Monthly Archives: March 2012

Why is John le Carre such a good spy / thriller writer?

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

I first came across John Le Carre’s novels 30 years ago. The first book of his I read was “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.” It dealt with a theme that recurs constantly through the remainder of le … Continue reading →

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Piper Bayard’s brilliant idea for saving whales

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

A “must read” article for 2012: Author Piper Bayard has a hilarious article on her blog about saving the whale. She suggests renaming the Muskrat “Imperial Dwarf Deer” and declaring it an endangered species. How would this help save the … Continue reading →

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The Japanese tsunami – what is it with ghost stories?

Posted on March 10, 2012 by

The newspapers report this week that the Japanese city of Ishinomaki, which took the brunt of the tsunami in March last year is awash with ghost stories. This one city accounted for a fifth of all the tsunami deaths. One … Continue reading →

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Describing setting in novels.

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

I’ve been thinking lately about setting: that is, how we describe the place where the action in our novel is happening. Think of the things your character can observe about a place.  Interiors What color are the walls? What color … Continue reading →

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