Are you mononymous? Go on, admit it, you haven’t a clue what I am talking about.…
Margaret Egrot
The Cop26 Lexicography.
If you haven’t heard that Cop26 has just started, you must have been living on a…
writingandbreathing SOUTHAM BOOK FESTIVAL – SUNDAY OCTOBER 24TH Southam Book Festival is going ahead again this…
SOUTHAM BOOK FESTIVAL – SUNDAY OCTOBER 24TH
SOUTHAM BOOK FESTIVAL – SUNDAY OCTOBER 24TH Southam Book Festival is going ahead again this year…
‘Trigger’ Warnings
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about some academics being concerned about the content…
Sex Sells (And Why I’m Not Rich)
Sex sells, we’re told. The allure of sex (most often manifested by scantily clad females) sells…
Does Shakespeare need Re-writing?
Shakespeare, to his fans, is timeless. His plays can withstand almost any interpretation; be set in…
Writing About Nature
I don’t write ‘nature books’ – it sounds like a specialism requiring, at the very least,…
Coventry Stars of Stage and Screen
Avid readers of this blog may remember me reporting that I contributed to an anthology compiled…
Silent Echoes – launch of new book
This week my latest novel, Silent Echoes, appeared on Amazon. I have a few dates pencilled…
Active or Passive Voice? Words Matter!
A few days ago a terrible tragedy took place in Plymouth, England. The author, Joanne Harris…
Word crimes – or how to catch a killer by their writing.
A book was published a few years ago that was described as a ‘must read’ for…
Mad Dogs, Dog Stars, and Dog Days.
The Met Office has just issued its first ever extreme heat warning for the UK as…
All things gynaecological (well some anyway)
When you call yourself the Vagina Museum, one kind of expects you to be a museum…
More about Butlers and Bottles.
In my last post I talked about the origins of the surname Butler, coming as it…
Surnames, and what they tell us.
Surnames, or family names, often tell us more about our origins than we might want to…
Hills By Any Other Names
Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is a relatively modest elevation of 557 metres. It forms part of…
How to write a Press Release for your book launch.
Coventry writers’ group has just published an anthology to coincide with the start of the year’s…
Missing Girls – and how to spot them
Just over ten years ago I wrote a novel for teenagers about a couple of friends,…
A Bestseller’s tips for aspiring writers.
Many of us dream of being writers (preferably famous ones) from an early age, and may…
What is a UK City of Culture?
Blog 16 May My home town, Coventry, is the UK City of Culture for 2021. The…
An Anthology for Coventry’s year of being UK City of Culture 2021.
The coronavirus has delayed the start of Coventry’s year in the spotlight as the UK’s City…
Horde – Orda! Order!
In some dictionaries the word horde is said to come from sixteenth century Polish, Horda, or…
Treasure from India
During the heyday of Empire, when Queen Victoria was thrilled to style herself ‘Empress if India,’…
Spel Cheque.
Correct spelling, as a ‘thing’, has been back in the news recently as it was allegedly…