One of my fictional characters has escaped and is on the loose. It started a few months ago when I got a letter from a reader telling me how much she’d enjoyed my latest book, Brightwood, and how Frank was her favorite character. Frank isn’t the main character in Brightwood. She’s only the imaginary friend of […]
Just when I think I’ve exhausted all the many ways I can feel sorry for myself as a writer, along comes a new torment. I was invited to a party hosted by a woman with an eleven-year-old daughter. I thought it would be a nice gesture to bring a copy of my book The One […]
We redecorated JR’s room not long ago. It hadn’t been done since he was about six. He likes to hold onto things. The farmyard picture he’d had as a toddler was still hanging on the wall, and drifts of long forgotten toys lay in great heaps behind the cupboard door. Under his desk, plastic bins […]
My teacher, Miss Johnson was like teachers everywhere. She was on a tight budget. She made our exercise books herself; cutting the paper and stapling it between covers made from old wallpaper samples. Looking at her handiwork, I’m reminded of Angela again. I wasn’t close to Angela; I hardly knew her at all. I’m not […]