VAL PENNY

I first met author T.G.Camp bell when both of us attended an event to celebrate our novels being considered for dramatisation. It is therefore no surprise that when we met again at Authors at the Armouries in Leeds I bought one of her novels to read on my journey home. The Blurb In The Case of the Curious Client, the Bow Street Society are hired by Mr Thaddeus Dorsey to locate a missing friend he knows only as ‘Palmer’ after he fails to keep a late night appointment with him

I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet fellow author Neil J. Hart at Authors at theArmouries run by the powerhouse who is Sarah Michelle Lynch. Neil suggested that he and I do a book swap and as he wrotes break-out books for midteens, he agreed that I might gift the book to our local library's gift hunt for less fortunate children. Neil chose my first novel, Hunter's Chase and gave me The Last Scarecrow , (Scarecrows of Coldharbour Farm Book 1), however, as predict

It is a joy to have my friend Miriam Drori return to the blog on the publication of her new book Re-Connection. It is always lovely to have early details of a newly launched book, but especially when the author is a personal friend. The tour for the book of short stories entitled Re-Connections is run by Lynsey Adams of Reading Between the Lines and I am grateful to her for inviting me to take part. Thank you for having me back on your blog, Val. I was inspired to put Re-Con

I attended my first Book Signing in the summer of 2024. Books on the Beach was held in Blackpool and run by Lizzie James. Lizzie is a delightful human being. She is organised, patient, kind, runs exceptional author events and is a USA Today bestselling author. Of course, as this form of author celebration was new to me, I needed a great deal of support and asked many questions, all of which Lizzie asnwered with patience and a smile. What I enjoyed most about this book signing

I write two series of books and chose to write my books in series in order to develop my characters. However, I have also written stories with standalone characters and, indeed, all my books can be read in any order as standalone novels. There are certainly advatages and disadvantages to writing a series or standalones books. I want to explore those here. Advantages: For me the big draw for writing a series was the opportunity for character development because writing a serie

We are always told that we shouldn't judge a book but its cover. However, in reality is everybody does just that and covers are crucial to the success of any book. For authors it acts as a primary marketing tool because it creates the readers' first impression of the book and the story within. This is how it helps to drive sales. For the readers the book cover sets their expectations of the tale the book will tell. A strong cover conveys genre and tone, builds credibility, a

Once, many years ago when I was studying creative writing, I wrote a poem about Mary Queen of Scots. It was subsequently set to music and...

All authors strive to create interesting relatable characters. They spend a lot of time character building. This is the process of...

Recently, I was chatting with some friends and the novel Tribute , by Madalyn Morgan was recommended. I had read Morgan's work...

Writing crime fiction may not seem like an obvious way to exercise your funny bones, however You will find that a comedic phrase or...

It is a delight to have my friend Joan Livingston return to the blog to discuss her new book, Finding the Source . The series of Isabel...

Today, author Jessica Scachetti has stopped by to share a bit about her new book Out of the Shadows . Thank you for telling us a bit...

It had been a long time since I had read a book by Lisa Jewell. So when I treated myself to a few books recently, I included None of This...

I have just finished a novel written by my dear friend, Joy Wood. This most recent book, Ruby's Last Chance , is a departure from her...

Today I am pleased to host author Michele Pariza Wacek on the blog today and share the recent chat we had about her writing and her new...

I am pleased to be able to share an excerpt from Sparks the fantasy novel by Trisha Thacker. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did....

I was delighted when author Stephanie Santone agreed to sit down with me to discuss her new book Tangled Magic. Fantasy is not a genre of...

I am pleased to introduce Kimberley Webb to the blog today. She has agreed to share an excerpt from her new novel, Jillian's Island. I...

A Fighting Chance is the second in my series of Jane Renwick Thrillers and readers have had to wait patiently for this novel to...

I am thrilled Marsali Taylor has agreed to come back to the blog and share an excerpt from her new novel, An Imposter in Shetland , on...