Bleak House, the Orkneys and Desert Island Books…

November 26, 2017

I first met Ann Swinfen a few years ago.

I had been an indie author for some four years and she had been a mainstream author but was considering the indie path and she contacted me for advice and information. Since then she has scorched a path with frequent releases in print and e-pub and recently began to tread the path of audiobooks. She is an elegant writer, knowledgable of her field and now has a dedicated following. I asked Ann to cast herself away and let us know what she would read whilst so isolated…

‘Dair’ to be different…

April 27, 2014

I met my current guest a number of years ago – not many months after we had both decided to move into independent writing and publishing. We connected because at that time, there weren’t a lot of Australians treading the independent path and the friendship has seen much laughter and happiness as we share in each other’s successes.

Am I unique? Don’t think so…

April 6, 2014

I was asked by historical fiction writer Ann Swinfen to be part of a Writing Process Blog Tour this week. Ann is a superbly elegant writer of literary and historical fiction. Formally a mainstream writer, she has now taken her backlist to the writing public independently and added to it with Flood, a stunning book on the politics of humanity in the 17^th century Fens and with The Testament of Mariam which is a sensitively handled novel, poignant and crafted, about Jesus’s sister. You can read about Ann’s writing process here. http://www.annswinfen.com/column

My bedside table…

February 6, 2014

Currently beside my bed, I have this little pile of books.

I am about to read Ann Swinfen’s new book, Flood, an exciting revelatory novel set in the seventeenth century Fens. She is releasing it next week and kindly send me an early e-copy. Ann has had a laudatory career as a women’s literary fiction writer with an excellent backlist to her credit. Recently she has taken her backlist and re-published through Shakenoak Press and I can tell you, if Flood is anything like her previous books it will be the most perfect read.

A name … or two…

August 24, 2012

Lately I had cause to pull out the WIP of The Chronicles of Eirie Book Four. I noticed something glaring, something I had never honestly thought about before. Alongside this WIP (I write in longhand and then transcribe, editing in the process), I laid the WIP of Book Two of The Gisborne Saga – different genre, different characters, different world.

Writers and garrets… a room with a view or just bubbles in the bathtub?

July 21, 2011

By some strange chance I was sent an email the other day which was semi-spam, but the article was terrific. Writers’ spaces. Now the ones they showed were quite simply wonderful. Inspirational. The source of great literature. And I wondered why I couldn’t have such a space… a cottage on a deserted estate on a distant island. And if I did, would my writing actually be any better?

Literary leanings… talking with Ann Swinfen

June 15, 2011

I first ‘met’ Ann Swinfen on a messageboard, part of YouWriteOn.com to which we both belong. On reading various well thought out comment she made, I went to Amazon to purchase her newly released The Testament of Mariam… a beautiful read, almost shocking in its revelatory subject matter, but subtly handled nevertheless. Ann is highly regarded as a writer, her titles published in the past by Random House. She has also written a definitive text called ‘In Defence of Fantasy’, published by Routledge and which as a fantasy writer, I felt enunciated the power and place of the modern fantasy novel.

The world of writerly advice…

May 12, 2011

I spend some little time reading writers’ blogs on the internet. The really good ones are legendary: Joe Konrath, Ray Rhamey, Amanda Hocking, Nathan Bransford, Rachelle Gardner. My all-time favourite epicentre for writers is WriterUnboxed because it is varied and FILLED to the very brim with expertise that one can’t fault. Really true-blue expertise from authors (both mainstream and independent), agents, publishers and editors. Quite plainly, people who know.

E-pub, e-books, e-readers . . .

January 19, 2011

Over the last year, I’ve been one of those who said ‘I shall never read e-books; I am a paper, bindings, smell and sound type of girl,’ and as for publishing an e-book: ‘My God! Are you kidding?’ I’d read all the industry blogs on the increasing popularity or the e-book, I’d watched sales of e-readers climb and still I was unaffected.

Holiday reading …

December 17, 2010

As I prepare for a holiday, for a break in the day to day grind, I’ve been gathering together a pile of books to read. To be honest, I had already started Ann Swinfen’s Testament of Mariam and finding it to be such a strong narrative and such a different interpretation to the familiar story of Jesus and his followers I had to keep reading and finished it last night. It was a superb read written by an author who has great sensitivity. Ann’s description of Galillee and Judaea, her interpretation of the religious truths, her depiction of Jesus and Judas through the eyes of Jesus’s sister Mariam, was emotive and intensely thought-provoking. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially historical fiction of ancient days.

Tag: Ann Swinfen