An effective fictional villain has, to my mind, one essential characteristic. The villain should build up in the reader a passionate desire for his or her comeuppance.
Category Archives: thoughts
Ways to Express the Person on the Inside, on the Outside
Why is it that we sometimes fail to express the person on the inside, on the outside? We can often be held back by self-limiting negative beliefs.
Dangerous Interpersonal Tensions at The Wheel of Love, Esoteric Spiritual Group
As a novelist I enjoy writing about relationships. I’ve spent years observing people’s behaviour in all sorts of situations – within romantic relationships, family relationships, within groups both informal and structured, at dinner parties or self-help therapy groups or in other group situations such as writing workshops. In my mystery romance novel “Mystical Circles”, I create aContinue reading “Dangerous Interpersonal Tensions at The Wheel of Love, Esoteric Spiritual Group”
How To Answer The Question at a Writers Workshop “Does Anyone Here Want To Become Rich and Famous?”
At a recent Writers Workshop which I attended in London, one of the delegates asked this question of all of us who sat at my table: “Is there anybody here who wants to become rich and famous?” A silence followed, of about three seconds in duration, when it seemed that no writer present dared toContinue reading “How To Answer The Question at a Writers Workshop “Does Anyone Here Want To Become Rich and Famous?””
A Portal to Another World – What Makes Any Place a Dream Home?
A couple of days ago the words ‘dream home’ sprang into my mind. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was a bit like J.K. Rowling on that train journey when she was gazing out of the window day-dreaming and she thought ‘Boy wizard – doesn’t know he’s a wizard – gets invited to wizard school.’ Anyway,Continue reading “A Portal to Another World – What Makes Any Place a Dream Home?”
Characters in Mystical Circles – Meet Craig, Charismatic New Age Guru who Leads the Esoteric Group The Wheel of Love
Craig McAllister leads the New Age spiritual group “The Wheel of Love”. Here, he promises, “you may take your subtle knife and cut a window into heaven.” (with apologies to Philip Pullman). Personally, when I was investigating New Age philosophies, groups and lifestyles, I would have found it hard to resist that promise. I heardContinue reading “Characters in Mystical Circles – Meet Craig, Charismatic New Age Guru who Leads the Esoteric Group The Wheel of Love”
Characters in Mystical Circles – Meet James, a Shady Academic with a Dual Personality
This is the first in a series of character studies from my mystery romance novel Mystical Circles. Meet James Willoughby, a shady academic with a dual personality, signalled by unexpected appearances as a tramp. In James’ “socially acceptable” personna he has high social status; a don at Edinburgh University, and Craig’s former PhD supervisor, he isContinue reading “Characters in Mystical Circles – Meet James, a Shady Academic with a Dual Personality”
Do Creative Writers Ever Feel they’re On the Inside? Or are they Always On the Outside of Everything Looking In?
This morning I was listening to Howard Jacobson, comic novelist and Booker Prize winner, on Desert Island Discs, and among the many things he said which touched and amused me, the most striking was this, “I have always felt myself to be on the outside of everything, looking in.” He gave this reply to the interviewer’sContinue reading “Do Creative Writers Ever Feel they’re On the Inside? Or are they Always On the Outside of Everything Looking In?”
Sacred Places of Other Religions and Thin Places in Celtic Spirituality
Today Ezine Articles have published my article on “What can we learn from the sacred places of other religions?” (see below). I wrote this after a visit to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) in Central Australia, back in 2009. The thoughts expressed in this article feed into the content of my new novel “A Passionate Spirit”. IContinue reading “Sacred Places of Other Religions and Thin Places in Celtic Spirituality”
HELLO WORLD! My First Personal Blog on The Writing Life
This is new territory for me – though I’ve written lots in my life I’ve never written it “nearly live” (apart from Facebook of course)! Usually I correct what I write over and over again – even emails. Yes, I still long for those far-off days when Mr Darcy sat down and composed carefully-thought-out letters to his littleContinue reading “HELLO WORLD! My First Personal Blog on The Writing Life”
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