“Do you want to be well-integrated, do you want to feel whole, happy, or in tune with your deeper self?” These are the questions that novelist Susan Howatch asks her readers in her Starbridge series of novels, and her St Benets Trilogy. And then, when her readers respond to this question, they find stories withContinue reading “The Novels of Susan Howatch, Love, Miracle Wine and the Language of Invitation”
Category Archives: life
Inspirational and Not-So-Inspirational Teachers… and Books Where the Student Falls in Love With Her University Tutor
My teenage son was talking to me about the Simpsons episode when Marge Simpson fell for her university tutor, while she was going out with Homer. We got onto the subject via inspirational teachers. He mentioned his options at school and why he’d chosen not to go with certain subjects. And what did it comeContinue reading “Inspirational and Not-So-Inspirational Teachers… and Books Where the Student Falls in Love With Her University Tutor”
Books That Shock, Move and Change Their Readers
I have loved many books in my life, but the ones that stand out for me have three ingredients: archetypal themes, emotional charge and X factor. And they are the ones which can indeed change the way you see the world. My three nominations will be grouped under the headings of the power they exertedContinue reading “Books That Shock, Move and Change Their Readers”
Defining Moments of Life: Journey To a University Open Day
The beautiful Cambrian mountains – spectacular scenery to drive through, to your daughter’s first university open day. A misty, rolling, dreamlike landscape – ideal for a journey, but not a place that many find easy to live in. The route took us from the Midlands through the England/Wales border country, to Aberystwyth on the west coastContinue reading “Defining Moments of Life: Journey To a University Open Day”
Do Fiction Writers Use Real Life Characters in Their Novels?
Surely if you put a real person in your novel they might recognise themselves? Is it all right to use real people to create characters in your novel? Suppose they recognise themselves? In my experience this is extremely unlikely. JK Rowling based the character of Gilderoy Lockhart on someone she knew. In “Harry Potter and theContinue reading “Do Fiction Writers Use Real Life Characters in Their Novels?”
The Double-Edged Sword of an Artist’s Silence
“If I didn’t make films I don’t know what else I would do, apart from playing jazz and making a nuisance of myself.” (Woody Allen) Woody Allen’s words above show the nature of passion for art. For many creative people cannot imagine giving up, retiring, or falling into silence, before they die. The master of comicContinue reading “The Double-Edged Sword of an Artist’s Silence”
Unconscious Research and Dream Yoga
What might walking backwards through the Australian rainforest have to do with a mystery romance novel set in the Cotswolds? It was all part of my “unconscious research”. And it was a long research journey too, I admit. If you’re intrigued, go to Martin Willoughby’s blog to read my guest post on how “Dream Yoga” played a roleContinue reading “Unconscious Research and Dream Yoga”
Mystical Circles, Emotional Charge on the Spiritual Journey – How Life Itself Inspires an Author
Over the last few months, some readers have been asking me, “What inspired you to write ‘Mystical Circles’? And, as I have just issued a revised edition of the novel on Kindle with a new cover design, I thought now would be a good moment to answer some of those questions. The story evolved outContinue reading “Mystical Circles, Emotional Charge on the Spiritual Journey – How Life Itself Inspires an Author”
Mental and Emotional Byways, Complexes and Hang-Ups in Fictional Characters
Having just read an interesting blog post about depression, I was led to reflect upon how easy it is to allow your own “principles” to override compassion, empathy and honesty about the reality of human life. This applies to all of us, but there is a special challenge here for those of us who write stories, andContinue reading “Mental and Emotional Byways, Complexes and Hang-Ups in Fictional Characters”
On the Outside Looking In, Royal Barges, Rowing Boats, Glimpses, Panoramas and Artistic Vision
As I watched The Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on TV and tried to work out whether I wished I was there, or whether I was glad not to be, I remembered these words in a radio interview several months ago. ‘I have always felt myself to be on the outside of everything, looking in.’ IContinue reading “On the Outside Looking In, Royal Barges, Rowing Boats, Glimpses, Panoramas and Artistic Vision”
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