Elizabeth Chats With…Nicola May
Nicola May is the author of ten romantic comedy novels, all of which have appeared in the Kindle bestseller charts. Her novels Christmas Spirit and The School Gates won Best…
Writerly Round-Up: September 2019
I’m sure it’s no coincidence that September, just nine months after Christmas and New Year, is a packed month for birthdays. So many of my friends have been celebrating this…
Television Tales: 1960s
This week we are continuing my meander around television through the decades. Television, that cultural icon sitting in the corner of most people’s lounges, which has been blamed for all sorts…
Family learning, The People’s Book Prize and The String Games
Today, I’m taking a back seat and handing my blog over to friend and Dorset-based author, Gail Aldwin. I first met Gail in 2018 when she pitched her debut novel,…
Writerly Round-Up: August 2019
As we reach the final day of the hottest August Bank Holiday since records began (at least here in UK), I’m writing this while waiting for the sun to break…
Television Tales: 1950s
Today I am starting another of my series of meanders down memory lane, examining some of the cultural references that resonate with me, and hopefully with you too. So far…
Saying Goodbye To The Garden
Friday already and at the Hayes Conference Centre, Actual Swanwickers are putting the final touches to their packing, while elsewhere, members of Virtual Swanwick are putting away the garden chairs….
Who’s In The Garden On Thursday?
As we approach the end of our Virtual Swanwick, tour, we are back in the Midlands. Today’s guest lives in Northamptonshire. Although she’s a bit of a globetrotter too. As…
Who’s In The Garden On Wednesday?
Today’s journey is just a tiny one across the Tamar into Cornwall to visit a most prolific writer of short stories. We first met at another writing conference, which shall…
Who’s In The Garden On Tuesday?
Today, we’re heading to my home county of Devon; to Plymouth, home of the Hoe, where Sir Francis Drake allegedly played bowls, and also to our latest guest on the…
Who’s In The Garden On Monday?
Today our tour takes us across the water to our European neighbour, France, and to the new home of my erstwhile fancy-dress buddy. She’s taken some huge steps recently, as…
Who’s In The Garden On Sunday?
As the first day of courses gets underway at The Hayes, our tour heads southwards towards East Sussex and the home of a long-timer Swanwicker. She was my ‘Eagle-Eye’ proofreader…
Who’s Also In The Garden On Saturday?
Next on our tour of Virtual Swanwickers, we are dropping in on the writer who has shaped this week’s programme for VS and made it the best so far. She…
Who’s In The Garden on Saturday?
It’s the second Saturday in August! Hundreds of writers are converging on a small town in Derbyshire. It’s time for the annual Writers’ Summer School known familiarly as ‘Swanwick’. And…
Elizabeth Chats With…Anne Cater
I first came across this week’s guest through her wonderful Facebook group, Book Connectors. Currently composed of nearly 5000 members, it’s a place where authors and bloggers can connect, and talk…
Writerly Round-Up: July 2019
The end of July already! And it’s been a busy, fun-filled month in our household. We celebrated our forty-second wedding anniversary with a quiet supper at home, musing on whether…
Movie Moments: 2010s
This week we have the final instalment of my latest meander across the decades. In Movie Moments, we’re looking at what was topping the charts at the box office, some…
Elizabeth Chats With…Jonathan Higgs
I first met this month’s guest back in 2013, when he first ventured into the ‘surreal and alternative world’ – his words, not mine – that is the Writers’ Summer…
Busy, Busy, Busy…
It’s the second Monday of the month, which is always interview day. Except, this month, it isn’t. There are five Monday in July, which doesn’t fit too well with a…
My Working World: H is for…
It’s on days like today I realise how big the world is, how long the alphabet is – and how little I’ve seen of either, despite travelling on business for…
Writerly Round-Up: June 2019
Here we are, nearing the end of June; and although it only seems like yesterday when we were all stuffing ourselves with chocolates in front of the Christmas tree –…
Movie Moments: 2000s
This week we have another instalment of my latest meander across the decades. In Movie Moments, we’re looking at what was topping the charts at the box office, some of…
Elizabeth Chats With…Maria Hennings Hunt
Regular readers of my blog will already know how important the annual Writers’ Summer School in Swanwick is to me. And over the past few months, I have been featuring…
Writerly Round-up: May 2019
May is one of my favourite months. It’s when my garden puts away its winter garb and starts dressing for summer. Looking through the office doors as I type, I…
Movie Moments: 1990s
This week we have another instalment of my latest meander across the decades. In Movie Moments, we’re looking at what was topping the charts at the box office, some of…
Elizabeth Chats With…Lance Greenfield
The life of this month’s guest spans the Royal Navy; a spell as a dairyman in the Highlands of Scotland; many years in military survey in the British Army; and…
My Working World: G is for…
After a couple of rather dry months, it looks like my luck is changing. There are eleven countries in the world beginning with G, and I’ve visited four of them,…
Writerly Round-Up: April 2019
April seems to have gone by in a flash. There were two bank holidays over the Easter weekend and we spent the whole four days mostly eating, drinking and chatting…
Movie Moments: 1980s
This week we return to my latest series of meanders through the past seven decades. In Movie Moments, we’re looking at what was topping the charts at the box office,…
Elizabeth Chats With…Lesley Deschner
I first met this month’s guest at Swanwick Writers’ Summer School of which she is the current Treasurer. She has also served as Secretary to the School in the past….
My Working World: F is for…
This seemed such a great idea when I first thought about it. I’ve worked in more than fifty countries around the world, interacting with hundreds of people, in government and…
Writerly Round-Up: March 2019
While last month was filled with gastronomic treats, this month has been particularly theatrical. I saw two favourite singers, Irina Ilnytska and Jane Anderson-Brown, perform a programme of operatic arias…
Movie Moments: 1970s
This week we return to my latest series of meanders through the past seven decades. In Movie Moments, we’re looking at what was topping the charts at the box office,…
Elizabeth Chats With…Annette Shaw
This month’s guest is the books editor for Devon Life; a great friend to and vehement supporter of authors and all things literary in the South West; and a delightful…
My Working World: E is for…
Last month, I struggled to find places beginning with D in which I had worked, and ended up with one country and three cities. This month is going to be…
Writerly Round-Up: February 2019
They say time seems to speed up as we get older, and I certainly concur; the days appear to be on fast forward and even the weeks are gone at…
Movie Moments: 1960s
This week we return to my latest series of meanders through the past seven decades. In Movie Moments, we’re looking at what was topping the charts at the box office,…
Elizabeth Chats With…Orna Ross
My guest this month has been described in The Bookseller as “One of the 100 most influential people in publishing.” She is an award-winning Irish novelist and poet, Founder-Director of…
My Working World: D Is For…
A few months ago, I started writing this series – and it seemed like such a good idea at the time. I’ve worked in more than fifty countries and many,…
Writerly Round-Up: January 2019
A New Year, a new title, a new logo. I’m retiring the Potluck Club and replacing it with a monthly Writerly Round-Up. As before, it’s going to be a mix…
Movie Moments: 1950s
This month sees the start of another of my series of meanders through the past seven decades. In the previous two series we’ve looked at books and songs that bring…
Elizabeth Chats With…Cherry Gilchrist
I met this month’s guest when she joined Exeter Writers a couple of years back. She is an award-winning author whose themes include mythology, alchemy, life stories, esoteric traditions, and Russian…
Glass Half Full?
For the past couple of years, my first post in January has been a review of the previous year’s objectives: what I’ve managed to achieve; and where I’ve been less…
Season’s Greetings
December is a busy month for all of us; and I learnt some years ago that any plans I had for writing were usually scuppered by a combination of post-NaNoWriMo…
Elizabeth Chats With…Phil Collins
My guest this month was never, as far as I know, the drummer for a well-known rock band. But he is a musician and singer, a writer, and someone whose…
My Working World: C Is For…
Last month My Working World took us to Brazil and Belgium, two places where I worked for quite a long time, and of where I have vivid memories. This month,…
November’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to November’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. November has been a busy month for me, with three major events taking place in the first…
Seven Decades of Song (7)
This month we come to the end of Seven Decades of Song, reflections on music through the years. So far we have covered the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the…
Elizabeth Chats With…Debbie Young
Debbie Young is a very busy woman! She is the best-selling author of the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries; she has also published three collections of short stories plus a variety…
My Working World: B Is For…
Last month, My Working World took us across the globe, from Argentina in South America in the west, to Australia in the far east of the Pacific. Today we are…
October’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to October’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. I’ve just returned from a wonderful ten days in the Outer Hebrides with my sisters. Despite dire…
Seven Decades of Song (6)
My latest series of monthly strolls down memory lane is Seven Decades of Song, reflections on music through the years. So far we have visited the 1950s, the 1960s, the…
Elizabeth Chats With…Ingrid Jendrzejewski
My guest this month is Ingrid Jendrzejewski, Secretary to Swanwick Writers’ Summer School (and hence a very important cog in that particular wheel). She grew up in Vincennes, Indiana, studied…
My Working World: A is for…
For the past year, I’ve filled this travel spot with Snapshots of Russia. Now I think it’s time to widen our horizons a little and take you to some of…
September’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. It’s a wet and windy time here in Devon at the moment, as it is in…
Seven Decades of Song (5)
My latest series of monthly strolls down memory lane is Seven Decades of Song, reflections on music through the years. So far we have visited the 1950s, the 1960s, the…
Elizabeth Chats With…Adam Croft
My guest this month is one of the best-selling crime and thriller authors in the world. In the last three years he has achieved phenomenal success, selling over one million…
Snapshots of Russia: Yekaterinburg
For a while now, you have accompanied me on a monthly visit to some of the towns and cities I worked in during my time in Russia. We’ve been to…
August’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. It’s Bank Holiday Monday here in the UK; which means, of course, that the sun has…
Seven Decades of Song (4)
My latest series of monthly strolls down memory lane is Seven Decades of Song, reflections on music through the years. So far we have visited the 1950s, the 1960s and…
#Swanwick70: That’s All Folks
Friday already, and it’s time to hit the road. We’ve taken part in courses and workshops, learned from our tutors and fellow delegates, been impressed and inspired by our guest…
#Swanwick70: Maggie Was In The Book Room
Well, that’s it for this year, folks; the Book Room is officially closed and the authors will be arriving this morning to sign their sales sheets and remove their (hopefully…
#Swanwick70: Shirley’s In The Book Room
We had another superb speaker last night in Simon Nelson from BBC Writersroom. I will never look at Harry Potter and Star Wars in the same way again; nor The…
#Swanwick70: Toni’s In The Book Room
And as we move into Tuesday, it’s hard to believe we’ve reached the mid-point of the week already. It’s Procrastination-free Day, where many of us put aside the courses and…
#Swanwick70: Madalyn’s In The Book Room
Well, what a brilliant time we had yesterday. After a day of great courses, we were all blown away by our guest speaker. A A Dhand is not only a…
#Swanwick70: Lynne’s In The Book Room
Today’s Sunday and the first full day of the Summer School. Having been inspired by last night’s guest speaker, Sue Moorcroft, we are all eager to get started on the…
#Swanwick70: Val’s In The Book Room
It all kicks off this evening with the Chairman’s Welcome in the Main Conference Hall. But before that, there will be lots of work in the background, getting things ready:…
#Swanwick70: Who’s In The Book Room?
For the next week, this blog is moving to Derbyshire, to the little town of Swanwick, for the annual Writers’ Summer School. And this year, it’s a biggie: our seventieth…
Elizabeth Chats With…Sue Moorcroft
My guest this month is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author who has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle. She’s won the Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award…
Nothing (New) To See Here…
It’s one of those rare months with five Mondays in it. And this morning I woke even earlier than usual (and anyone who knows me will realise just how early…
July’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. And what a beautiful month it’s been, here in the UK. We’re still basking in warm…
Seven Decades of Song (3)
Two months ago, I began Seven Decades of Song, a series of reflections of music through the years with a walk through the 1950s, and last month we visited my…
Elizabeth Chats With…Jenny Kane
I’d heard quite a lot about this month’s guest before I met her. Jenny Kane’s well-known both as an author and as a writing tutor here in the south-west of…
Snapshots of Russia: Chelyabinsk
Between 1989 and 2012, I worked in the international pharmaceutical industry (yes, the sometimes murky world in which my thrillers are set). During that time, I travelled all over the…
June’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. I’ve had the benefit of a wonderful break in Greece this month, which has really recharged…
Seven Decades of Song (2)
Last month, I began Seven Decades of Song, a new series of reflections of music through the years with a walk down the 1950s memory lane, listening to request programmes on the…
Elizabeth Chats With…Anne Williams
Once again, this month, I’m talking to someone who’s a very important part of the literary scene and, although not an author herself, the words she writes on her award-winning…
Snapshots of Russia: Vladivostok
Between 1989 and 2012, I worked in the international pharmaceutical industry (yes, the sometimes murky world in which my thrillers are set). During that time, I travelled all over the…
May’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. For the second time this month, we have a Bank Holiday here in the UK. And…
Seven Decades of Song (1)
Today, I start a new monthly series of reflections. Having spent the past seven months taking a journey through my literary past, we’re now moving on to music, or more…
Elizabeth Chats With…Ian Hobbs
My guest this month isn’t a writer; he’s much more important than that! He’s a reader. And not just any reader, but one of the fiercest supporters of reading, books…
April’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. Another month gone already! And this morning, I had my first swim of the year in…
Seven Ages of Books (7)
In the first part of this series on Seven Ages of Books, we looked at the books and authors that influenced my very early years. In the second part, we moved forward into…
Elizabeth Chats With…Celia Moore
Today’s guest has been on my blog before. Last November, I hosted one stage of Celia Moore’s blog tour when she launched her debut novel. At that time, she was…
Snapshots of Russia: Kursk
Between 1989 and 2012, I worked in the international pharmaceutical industry (yes, the sometimes murky world in which my thrillers are set). During that time, I travelled all over the…
March’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. It only seems like a couple of days since I wrote last month’s copy. But if,…
Seven Ages of Books (6)
In the first part of this series on Seven Ages of Books, we looked at the books and authors that influenced my very early years. In the second part, we…
Elizabeth Chats With…Shelley Wilson
I don’t remember when fellow-Midlander Shelley Wilson and I first ‘met’ online. It must have been in one writerly Facebook group or another. But I remember exactly when we first…
Snapshots of Russia: Kostroma
Between 1989 and 2012, I worked in the international pharmaceutical industry (yes, the sometimes murky world in which my thrillers are set). During that time, I travelled all over the…
February’s Pot Luck Club
Welcome to this month’s Pot Luck Club, a round-up of writerly bits and pieces. The end of winter means different things to different people. And for those of you who…
Seven Ages of Books (5)
In the first part of this series, we went all the way back to my first decade and looked at the books and authors that influenced my very early years. In the second…
Elizabeth Chats With…Wayne Snowden
I first met this month’s guest via a writers’ Facebook group when he provided one of the prizes in my book-launch draw.. When we realised we lived within 10 miles…
An Edinburgh Setting by Val Penny
This week, I’m handing over my blog to fellow Swanwicker and debut novelist Val Penny. In the week that Hunter’s Chase is launched, she’s going to tell us a bit about…
Travels with a Reluctant Holidaymaker: Days 5-10
By the fifth day of the holiday, my resolution to write lots of notes, which can be turned into an amusing series of blog posts, has deteriorated and for the…
Travels with a Reluctant Holidaymaker: Day 4
This morning I wake late and it is already daylight. No pre-dawn scribbling marathon for me today. I get a few words drafted, but that’s all. For some reason, I…
Travels with a Reluctant Holidaymaker: Day 3
Like most people, I come out of the excesses that are the Christmas period with lots of good intentions. I don’t call them resolutions; resolutions can be broken far too…
Travels with a Reluctant Holidaymaker: Day 2
With a flight at six thirty, it’s going to be an early start and we are both wide awake from three. We abandon any attempt to sleep and are ready…
Travels With A Reluctant Holidaymaker: Day 1
We’ve been away at Christmas several times: to Majorca,to Fuerteventura, to Egypt, even once to Jordan during Ramadam – possibly the best overseas Christmas we ever had. But this is…
Seven Ages Of Books (4)
In the first part of this series, we went all the way back to my first decade and looked at the books and authors that influenced my very early years. In the second…
Elizabeth Chats With…Carolyn Hughes
One of the things I love about this life I have chosen is the huge community of writers out there, and the serendipitous nature of the contacts we make. I…
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