a little inspiration from Rodmarton Manor and Bex Partridge

New Perspectives on English Country Churches: fun post with lots of event pics about secular events in Cotswold country churches

Bear With Me - in this week's blog post, I'm sharing four little talismans that live on my writing desk to help me through my day

How to Overcome Writer’s Block Writer's block: it's a term lots of people bandy around as if it's some kind of medical or psychological condition that blocks creative flow. I have strong views about writer's block, which I shared in my talk the Troubador Publishing's annual Self Publishing…

Two Weddings and a Victory - my latest blog post celebrates church bell ringing, one of the inspirations behind my cosy mystery novel "Death at the Village Chess Club"

The Secret Life of Button Boxes: Memories, Mysteries, and a Murder Clue - new on my blog this week, along with my latest news and book recommendations

In Conversation with Clare Flynn, Author of "The Star of Ceylon", set when the British Empire was at iths height - plus an update of what I've been up to this week

Music to my Ears: early reviews for my new novel, "Death at the Village Christmas Fair", and Caroline Sanderson's memoir, "Listen With Father: How I Learned to Love Classical Music"

New on my blog today: Don't Blame the Borrowers! - (gotta love The Borrowers!) - plus news of my next book launch of book signings, and my work in progress - oh, plus a couple of book reviews of my holiday reading. Phew!

How I Keep Track of What I Read with Goodreads - plus reviews of what I've read so far this month, and a pre-order link for my next novel, out on 16th August!

In Conversation with Alison Morton, author of contemporary and alternative history thrillers - with link to download two free stories

Not the Retiring Kind - an update on my writing life, including my latest magazine column and a preview of my next two novels

In Conversation with Author Helen Hollick about her three latest books: Ghosts, Fate and Mysteries - new post on my blog today

In Tune with My Piano: musings on my latest encounter with my piano tuner, plus my part in a new anthology, Fate, which features a brand new Sophie Sayers short story

Off the Shelf - on reading and rereading books - plus a cover reveal for my next book, Death at the Village Christmas Fair

Inspired by the Badminton Benefice Festival of Music - a post about Festival events, my love of music as a child, and Caroline Sanderson's new book, "Listen with Father"

In Conversation with Author Howard Lovy - the story behind the story of his debut novel, "Found & Lost: The Jake & Cait Story"

Catching Up with My Blog (Please note: This post replaces an earlier version that was somehow jumbled in the transmission - I'm hoping it will read in the right order this time!) After emerging from a frantic period of activity, I'm just trying to catch up with myself, and have realized to my…

BLOG GLITCH ALERT! – Please delete last post I've just discovered that the blog post that I published just now was somehow scrambled in the sending, with the text all out of order. I have no idea why this has happened, as it was all in perfect order when I previewed it prior to sending. I'm…

Overtaken by Events: catching up at last after a month of silence on my blog - and taking about chilly reading for warm weather

Why There's No I in Theatre - some thoughts on seeing my new play take shape on stage

In Conversation with Linda Alvis – Artist, Author & Poet As regular readers of my blog will know, my final post each month is a conversation with an author friend, talking about their creative process and other topics that I hope you will find of interest. This month, it's perfect timing to…

A Portrait of Hope - this week's blog post shares James Nickells' exciting art project celebrating people from every country in the world

The Fascination of Secondhand Books - sharing my latest haul in this week's new blog post, plus an update on my latest mystery novel and how to buy tickets for the first production of my new murder mystery play!

In Conversation with Liza Perrat, Historical Novelist In last month’s In Conversation post, Scottish author Lorna Fergusson and I discussed writing about a sense of place, with particular focus on Lorna’s latest book, One Morning in Provence, in which the lives of British characters are changed by…

WHATEVER THE WEATHER: In Praise of Temperature Blankets Filing my tax return just before a significant birthday last month, Benjamin Franklin’s dictum that “nothing is certain in life except death and taxes” hit home. Seeking uncertainties as an antidote, I turned to thinking about English…

Wake Me Up When It's March - this week's new post on my blog, including a new feature on recommended reading and an update on my writing life

In Conversation with Author Lorna Fergusson - insights into the art of writing short stories, and why more people should read them!

With My Writing Hat On... me and my hats, introducing my new writing hat from Boldwood Books! New on my blog today - with matching cover for my next book!

Why I'm Writing a Play - news of my latest venture, debuting in April!

The Year of the Diary: Looking back at 2024 and forward to 2025 - new on my blog on New Year's Day

Hurrah for Bank Holidays! In my last post before Christmas, I share my views on why I love bank holidays and my latest writing news.