The Literary Sofa
Book Reviews
Guest Author – Lynn Bushell on being an artist writing about artists
We all have subjects we’re particuarly drawn to and in the almost 11 years I’ve been running this blog, novels about art and artists, real or fictional, are consistently among those I’ve enthused about the most. Sure, I love galleries and exhibitions and the beauty, stimulation and inspiration art gives me but I’ll also admit … Continue reading
Guest Author – Jon Ransom on Three Unspoken Words
Today I’m hosting the first guest post of 2022 and it’s a huge pleasure to welcome fellow Muswell Press author Jon Ransom whose debut novel The Whale Tattoo joins their superb LGBTQ list this week. I discovered Jon’s writing last autumn when we both had work included in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology. His … Continue reading
Too much information: blurbs, reviews and spoilers
As I mentioned at the start of the year, I’m taking a relaxed approach to the blog in the run-up to my Spring Spotlight on 11 March. At the moment top priority goes to a pitch for a project I can’t talk about and preparing material for a retreat I’m leading in a few weeks’ … Continue reading
Writers on Location – Laura McBride on Las Vegas
The Writers on Location slot returns today and I’m delighted to welcome Laura McBride, debut author of We Are Called to Rise, which is one of my Summer Reads 2014 and the current Radio 2 Book Club choice. Like many readers I love to discover new places through fiction and also to revisit familiar ones – as a … Continue reading
Book Review – Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Being in the very final stages of my re-write, I wasn’t planning to post any more book reviews until I finish the manuscript, but sometimes with resolutions you just have to make an exception. Hannah Kent’s debut novel Burial Rites is without question one of the best novels I’ve read this year and is justly … Continue reading
Guest Author – Wendy Wallace on Setting a historical novel in a foreign country
When Wendy Wallace appeared on the Literary Sofa in June 2012 as my first ever Guest Author, it was a great start to what has since become one of the most popular regular features on the blog. Wendy and I now know each other in real life too, so I am doubly pleased to welcome … Continue reading
Sex Scenes in Fiction
2021 UPDATE: Since writing this post many years ago I have had two novels published which include plenty of sex scenes, including same-sex in my new novel Scent. This is the 100th post on the Literary Sofa and the subject of sex hasn’t come up much beyond the occasional mention in a review. Last week’s piece on … Continue reading
Let’s all talk about GONE GIRL
Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl isn’t the kind of book I read very often, and this isn’t going to be one of the reviews which take me six hours to write. I thought I’d write a blogpost because each of the three times I mentioned the novel on Twitter, there was a flood of replies from people dying to … Continue reading
Book Review – All That Is by James Salter
NOTE: This article makes reference to sexually explicit material. In the run-up to publication of James Salter’s sixth novel, All That Is – and no doubt long before – he was hailed as one of the great American novelists, unknown to me, perhaps because he hadn’t published a novel in 30 years. I read All … Continue reading
Lionel Shriver at The Society Club
I’ve attended many author events and have been lucky to hear/meet some of the big name novelists who’ve inspired me: Alan Hollinghurst, Linda Grant, Richard Ford, Marilynne Robinson. There’s a new addition to that list: Lionel Shriver, who read at an intimate salon at the Society Club on Saturday. I’ve never written up an author … Continue reading
My new novel SCENT – out in paperback on 19 May 2022
The Literary Sofa 