The Literary Sofa
Book Review
Guest Author – Stephen May on Manhood
It’s a pleasure to welcome today’s guest Stephen May back to the Literary Sofa. I’m a big fan of his writing – Stronger than Skin is the third of his (four) novels to be featured here and one of the dozen excellent titles included in my Summer Reads selection. I’ll always be keen to read … Continue reading
Summer 2017 – Sofa Spotlight (Summer Reads)
Welcome to my Sofa Spotlight for Summer 2017 – despite my switch to a shorter quarterly format, this is the full dozen as with my previous Summer Reads selections because I’ve found so many excellent novels. Far more than could be included, which says a lot about those which made the cut – plus I now … Continue reading
Guest Author – Rachel Rhys on writing a community of strangers
It was back in 2011 that I first met today’s guest Rachel Rhys/Tammy Cohen, a fellow north London writer, just as she was about to branch out from journalism into fiction with her first novel The Mistress’s Revenge. Tammy got in ahead of the huge and unabating domestic noir and psychological thriller craze, setting the bar … Continue reading
Guest Author – Addison Jones on setting her novel in Post-war California
I guess most writers have a couple of soapbox issues which are just as relevant in their capacity as readers. One of mine is the trivialisation of writing about love, especially of books by women. Last summer I wrote this article rebutting those attitudes – it really wasn’t hard to do – and defending love … Continue reading
Guest Author – Louise Walters on handling multiple timelines and points of view (POV)
I’m delighted to welcome back Louise Walters as today’s guest author, for some quite personal reasons. Louise has been a supporter of the Literary Sofa from the very start and although she was several years ahead in her writing career, we have kept each other company through many highs and lows (understatement) and become good friends … Continue reading
Guest Author – Laura Kaye on portraying England from a foreigner’s perspective
Last week was exceptionally busy with reports from the London Book Fair and a George Saunders event – now it’s back to featuring authors from my Spring Sofa Spotlight. As you may recall, I was struck by how many of my chosen titles had important things to say about the world right now. This … Continue reading
George Saunders in conversation with Erica Wagner at Goldsmiths College
Yesterday’s post was a combined report on my first visit to London Book Fair and my ongoing book project; today’s is a write-up of last night’s interview between George Saunders and Erica Wagner at Goldsmiths College on his first novel Lincoln in the Bardo, spliced with a few of my personal reflections. This ought to … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Laura McVeigh In the Shadow of the Hindu Kush
The first guest post by one of my Spring Sofa Spotlight authors, last week’s Writers on Location by Sarah Day on the island of San Domino, proved very popular and today I am pleased to be welcoming the next author in this series. Laura McVeigh joins me to talk about a very different place, the … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Claire Fuller on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset
Today’s guest Claire Fuller has visited me before on the Literary Sofa and it’s lovely to have her back. When I read her debut novel Our Endless Numbered Days before publication, little did any of us know that it would go to take the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for a first novel – and yet … Continue reading
Guest Author – Essie Fox on Capturing the Passage of Time
*THE LAST DAYS OF LEDA GREY now out in paperback* It’s been a slow start to the year on the blog because I’ve been incredibly busy with work – but it’s always a treat to return to ‘Sofa business’, especially today, when I am joined by my first guest of 2017. I’ve had the pleasure of … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 