Writers draw on and play with their memories constantly, as a way of mining themselves and the world; not in order to write memoir necessarily, but because they need to log each human impulse, foresee every scenario, inhabit all the multiple versions of life they could have lived - the decisions they might have made.…
Last week, my son sat in an unfamiliar school, waiting to take the entrance exam. "So many days pass us by, without us even noticing. And then there are the special days - the landmark days, on which your journey changes direction," the head advised the fidgeting room kindly. "Whatever happens next, today is Important:…
It's Christmas; the season of The Hardback, commencing with our worship on Sacred Super Thursday and continuing through the discovery of rocketing sales numbers behind every window of the Advent calendar thereafter until the 25th, Kindle Day, which Amazon bought from Coca-Cola in a deal behind closed doors five years ago. And then, once the…
I wrote once before about why I don't drive any more. The advantages of walking - of taking one's time when moving from A to B - are still as present in my life today as they were then. When I travel, even if by train or bus as opposed to on foot or bicycle, there is…
Where were you last night? At the pub with friends? Reading a fantastic new book by the fire? Watching some enjoyably trashy TV? At the theatre or cinema? I was home. I spent last night drinking really nice ale and writing a memo to a publisher about royalty statements, and how they could be improved.…
Making new friends, as an adult, is a marvellous thing isn't it? It's so fun, to discover new partners in crime. It doesn't happen all that often; by a certain age, we usually have enough friends to get by and tend to put new good people into an Acquaintance basket. Then, every now and then,…
This week, my daughter will be thirteen. Thirteen years ago, my first child was born. I could tell you that the years have sped past me like lightning. I can see me, in a chair, by a window, thirteen years ago, holding her tiny jerky body after feeding her and it could be yesterday. It…
Anyone can be an agent. You can be an agent today. All you have to do is to write 'literary agent' after your name and go get yourself some clients. There is no professional body to which you must belong, there are no qualifications which will put letters after your name; there is no limit…
One of the little jokes that the publishing industry likes to tell about itself is that we all love to lunch - that we spend most of every day at lunch. "I really feel we should have a lunch, don't you?" and "Surely it's time for lunch!" we proclaim to one another on the phone,…
I worked from home this past week and made a desk of the kitchen table. I have worked from home at least once a week every week for thirteen years, since my first maternity leave, and I have learned the benefit of reserving particular tasks for those days: long unhurried editorial phonecalls, creative thinking of…