Jane Davis's Blog, page 44

The Great Taboo

Jane reflects on the writing of These Fragile Things. It is not often that I find myself in tune with former Tory shadow MP Ann Widdecombe, but I found myself sympathetic to the views expressed in ‘Are You Having a Laugh?’ … Continue reading →

Better than either house or land

Compelling though it was, in my mind, The Century that Wrote Itself, Adam Nicolson’s romp through the 17th Century, was a story told back-to-front.   In search of personal histories that defined the era, Nicholson started with the almost confessional records left behind … Continue reading →

One out of two ain’t bad

If you had a low-key book-marketing strategy that resulted in a hit rate of one in two, would your brave the occasional insult and try it more often? A few weeks ago I had some book-marks printed to advertise the release … Continue reading →

Meeting an Old Friend (who happenned to die in 1821)

It is a wonderful tool, the Internet. It enables writers to research settings for the stories inside their heads without ever leaving the house. Sadly, this has its limitations. Last weekend, I went to Brighton to meet an old friend – … Continue reading →

Meeting an Old Friend who died in 1821

It is a wonderful tool, the Internet. It enables writers to research settings for the stories inside their heads without ever leaving the house. Sadly, this has its limitations. Last weekend, I went to Brighton to meet an old friend – … Continue reading →

I Stopped Time – Lottie Pye’s Brighton

Closing my eyes, the reel began to run; flickering images coming into focus, the slightly speeded-up world of silent movies with its exaggerated expressions. A red-headed girl in a seaside resort at the birth of a new century. The sounds, … Continue reading →

Word Gets Around

John Murray credits word of mouth as being the best way to sell books. “People don’t like to be told what to read, but to make their own discoveries.” And to brag about them to others, apparently. Despite Stephen Elliot’s assertion that … Continue reading →

An Insignificant Amount with Great Significance

Yesterday I received a cheque for £139.82 from Amazon. Not a particularly large amount, but a significant one all the same. Because the publication of my novel Half-truths and White Lies resulted from a competition-win rather than a traditional publishing deal, I received … Continue reading →

Butterflies…

Massive attack of butterflies at the moment. It could be the combination of caffeine and sugar overload – mmmm, lemon drizzle cake – or the fact that I have just ordered the first printed copy of ‘These Fragile Things’ for … Continue reading →

And now an announcement for all you writerly folk

The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook has often been described as the bible for authors. And it has been – up until now. You see, the one major set-back of the Yearbook and other similar publications is that a directory has its … Continue reading →