In 2021, Isla, a student of creative writing at the University of the Highlands and Islands, asked me to share my experiences of writing my first novel Castles of Steel and Thunder in this author interview. I’m happy to say that Isla also seemed to enjoy the follow-up book, Pieces of Sky and Stone, and…
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If, like me, you self-published your first novel during the pandemic, you might be wondering how on earth to go about promoting it. With bookshops – and indeed most places – still shut due to lockdown, it may not feel like the ideal time to be attracting new readers to your book. Thankfully, there are…
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In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety. Abraham Maslow You may (or may not!) have noticed that I didn’t write my regular blog post last week – unusual for me, as I try to keep up a weekly practice of posting. I did…
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Recently I’ve been trying to get back into the habit of writing, and to be honest, I’ve been struggling. After finishing the last school year on a high after completing the first draft of my novel, I’ve returned to the new year feeling, frankly, a bit flat. The origin of this dip in motivation is…
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For as long as I can remember I have wanted to write a novel. In fact, as a teenager I started writing a very bad one (which never got further than the first chapter and thankfully has never seen the light of day). The fact that it was truly awful doesn’t really matter. The point…
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