The Literary Sofa
Isabel Costello
Not About Rejection
I’m writing this post on impulse, before I have a chance to change my mind. Please note the title, because I put some thought into that: it’s not a post about rejection, it’s about what it can do to you if you let it. Many other writers and bloggers have shared their experience, including Guest … Continue reading
Guest Author – Suzanne Joinson on the Challenges facing New Writers
I’m very pleased that Suzanne Joinson is visiting me On The Literary Sofa as part of her blog tour to mark the release of A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar. This is another of those titles which attracted a huge pre-publication buzz, but as Suzy explains, getting a book deal is just the beginning. Here’s the inside story… Publishing often … Continue reading
Online Book Reviews – The Good, the Bad and the Downright Nasty
I’m writing this piece from a slightly uncomfortable position on the fence that separates readers and writers. I am most definitely a reader, of 32 novels in the first half of this year to be precise, so if I keep it up I’ll easily smash last year’s record. I also think of myself as a … Continue reading
Things I Love and Hate about the London Underground
Life’s a bit hectic with my new manuscript at the moment (up to chapter 6 already!) – no time for features, hence this week’s non-bookish offering. After my last writers’ workshop on 9 July, things will quieten down a bit – for me – just as everything starts to hot up for the London Olympics. It’s … Continue reading
Book Review – The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
I’ve never posted a review on the day a novel is published before, but I’ve been excited about The Age of Miracles since I first heard about it last year and it’s one of my Fiction Hot Picks for 2012. 21 June is midsummer day, the longest day of the year and a fitting date for … Continue reading
A Summer’s Afternoon in Marylebone
It says something about this year’s so-called ‘summer’ in the UK that an afternoon out in my home city without getting soaked merits a blog post, but this, in pictures and words, is the tale of a lovely outing yesterday with my husband and 10 year old son. The London district of Marylebone is one of the … Continue reading
Guest Author – Wendy Wallace on Being a Debut Novelist
Many thanks to Wendy Wallace, author of one of my Top 10 Summer Reads 2012 The Painted Bridge, for writing the first in a new series of Guest Author posts for my blog On the Literary Sofa. Wendy’s article gives a fascinating insight into what so many of us dream of – becoming a published debut … Continue reading
Taking No Prisoners – My View of Fifty Shades of Grey
Warning: This article makes reference to sexually explicit material. By the time I finished the first chapter of E L James’s Fifty Shades of Grey, two things were clear: everything I’d heard about the writing was true, and it wasn’t going to be a long read. One of these was regrettable, the other a blessed relief. I’m not … Continue reading
Book Review – Arcadia by Lauren Groff
The question of what literary fiction is, or isn’t, is one that both frustrates and fascinates me. I’ve read many novels designated literary and not understood what distinguishes them from really well-written commercial fiction (now sometimes referred to as upmarket commercial). One criterion common to the various definitions of literary fiction is that the writing itself, the … Continue reading
Top 10 Summer Reads 2012
Welcome to my Top 10 Summer Reads 2012. Competition has been fierce and the list could have been five times longer, but I hope my selection has something to suit all tastes: from literary to light, a cracking thriller, different periods in history and a wide range of settings from Australia to Canada and many places in between. I’ve read most … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 