The following piece was written by my 8 year old daughter as a school assignment with the brief to understand and describe a familiar setting. While I'm not too sure that this is our everyday experience, the beauty of what she wrote completely blew me away. And not just because she's my daughter but because it reminded me of how I used to relish words for their own sake, scattering them through my writing like jewels which drew the reader in with their sparkle. A professional writer sometimes loses sight of the sheer joy of words, just as a professional chef become inured to the taste, smell and beauty of individual ingredients. Thanks to my daughter, I have had a fresh burst of inspiration, not to mention motherly pride. What she wrote was pure poetry and I share it with you as a piece that rightly stands on its own merits and not merely as the work of a child...or even my child. Here is what she wrote: Once a castle a frigid, glacial place. Its turrets were lofty and shameful and its arrow slits were left forlorn and untouched. A palace so flamboyant and fluid, the doors so ...

There's a thought-provoking piece over at the Bookseller blogs by Anthony Horowitz on the chill winds that are blowing through the worlds of publishing and television drama. As one traditionally feeds the other, this is what we might term a double dip for the traditional sources of entertainment for the masses. Of course, we are facing a world in which digital forms of entertainment have gained rapid ground. For younger people, in particular, they are the the first resort when it comes to choosing how they wish to spend that segment of their leisure time. I touched on the subject of digitization in my previous post and its effects will have far-reaching consequences for all creators of original entertainment. Those who fail to adapt to the new environment may find that there is no longer a place for their work on any platform. You can read what Anthony Horowitz has to say on the subject here: Horowitz Blogging at The Bookseller

An interesting debate over at Digital Book World with Jason Allen Ashlock, the founder of the Movable Type Literary Group, arguing that agents need to evolve to meet the needs of today's publishing market.  I couldn't agree more and have waded in with my two cents' worth. I suggest you head on over there and read the debate in its entirety.  It's fascinating to see it from all sides, some authors clearly very unhappy with their experience of agents and others coming at it from a more positive angle. Here's what I had to say: An agent may be the best person to stand alongside a work during the long and often bumpy gestation period but that presupposes a skillset many simply do not possess. And why should they if, like many, they entered the industry over ten years ago? The requirements of producing a book as an app or a game are a mystery to most publishers, never mind agents. I would suggest, therefore, that an agenting team work together as they do at some of the bigger agencies although this at present rarely extends beyond film and some digital rights. Smaller agencies could achieve this by working with dedicated consultants – now there’s a ...

This is the cover of the German edition of Kumari, Goddess of Gotham, which has just been published by Fischer Schatzinsel in Frankfurt. Like every author on the planet (and if they deny it they're lying) I've checked on Amazon.de and it seems to be going down well with four and five star reviews. For all I know, as I don't speak German, they could be scathing in their content but, in this case, I'll settle for blissful ignorance. What I love about foreign editions are the variations on a title - in this case it has become Prinzessin in New York. I also love the illustration by Annabelle von Sperber and the satisfyingly chunky feel of this hardback edition. That's the other great thing about translations...sometimes your work acquires epic proportions in the process.

This picture is of Father Bronislaw Gostomski who died in yesterday's appalling plane crash that took the lives of so many prominent Poles, including the President, Lech Kaczynski.  It was drawn by my eight year old daughter who had known him literally all her young life. We came home after a gloriously sunny day spent at the fair in our local park to find an OB van parked in our street and press camped outside the church opposite our house.  We knew nothing of the plane crash or the fact that the priest who had been in charge of the church for the past eight years had perished in it.  It was a BBC World Service reporter who told me the news and it felt like a punch to my gut. I've learned from reading reports since that Father Gostomski was both a Canon and personal chaplain to the Polish President.  We knew him simply as Father and as the man who brought order and unity to a sometimes disparate congregation.  Polish accession into the EU brought hundreds of thousands of Poles to London, swelling the congregation at the church to often unmanageable proportions.  This has had a profound impact on what is a narrow ...

There are many things the late writer Cyril Connolly and I have in common, not least of which is our shared birthday (September 10, in case you need time to save up).  Connolly's was the rapier wit that carved out such epithets as: " Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self." It is with another of his often misquoted sayings, however, that I take issue, especially as today is Mother's Day for it was also Connolly who said: "There is no more sombre enemy of good art than a pram in the hall."  Given that Connolly died in 1974 at the age of 71, it is reasonable to assume that he was referring mainly to women artists and writers as hands-on parenting was yet to become fashionable amongst fathers.  In my experience and his vernacular, Connolly was talking utter tosh. Post motherhood, most creative women I know become even more so.  Sure, we no longer have the luxury of endless stretches of unbroken time to dedicate to our work but, then again, who does?  Live, as ever, intervenes and what more valuable intervention can there be than a child?  In fact, I would hazard ...

Yes, it's been a while.  Same old excuse - I've been writing.  Actual locked away in my garret style writing with minimal distractions.  I know I should be accomplishing this while simultaneously keeping up a whirl of blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, Ninging and general Socialmediaimploding but you know what?  I don't want to.   I want to keep it pure.  I am a return to vinyl author. I was reading about the music industry at the weekend and how there is a surge in purchases of good old fashioned records.  Some labels are only releasing new stuff on vinyl.  I like that.  It feels authentic.  And so does my refusal to be sucked in by the endless quicksand that is social media.  Sure, I still do all of the above but not when I am supposed to be writing.  I am one of those writers who becomes wholly absorbed in their work.  Hell, I don't even play the radio when I'm writing.  I need peace.  Silence. Endless acres of imaginative potential.  I see writers Twittering away all the time and wonder how they do it.  Do I envy them?  No.  I prefer to give everything I have to the work at hand.  For me, ...

I was invited by the brilliant, best-selling novelist Dorothy Koomson to share my essential reads and writing tips on her website.  Click here to read all about it. While you're there, check out her new book: The Ice Cream Girls.  As thought-provoking, warm and insightful as her other books, this is sure to be a huge hit.  Here's what the blurb has to say: As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts. Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again . . . Gripping, thought-provoking and heart-warming, The Ice Cream Girls will make you wonder if you can ever truly know the people you love

Of all the weird and wonderful New Year emails I received there was one I really liked.  Print it out, stick it up by your computer and read it when it all gets too much... The Optimist's Creed by Christian Larson Promise Yourself ... To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and proseprity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet. To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds. To live in the ...

Just did a book signing at Waterstone's Maidenhead with the force of nature that is Mark Robson. There's a brilliant team at Maidenhead and they not only know about the books on their shelves they clearly care that their customers go away happy. Here's a pic of Mark and I comparing remaining stock at around 2.30pm. I'm trying not to look too smug...