On the Graham Norton Show which was broadcast on BBC One on Friday 16th April 2016, actor Hugh Grant said he took on the role of St Clair Bayfield in the newly-released film Florence Foster Jenkins against his previous intentions, because a) the script was so good and b) because he was attracted by the three dimensionalContinue reading “Thoughts on Three Dimensional Characters in Films and Novels – Inspired by Hugh Grant”
Category Archives: inspiration
The Power of Light to Uplift the Spirit and Transform a Dark World
Add light to any situation, and it changes dramatically. I have often thought the Shard in London looks like a mystical tower. Here in this view it certainly lives up to this image! Highlight one element of a picture and immediately it starts communicating its message – as you will see from these picturesContinue reading “The Power of Light to Uplift the Spirit and Transform a Dark World”
Book Marketing Inspiration and Fresh Ideas for Writers
Led by Adrianne Fitzpatrick (publisher and owner of Books To Treasure) and Wendy H. Jones (successful crime writer), the ACW Writer Day on Saturday 12th March at Widcombe Baptist Church, Bath, provided me – and a church full of my fellow-writers – with a wealth of fresh information about book publishing and marketing. The picturesContinue reading “Book Marketing Inspiration and Fresh Ideas for Writers”
Echoes of “A Passionate Spirit” in Mystical Tales from British Folklore
Book Review: “Faeries, Elves and Goblins: The Old Stories” by Rosalind Kerven, published by the National Trust I bought this book recently in a National Trust gift shop, and found it captivating. Rosalind Kerven explores the raw material from which many of our great fantasy novelists have derived their archetypes. She includes “mystical tales ofContinue reading “Echoes of “A Passionate Spirit” in Mystical Tales from British Folklore”
For Love of the Sea and the East Sussex Coastline
Living in the Midlands, one of the things I most miss is being near the sea. Brought up in Kent, as a child I often went on family trips to Rye and Camber Sands in east Sussex. To experience the beauty and vastness of the sea is a magical thing in childhood. I have continued toContinue reading “For Love of the Sea and the East Sussex Coastline”
A Passionate Spirit in Lancaster Alumni Magazine
A Passionate Spirit is featured in the latest edition of “STEPS” the Lancaster University alumni magazine online. The picture below was taken on Box Hill, in Surrey, on a recent visit. I have happy memories of Box Hill from my childhood, as I was born and brought up in Kent. This is a landscape whichContinue reading “A Passionate Spirit in Lancaster Alumni Magazine”
10 Things I Want My Readers to Know About Me
1. I was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent; my father’s family owned A.D. Skillman & Sons, the Ironmongers Shop opposite the Woolwich Ferry on the River Thames. This shop was started by my grandfather in December 1900 and the last owner was my brother Chris who sadly had to close for business inContinue reading “10 Things I Want My Readers to Know About Me”
Refugee Family Saved by the Gold of the Magi
At a recent carol service at St Mark’s Church Leamington Spa the Bishop of Coventry spoke to us about refugee families. Referring to the current crisis across Europe he drew a parallel between these refugees and the family of Jesus. Jesus was born into poverty in an occupied nation in a region in conflict – then,Continue reading “Refugee Family Saved by the Gold of the Magi”
Christmas: Time for Joy, Time for Mourning
Christmas arouses so many emotions. Magical in childhood, often much more of a challenge in adulthood – which of us are “Ding Dong Merrily On High”, and which of us are “Bah Humbug”? I love many things about Christmas: The anticipation through Advent – Advent candles Christmas carols – many of them have the most beautifulContinue reading “Christmas: Time for Joy, Time for Mourning”
Out at the Christmas Fairs Meeting Prospective Readers
One of the joys of selling books at local Christmas Fairs is that you get a chance to introduce yourself to possible new readers and to chat to them about their reading tastes. I had some interesting chats at the Princethorpe College Christmas Fair on Sunday afternoon whilst promoting and selling signed copies of my two novelsContinue reading “Out at the Christmas Fairs Meeting Prospective Readers”
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