Linda Parkinson-Hardman's Blog, page 17

In conversation with Marc Nash

This week, I’m in conversation with science fiction novelist Marc Nash. Marc has ten Kindle books published and three in paperback. He previously joined me in 2013 with his novel Time after Time.

Marc is a fan of words especially as they are the only thing a writer has in his creative palette. We also talk about what happens when books are made into films, especially when that forces fiction into ever increasing numbers of genres. One of the issues we both agreed on was the problem with sub-genr...

Things I know to be true – We are all walking miracles

Back when I was child I genuinely believed that when my mother kissed my knee to make it better, she did actually do that. And as I grew older although that belief faded away in the light of the obvious ‘fact’ of the medical model, it never truly disappeared. Time and again I would reflect on what it meant to be healthy and when my own health challenges began in my mid-teens, some part of me always knew that my mother’s kiss held meaning.

I remember being 16 years old and just about to sit ‘O’ l...

Things I know to be true 1 – We are all walking miracles

Back when I was child I genuinely believed that when my mother kissed my knee to make it better, she did actually do that. And as I grew older although that belief faded away in the light of the obvious ‘fact’ of the medical model, it never truly disappeared. Time and again I would reflect on what it meant to be healthy and when my own health challenges began in my mid-teens, some part of me always knew that my mother’s kiss held meaning.

I remember being 16 years old and just about to sit ‘O’ l...

In conversation with Patsy Collins

This week, I’m in conversation with prolific short story writer Patsy Collins. Patsy has written over 700 short stories for UK magazines. On top of that she has written five novels, two non-fiction books for writers and published 18 collections of her short fiction.

She previously joined me on the Thursday Throng back in 2013 with her novel, A year and a day.

Known as the travelling writer she can often be found up down the UK in her camper van making up stories and writing them down. Patsy is ...

The leap of faith – #FridayFiction

Jenny looked down and gulped.

It was higher than she’d expected.

The whole gang were below shouting at her to jump as she clung to the frame for support.

‘Jenny, just jump please sweetheart, just jump down and I’ll catch you’.

Dad with his arms wide and welcoming.

Ben was looking at her expectantly, ‘come on Jen, you know you can do it, we know you can do it, just have faith’

Jenny watched them all willing them to see what she saw, the distance to the floor below; and feel what she felt, the ter...

Meet Becky Danks, hysteria writing competition judge

Becky Danks is a creative writer and book reviewer based in London. She has previously organised a UK and Ireland-wide charity writing competition and loves to discover exciting new voices.

She reviews for independent publishers and has won City Writes for her own short story, The Anniversary. She writes across mediums as a hobby and her first play was performed in February. Her current project, a children’s book, was recently longlisted for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrato...

In conversation with Meaghan Delahunt

This week, I’m in conversation with award winning literary fiction author Meghan Delahunt. Meaghan and I first chatted about The Red Book, which back in 2011. She later joined me on the Thursday Throng in 2012 with her next book, To the Island.

In this interview we talk about the nature of creativity and what it takes to pull it out of the depths. One of the things that struck me about our conversation was how like the process of creativity and the challenge it presents to the creator our curren...

Life, the universe and medicine – part 4

I had my appointment with the breast team on the 19th July. After being told off by the surgeon for not having mammograms, I was then subjected to the examination itself which was excruciating on my right breast because of the lump. It had already reacted badly to the surgeon’s examination and was definitely not a happy puppy!

The radiographer was lovely and gave me a hug afterwards.

The ultrasound was just as bad, pressing down with a bar with cold gel on it does nothing to make you feel better...

Meet Rory Z Fulcher, author of #Hypno Fasting

This week, I’d like to introduce Rory Z Fulcher to the Thursday Throng author interview sofa with his new book Hypno Fasting. Rory is a professional hypnotherapist and stage/street hypnotist, best-selling author and international hypnosis trainer. He’s also one of the HypnoBros, a founding director of HypnoTC: The Hypnotherapy Training Company, as well as a director for the online hypnosis training company Hypnosis-Courses.com.

What is one thing people wouldn’t usually know about you?

Something...

In conversation with Andy Lopata

This week, I’m in conversation with Andy Lopata. I first came across Andy’s work back in 2008 when I joined a business networking group called The Brilliant BusinessXchange, lead by the lovely Laura McHarrie. She gave all new members a copy of Andy’s book, ‘and death comes third‘ to introduce them to two basic skills needed to succeed in the group – public speaking and networking.

Andy joined me on the Thursday Throng back in 2013 when his next book, Recommended: How to sell through networking ...