The Book You Were Never Really Here is a novella by Jonathan Ames. It was originally approximately fifty pages, though it was extended to about 100 when the movie adaptation came out. I read the new version for the purposes of this comparison. Here’s the short synopsis of the book from Amazon: Joe has witnessed things…
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Why I Love Fiction Writing my first book about my failed relationships was not a book I ever intended on writing. I always wanted to write fiction. I love getting lost in the minds of fiction writers: their fantasies, love stories, and heart wrenching tragedies. I have so much going on in my own life,…
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All About YA … Sex, assault, cutting, eating disorders, pregnancy, race, murder, death … There are so many issues in the world that it’s confusing for adults, never mind young people! This is why I am SO passionate about contemporary YA Fiction and why I have rounded up some of my favourites below. Enjoy! 1) Just…
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In 2010, I had a mid-life crisis after I lost my job in the recession and couldn’t pay the bills. After months of struggling, feeling sorry for myself and failing to improve, I thankfully discovered personal development. Wandering through WH Smith newsagents, too embarrassed to venture into the self-help section, a magazine called SUCCESS caught…
Continue ReadingThe Book I LOVE this book. I have posted before that I love memoir anyway, so I should have known the chances were high I would enjoy this tale of suffering and stamina … But I had no idea how much I would recognise here! That said, a memoir about hiking did not feature high…
Continue ReadingSee ALL the 90 books I read in 2017, HERE. And for my FINAL ‘Best of 2017’ Best of 3! Following on from the great dystopian (and highly cinematic) read, The Feed – I thought I would take a look at 3 of my favourite reads that I reckon should DEFINITELY be movies or TV…
Continue ReadingMy Reading Pledge 2017 This year, I set a reading pledge for myself. I decided I would read at least 5: Writers of colour Classic literary titles (or modern prize-winners, i.e. Pulitzer) Non fiction titles Fiction titles that aren’t crime, mystery or thriller (or classics, prize-winners or non-fiction!) Plus a crime fiction subgenre I’ve never tried…
Continue ReadingThere must be something about the initials S and K. Not only do they stand for one of the world’s greatest authors, they also apply to one of our finest directors. But those two letters aren’t the only thing Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick share. They have both told the same scary story, about an…
Continue ReadingKilling someone over a blog or social media posting is pure fantasy, right? Think again … In my crime debut for Orenda Books, The Other Twin, my protagonist Poppy discovers her sister India had been writing a blog in the run up to her death by (supposed) suicide. On it, India has detailed a number…
Continue ReadingHere’s an early plotting experiment via index card of my crime debut, The Other Twin. This was over eighteen months ago, so the narrative threads changed A LOT as I outlined, re-outlined and even returned to page one several times! The path for this one did not run smooth AT ALL. Back then, it even…
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