Jane Davis's Blog, page 47
January 15, 2013
The Background to my Childhood
Kate Williams’s biography of Emma Hamilton, England’s Mistress, felt very personal to me. Brought up in Merton, our childhood war-wounds were tended at the Nelson hospital’s A & E department (no longer there) and my local pub was called the Emma … Continue reading →
January 14, 2013
Serendipity
Luck plays a very large part in most writers journeys to publication. Luck, and timing. If I hadn’t chosen to attend a lecture by Jack Shepherd (of Teacher, Teacher fame) when attending the Winchester Writers’ Conference I would never of … Continue reading →
January 12, 2013
January Give-away!
Whether you are hibernating, detoxing, poorly or plain broke, you will need something fabulous to read to get through the mid-January slump. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone but, for five days only, from Monday 14th to Friday 18th, I Stopped Time and … Continue reading →
January 8, 2013
Top Book Club Picks for 2012…
As voted for by the lovely people at Bookmovement.com: 1. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience & Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand 2. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain 3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 4. … Continue reading →
Identity Theft
Someone has used my details to take out a mobile phone contract. (Anyone who knows me may laugh loudly at this juncture.) And insurance, because it’s important to be covered. (Laugh even louder). Sadly they got my bank account details … Continue reading →
January 7, 2013
On Saturday, a former army chaplain who became better-kno...
On Saturday, a former army chaplain who became better-known recently for being Britain’s oldest man, died at his Staffordshire home, aged 110 years and 63 days. It was discovering stories such as Reg Dean’s that led me to develop the … Continue reading →
January 5, 2013
Writing-and-reading related Resolutions
Word Book Night is promoting a rather wonderful New Year’s resolution: to read more. I managed to double my reading time by opening a paperback at the breakfast table instead of turning on the news. In On Writing, Stephen King has … Continue reading →
January 3, 2013
Today’s Quote
“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.” Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader.
December 31, 2012
The Daddy of All Storms
Central to the final climax of These Fragile Things is the Great Storm of 1987, an event I felt I could bear personal witness to. At the time, it was claimed to have been the most destructive storm since 1703, … Continue reading →
December 29, 2012
Churchill, on Authors
“The fortunate people in the world – the only really fortunate people in the world, in my mind – are those whose work is also their pleasure. The class is not a large one, not nearly so large as it … Continue reading →
