When Louise Gethin isn’t writing or performing at The Thunderbolt, you might well find her on her allotment. I recently heard the poem by Seamus Heaney – Digging. I fell in love with it on so many levels. Running through my veins is the blood of my Irish grandfather, who was a keen gardener. I am a…
Sally Hare gives her advice on what – and what not – to expect if you’re brave enough to take up the Nanowrimo challenge. Remember, remember, the first of November … I wonder if you, like me, feel a certain restlessness at this time each year? As late summer warmth turns to autumnal bluster,…
We are thrilled to announce that preparations for the launch of Unchained have been finalised and even more delighted to reveal it will take place in the gorgeous surroundings of Bristol Reference Library. Less than two weeks to go and the excitement at BWW Towers is mounting! Join us for the launch If anyone out there hasn’t heard…
Jenni O’Connor, novelist, haiku poet, journalist and copywriter, is also mother to Zoe, aged four. Here she muses on the unlikely fusion between writing and parenting. “Children and writing don’t mix.” So said one famous male writer, whose name escapes me, presumably as he hastened to the haven of his oak-panelled study, slamming the door to shut…
From our very own crime-writer Jane Jones. The fascination with what frightens us starts young. When I was a little girl, my grandmother found some pictures I’d drawn which did not call forth the usual fond praise. The images showed a black-hatted figure cutting up naked children with a knife and fork. She was so…
Today novelist and short story writer Nina Milton gives us the first in a series of posts on the fictional form that is the backbone of the Unchained anthology. “During the hour of perusal the soul of the reader is at the writer’s control.” Edgar Allan Poe, writing in the 1830’s in his usual, Gothic…
“We have helped each other deal with rejections and criticism; changes of tense, point of view, direction, and the odd agent … Creative blocks have been dislodged, self-doubt dissolved, technology mastered.” Gail Swann reminds us of our writing group’s history – and some of her own. ‘How long has your writing group been going?’ is…
‘What beats me is how a domestic dinosaur has become a chic badge of prosperity.’ Nicola’s recent article in the FT questioned the benefits of cooking on an Aga. For her biography she has left the present day and is delving back into the eighteenth century. Here are some of her recent experiences of research….
Today’s post is by Jean Burnett. As well as writing historical novels, Jean has a penchant for the gothic. Her short story for Unchained is ‘The Judge’s Chair’ which takes place in the famous Bristol Room of the Central Library. Thought for the day – “A clever woman is like a long tailed sheep. She’ll fetch no better…