02. June 2026

I got chatting to Mario when we recently shared a table at a community book-selling event. Along with his wife Jennifer, Mario has written and published a book which has grown from a very personal and frightening experience. Afterwards, they wanted to do something positive to share information with parents, educators and other people who work with children. The result is the picture book Elifant and his Super Power Nose. Here Mario explains how the book came about and what his future plans are.

14. March 2026

By chance, I discovered online that author Sarah Colliver lives in the part of south west England where I lived for fifteen years. This prompted me to connect with her via Facebook. Her writing journey has taken her from an initial exploration of the thriller genre to the historical fiction world of WW2, and she also finds time for poetry, as a vehicle for more personal thoughts and reflections. Here she discusses her writing background and her plans for her books.

29. January 2026

Sandy Wainwright loves all things about the medieval period - clothing, cooking and immersing herself (and her family) in the moment during the re-enactment season. After discovering some interesting relatives of the 13th and 14th centuries during some family history research, she's now added another string to her medieval bow and has written a book about Sir Geoffrey de Langley. The Life and Times of A Medieval Knight is released on 30th January 2026, and here Sandy talks about her writing...

25. September 2025

Back in 2022, I wrote a previous blog post about my Grandad - who I'll refer to as Jack - and his WW1 experiences. My research basically dispelled the family myths about him, and with some help at the time from research officers at two relevant museums - the Fusiliers Museum in Bury and the Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum near Ypres, Belgium - I was able to get a more factual perspective on where he was and what he did. In 2024, some further, more in-depth information came to light which...

13. April 2025

I was looking for places to visit on a recent trip to Antwerp, and the Museum Plantin-Moretus came up in an online search. It seemed to be about an Antwerp printing company, and the information contained several references to it housing a variety of large book collections. Being more interested in the writing and reading of books, I was less-enthused about the printing of them, but decided to give it a go, since the tourist reviews were very good. I'm really glad I did! What I discovered wasn't...

20. February 2025

My published work and the hundreds of new projects I've either started, planned or are 'in progress' have always been for older readers, from upper primary children to teens and adults. During the years I was teaching in school, my colleagues from the reception and early years classes often asked if I was planning to write any picture books for their age group. I can't say why I hadn't explored this area of storytelling. Ideas come, I always find, and you have a feel for their genre and age...

28. July 2024

Lloyd Miner is an author and playwright. His fiction and non-fiction has been published in the US and Europe, and his theatrical work has been performed in London, New York and Sydney. I first met Lloyd when we were both members of the Amsterdam Critiquing Group. We each left Amsterdam for two entirely different parts of the Netherlands, but we still meet regularly for critiquing sessions at the Writers aan de Waal group. I'm excited to be able to interview Lloyd about his writing and about his...

19. October 2023

If you're looking for a supernatural read in the run-up to Halloween, why not check out some of Shelley Wilson's YA novels? I first met Shelley at a self-publishing conference back in 2015. Since then, Shelley's path as a writer has resulted in an extensive collection of YA fiction, alongside her non-fiction books about subjects such as well-being, meditation and business writing. Here Shelley talks about her creative path, what inspired it and how she manages the different aspects of her work.

03. October 2023

As a fantasy and paranormal author, October has to be my perfect month of the year, culminating in Halloween and the Day of the Dead on November 1st. Of course, this world in which I love to read and write exists all year round, but October is the time to focus on such things as ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night! To celebrate all things supernatural, here is my round-up of my five favourite scary stories!

26. July 2023

In my past interviews, at People & Books #3 and #9, I interviewed author Val Karren and his wife, Christine, who publishes Val's books at Fly-By-Night Press. Now there's a new addition to the family's creative activities. Daughter Lucy has written and illustrated her first book. Here she explains how it came about and what inspired this first creative venture.