Should writers be sweating the adverb?
I recently read a prominent author’s top three writing tips and one of them was that old chestnut, “don’t use adverbs.” Top three! Out of all the writing tips in the world: adverbs. It got me thinking: do adverbs really make such a big difference? (Look, I just used one…
Why do mediocre novels get published? My theory (and what writers can learn from it)
There’s little more frustrating than picking up a book and realising it’s BAY-AD. The characters are cardboard cut-outs. The action is melodramatic or unbelievable. It breaks every rule in your well-thumbed writing craft books. “How did this get published??” you wonder. If you’re a writer yourself, you might follow it…
Embrace the idea of multiple drafts – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
I’ve spent a lot of my writing life harbouring under the delusion that my first draft needed to be perfect. Or close enough, anyway. If my first draft was a disaster, I was a failure. I still struggle with this perfectionism, but it’s good to remind myself that my first…
5 of the best audiobooks for new listeners
Looking to download an audiobook, but not sure where to start? Here are five of the best I’ve listened to. They score highly both on story and on performance. Many even have narrators you’ll have heard of… The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark (read by Miriam Margolyes)…
5 tips for killing it in your next podcast or radio interview
I’ve been doing a few radio and virtual interviews recently to promote Dead Ringer and I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. Here are 5 things I’ve learned to help you rock your next radio/podcast interview: Smile Yes, doing interviews is nerve-wracking. Yes, you might be struggling to think…
How I made £250 using cashback websites
I’ve been using cashback websites like Topcashback and Quidco for a couple of years now. Here are my experiences – the good, the bad, and (most importantly) how much I’ve actually earned. How they work In case you’re not familiar with cashback websites, they work like this: When you want…
You’ll have to rearrange your life in order to write a novel – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
If there’s one myth about writing that I hate, it’s the myth that great novels were written in snatched 5-minute bursts. “Get up earlier and write while drinking your morning coffee! Write in your lunch break! If you’re not writing while simultaneously making a risotto and changing a duvet cover,…
My favourite thing about being published in The People’s Friend is…
…the illustrations! It’s magical to open up the magazine and see a short story of mine brought to life with a lovingly-detailed illustration. My short story, ‘The Garden Detectives’, appears in the current People’s Friend Special. It’s a mystery with a difference. Instead of hunting down a killer, Siobhan and…
To Newcastle in a flash: my experience of reading at Virtual Noir at the Bar
One unexpected upside of a global pandemic is that it makes “travel” much easier. Virtual travel, to book events, anyway. Attending Newcastle’s Noir at the Bar, a boozy evening with crime writers, would have been difficult for me two months ago, what with the expense and travel time. Now that…
Build compelling characters using reality TV archetypes
For guaranteed drama, take a leaf out a casting director’s book and use reality TV archetypes to build fascinating characters for your novel or short story. I’ve already outlined the lessons that writers can learn from reality TV. That was big-picture stuff. This is more granular, as I will outline…
5 writing lessons you can learn from reality TV
Here’s a writing assignment for you: turn on the TV! The reality TV casting process provides a devilishly fun way to improve characterization when writing your novel or short stories. Whether it’s Survivor, Big Brother, Housewives, or Love Island, your favourite guilty pleasure reality TV show doesn’t happen on its…
Joining a writing group will save your soul – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
When I look back and try to identify the ONE thing that took me from slush pile to publication, it’s joining a writing group. Specifically, a workshop critique group. This was a big, scary step for me, because (like most writers) I haaate having my writing critiqued. At the time,…
The one thing I changed about my writing process that took me from slush pile to publication
I made one (very simple) change to my writing process a couple of years ago that’s been truly transformative. Previously, when I had an idea for a story, I used to start with plot-related notes or an outline or just dive in to the first scene. Now I start with…
Short stories published in The Sunday Express and The People’s Friend
In the last month, short stories of mine have appeared in the Sunday Express S Magazine and The People’s Friend. When I got the brief to write a 980-word story for the Sunday Express, I was apprehensive. I like big plots (and I cannot lie). How was I going to…
Interview with Nathalie Buscombe, Dead Ringer audiobook narrator
Find out the secrets of audiobook narration in this interview with one of Dead Ringer‘s narrators, Nathalie Buscombe. You’re also a talented artist and writer, in addition to being an actor. How does audiobook narration fit into your schedule and why do you enjoy it? I have separate agents for…
Quiz: doppelgangers and imposters
This is a longer version of the quiz I ran at my book launch event. Test your knowledge of doppelgangers and imposters with these questions. (Answers below.) Questions Q1. Which language does the word ‘doppelganger’ derive from? Q2: Which sitcom star was accused of robbery in 2018 after his dastardly…
Is there a stranger out there who shares your face? (guest post for Confessions of a YA Reader)
What is the likelihood that you have a doppelgänger somewhere in the world? The scientific facts are stranger than you think. The idea of the doppelgänger – a stranger who looks uncannily like you – stretches back through history. The superstition is that encountering your “double” is a bad omen…
BBC Radio Bristol interview
On Wednesday 26 February 2020, I stopped by the BBC Radio Bristol studios to chat with Steve Yabsley about cats, ice skating, and the time I got fired from a job for insubordination. Play the interview below or find it on YouTube…
Dead Ringer – what the bloggers say
How did Dead Ringer go down with the book bloggers? Here’s a round-up of what happened on part 1 of the blog tour. “Littered with moments of dark humour and flawless insight, I found myself inside the head of both girls as their story came tumbling out.” (Full review at…
GenZ burnout and murder: the changing landscape of crime fiction
As the focus of crime fiction shifts to GenZ, the horrors are becoming more mundane – debt, burnout, poor mental health – but no less terrifying. “Generation Z” typically describes the post-Millennials, those born between the late 90s and the early 2010s. It’s a generation shaped by the 2008 financial…
