My Work in Progress – May 2026 I’m currently working on the final edit of my first novel, Tough Love, a police procedural set in South East London. The plot centres around an investigation into the murder of Jed, the flamboyant lead vocalist in a band that was on the verge of signing a major…

What are your go-to resources as a writer? I’m sure every writer will have an abundance of resources to hand every time they put finger to keyboard or pen to paper. I have the obvious ones: Oxford Dictionary, Collins Thesaurus, Penguin Guide to Punctuation, etc. Or do you use online resources? Personally, I use both.…

Characters verses Plot: What inspires you first? I think the character verses plot debate is a great one. I’m sure every writer will have a different view on this. There’s no right or wrong answer. Personally, when writing long fiction pieces, I always think of the plot in my head first, never the characters. I…

The London Marathon 2026 Having recently started work for a new employer as a steward, I honestly didn’t expect my first ever shift for the company would be helping with crowd control at the London Marathon. But on Sunday, April 26, we set off at 5.30am on a coach from Canterbury to London. Everything was…

This week’s notes come from the desk of a fellow writer, Susan Batten, in the form of a concert review. The performer was Eric Steckel, an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. Eric has previously shared the bill with the likes of Johnny Winter, John Mayall, Gregg Allman and Ray Charles. This review is from…

Overcoming Distractions When We’re Writing Here’s my main distraction when writing! From back to front: Charlie, Buddy and Lexie. They seem to think (I’m sure every cat owner will agree) that they can interrupt at their leisure and have a divine right to step on my keyboard and create a sentence of their own –…

What are you researching right now? I love doing research, but I know some writers who loathe it. We’re all different and I’m sure everyone has their own system or way of carrying out research when needed, which for me is quite often, especially with my reminiscence pieces. Now I have to admit, I don’t…

Has being a writer changed the way you watch TV and films? I think that’s a very interesting question. For me personally, whatever it is I’m watching, I always seem to have my writers hat on, trying to guess what the next line will be, especially if it’s a crime series. I’m quite pleased with…

My favourite place to write. I am lucky enough to have a small study at home, which is where I do the majority of my writing and research. In the Summer if the weather is good, I’ll sometimes sit in the garden, but I need peace and quiet, especially when I’m working on my novel,…