Inspiration
To what extent is creative writing influenced by a writers’ life experiences? What is it that inspires, motivates putting pen to paper?
For me, reading Rebecca was the catalyst but, looking back, I was also haunted by the sister who died the year before I was born. It can’t be coincidence that all my novels incorporate a quest for someone missing? In later life, family bereavements continue to stimulate my writing splurges. Does creative writing help us to heal?
T.S. Eliot
I couldn’t leave Dorset without nipping across the border to Somerset and paying my respects to another great poet, T.S. Eliot.
NANOWRIMO 2020
Good luck to all my writer friends taking part in Nano this year – and why I’m taking this year out…
Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca – Netflix Movie Review
The Netflix film of Rebecca has finally been released, but does it live up to the hype?
Anticipation for Netflix’s Rebecca
Lily James looks as if she might be believable. The first time I read Rebecca, I was immersed so fully that I failed to notice the protagonist had no name – she was me, and I was her.
The Travelling Philanthropist – the Gregorian Calendar
The Travelling Philanthropist – The curious tale of some missing days and a man with an umbrella…
The Changeling and other short stories featuring fairies
Don’t you just love serendipity? Imagine my delight when I found out that J M Barrie was Daphne du Maurier’s uncle? Not only that, he was a contemporary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Inspiration for Three Faced Doll
My novel Three Faced Doll was inspired by a doll my sister and I shared when were young. The plot developed from broodling about lost sisters, dead twins and madness in my family.
Writing through Grief
It was while I was attending the Fowey Festival in Cornwall I received desperately sad news. My little brother, ten years my junior, had died. That’s not supposed to happen. His death came without warning and really threw me.
Granny’s Story – Jacob and George
When you’re a parent, you want to keep your children safe and happy. That doesn’t stop just because they grow up. I shared in their joy and excitement as my daughter and her partner prepared for the birth, and I shared in their heartbreak…
