Location, Location, Location: the Importance of Setting in Fiction Novels are clearly about people and their stories. But I have always been a great believer in the importance of setting in fiction. It influences characters in so many ways and can tell you a lot about them. You also have to create a believable worldContinue reading “Location, Location, Location: the Importance of Setting in Fiction”
Author Archives: Vanessa in France
On the Chaise Longue with Vanessa: Meet Author @LizaPerrat
On the Chaise Longue with Vanessa: Meet Author @LizaPerrat Today I’m delighted to welcome an author who also lives in France, but on the other side near Lyon. Liza Perrat and I know each other only virtually, but somehow I feel I know her better than that already! She is the author of two terrific historicalContinue reading “On the Chaise Longue with Vanessa: Meet Author @LizaPerrat”
A Reminder about the @Writersabroad Anthology 2015
Just a little reminder. If you are, or have been at any time, an ex-pat (i.e. living away from your country of origin), and on top of that you are a writer…you still have more than three weeks to submit a short story or a poem for the Writers Abroad Anthology 2015.
BLUESTOCKINGS: The Victorian Campaign for Female Education – Guest post by @carolJhedges
Today’s guest on the chaise longue is novelist Carol Hedges. She’s written a number of very successful books, the latest of which are Victorian crime thrillers. A passionate environmental campaigner and devoted grandmother, Carol is also noted for her clever wit and punning Tweets. And she always has something interesting to say. Here she is onContinue reading “BLUESTOCKINGS: The Victorian Campaign for Female Education – Guest post by @carolJhedges”
10 Things Not to Say to an Author
A tongue in cheek post today, but with a grain of truth. Readers I meet at parties or other events usually have very interesting and perceptive things to say about books and writing. I love having the opportunity to talk with them, which doesn’t happen often living down here in la France profonde. YouContinue reading “10 Things Not to Say to an Author”
What Happened to the Art of Letter Writing?
The noble art of letter writing seems to have gone into freefall. I think this is a shame, although I am the first to admit that I rarely find time these days to write more than the tersest of emails. As a literary device, letters are a gift for authors, as I know from myContinue reading “What Happened to the Art of Letter Writing?”
The Role of the Editor: Guest Post by Sue Barnard
I’m delighted to welcome my friend and fellow Crooked Cat author, Sue Barnard, to the chaise longue this week. Not only is Sue an author in her own right, but she’s also an editor. More precisely, she is my editor. And a cracking job she did, too, of The House at Zaronza. She saved meContinue reading “The Role of the Editor: Guest Post by Sue Barnard”
TEN THINGS NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT BOOK PUBLISHING
Originally posted on Jane Bwye:
I am delighted to welcome back a valued friend, Karen Charlton, from my Authonomy days. Her little piece is so, so true. And the strange thing is, we all have to learn every one of these lessons by personal experience; sometimes more than once. In a recent survey carried out…
A #Corsican Easter Procession
Religion in Corsica is just as important as in the rest of France – if not more so. You get the sense, though, that the Roman Catholic faith overlays deeper currents of belief, stretching back beyond the birth of Christianity. It’s more elemental, like Corsican music. There wasn’t a place in The House at ZaronzaContinue reading “A #Corsican Easter Procession”
On the Chaise Longue with Vanessa: Meet Novelist Cathie Dunn @cathiedunn
It’s my great pleasure today to welcome fellow Crooked Cat author and historical novelist Cathie Dunn to the chaise longue. She’s a versatile writer, who has written about different periods and places in history. She’s also very fond of cats, so Felix is in his element.
Vanessa Couchman 