The Literary Sofa
Books
My Poolside TBR 2016
This is one of my favourite posts of the year to write because I go completely off-piste. For me, summer is a chance to catch up on things I’ve missed because getting hung up on new releases can become a treadmill – being fresh out doesn’t confer extra qualities, after all. This is also the … Continue reading
Guest Author – Anna Mazzola on Writing Prisons
Today’s post by Anna Mazzola, author of The Unseeing, concludes the coverage of titles on my Summer Reads 2016 selection. My picks have been going down well – it’s great to hear that many of you are enjoying them as much as I did. Some of these books are rightly getting a lot of attention, … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Catherine Dunne on Extremadura, Spain
With scorching weather and the start of the school holidays here in the UK, this is the time many of us relish losing ourselves in a good book, whether we’re staying put or getting away. The term Summer Reads means different things to different people and although I use it for one of my two … Continue reading
On Female Sexuality and Motherhood
Another quick link, to my latest guest post related to Paris Mon Amour: today I’m really excited to be featured on Naomi Frisby’s The Writes of Woman. It’s one of my favourite blogs (and she was kind enough to say the same of mine.) The theme is double standards, female sexuality and motherhood, and no, shying away … Continue reading
My Love Affair with France
It’s been a busy and exciting time lately, with wonderful reviews of Paris Mon Amour appearing all over the place – one reader wrote to me when she finished it at 2am! It’s so interesting and rewarding hearing what people make of it (and everyone sees something a bit different), so a very big thank you to everyone … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Leila Segal on the Pinar del Río province, Cuba
On a glorious day in early May – it’s been the kind of summer where those stick in my mind – I crossed London to attend an event featuring local writers at the Clapham Literary Festival. I’d made the trip to see Roz Morris, who’d invited me to take part in her fabulous Undercover Soundtrack … Continue reading
Guest Author – Kit de Waal on Judgement
The Literary Sofa is a place to share love of stories and ideas and appreciation for the people who write them. Every author who has joined me as a guest has contributed a piece as impressive as their book, giving eloquent and fascinating insights into their themes, settings and creative process, and never more so than today’s … Continue reading
What the French taught me about sex (and writing it)
It’s nearly a week since my debut novel Paris Mon Amour came out and I’ll be writing about that incredible experience very soon… But in the meantime – and because I was way too busy to post this week – here are some of the pieces I’ve written elsewhere to coincide with the release. Given the longevity and popularity … Continue reading
Guest Author – Avril Joy on setting her novel in a place she’s never been
UPDATE: Sometimes a River Song was one of my Books of 2016. Following last week’s Writers on Location about Chicago from Douglas Cowie, coverage of my Summer Reads 2016 selection continues today. I’m already receiving great feedback on books people have discovered there. As my latest guest Avril Joy explains, the conversation proceeded in a somewhat … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Douglas Cowie on Chicago
Last week there was a very enthusiastic response to my latest selection, Summer Reads 2016 – thank you for reading and sharing it far and wide, something I know is also greatly appreciated by the authors. Now for the next fun bit – hosting some of them here on the Literary Sofa. No book makes that … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 