The final installment of a well-known and loved book series was published last week, and before much time had passed, there were cries of outrage from fans all over the world. I was one of them. Why? A major character was killed off. This was hardly the first time in this series a character we had grown to love had died, but this one went further than any fan wanted it to go. The storm that it caused is still wreaking havoc amongst YA/dystopian lovers everywhere. There’s no doubt what happened in this story upset me, but I have to […]

Which book can you first remember encountering in your life? Books were always part and parcel of my home life. I can’t remember which one I heard first – that would be impossible – but I remember quite a few from my childhood days. Sparkle the Pony was a favourite picture book for years. Another one called The Discontented Pony was a big favourite (and yes, I liked horses!). Once I started reading novels The Famous Five series kept me amused for years. In fact, when I recently pulled out my old copies in the hope of tempting my seven […]

In Australia there is a Christian magazine called Eternity. In their most recent edition, they included an article deriding Christian romantic fiction. I am a Christian, and although I write books for a mainstream audience, not a Christian one, I still found this article ignorant and uninformed. I sent them a letter for their ‘Letter to the Editor’ section, but I doubt it will be published, so I am publishing it here: Dear Editor, When I read Simone Richardson’s article on Christian romantic fiction in Eternity’s October 2013 edition, I wondered from where she had obtained her novels. I assume […]

Our sense of smell seems particularly powerful and is able to evoke memories thought lost forever. Whenever I take my son to school, we pass a particular point and I smell a certain smell that always takes me straight back to when I was in kindergarten. I’ve no idea what that smell is, but it’s a strong memory from my childhood. When we had some bad floods near where we live a couple of years ago, I remember some people talking about how the smell of mud would always haunt those who lost their homes. As soon as they smell […]