As the whole world is settling into lockdowns and social distancing, I couldn’t help but wonder how some of my favourite fictional characters are handling the Coronavirus crisis. Would they obey social distancing rules, or dismiss it as an overreaction? Help others, or stockpile loo roll? Who better to ask, than the authors themselves… How […]
Publishing
Cover story: A Cotswold Family Life
A Cotswold Family Life is my sort-of-memoir; a compilation of columns I wrote for Cotswold Life magazine for nearly a decade. It’s a beautifully published book, with some lovely reviews, and I was allowed to read the audiobook, which I loved doing. (My children listen to it when I’m away from home, which is a […]
Behind the scenes: creating a cover for After the End
This is a guest post from Laura Barrett, the talented illustrator who helped make the cover for After the End so beautiful. Creating a cover for After the End I was delighted to be commissioned by Little, Brown to illustrate the covers of two of Clare Mackintosh’s books and then equally thrilled when Clare asked […]
Say it with flowers: a garden for After the End
There is a scene in After the End where Pip and Max meet at a bench, on the hill overlooking a play park where they brought Dylan when he was a toddler. Surrounding the bench are masses of yellow flowers. I won’t spoil the story by explaining why they are there, but it’s a peaceful, […]
Independent Bookshop Week: my life in bookshops
It’s Independent Bookshop Week, here in the UK, and I’ve been thinking about the book stores I’ve been lucky enough to frequent over the years. Just as a house never feels like a home unless it has books in it, so a town without a bookshop always feels slightly underdressed. I have been fortunate enough […]
How do book critics decide which books to review?
How do book critics decide which books to review? I’ve always loved reading book reviews in magazines and newspapers, and bemoaned the ever-decreasing amount of space devoted to them, which makes the job of the critic even more important. How do they decide which books to review and which to leave out? Do they ever […]