While the love of a favourite author can sustain a reader’s interest through a more in-depth biography (for example, I wouldn’t give up my copy of Ian MacNiven’s 800-page monster on Lawrence Durrell for the world), it’s not really practical to read one of these for every author who takes your interest. You can get some information from Wikipedia but—potential inaccuracies aside—there’s only so much detail you can get from a web page (and you can’t read them in the bath, or on the beach). Enter the new Brief Lives, a series of bite-sized author biographies from Hesperus Press… (Keep reading …)

Faber’s new website, Robin Cook’s latest thrilller promoted with controversial “webisodes”, and more… (Keep reading …)

Many of the manuscripts that cross my desk are written in the present tense, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The present has a lot of pitfalls, especially for new writers. It’s a bit tricky and unnatural, so while it can be used to good effect in a brief passage, over the course of an entire novel it can be tiring. It’s also hard to get the grammar right, especially when you start bringing in things like the past perfect. Finally, it’s often seen as an early danger sign of amateurish prose.

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I find myself advising the writers to drop the story back into the past tense.

It was interesting, then, to read Blackmoor, published last month. It’s the debut novel from young British author and UEA graduate Edward Hogan, and substantial pasages are written in the present tense. (Keep reading …)

Today’s news and links include paranormal detectives, the latest Amazon controversy, and some good new blog posts… (Keep reading …)

Last night I attended one of the most interesting dinners I’ve ever been to, and like all good experiences, it ties in with an aspect of writing.

The meal was a special event hosted by Context Travel, one of their “Out of Context” events. It took place in Rome, in Enoteca Casa Bleve, and it was a scent dinner. (Keep reading …)

The Guardian today has a good piece by Philip Pullman about the move in the publishing industry to introduce age banding on children’s books. I could explain all the reasons why that’s a bad idea, but he does it so much better, so go and read it.

You can also visit the website that Pullman has set up with a couple of other authors, and if you’re in the industry you can sign their petition. That’s here.