Flaming Nora

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street  has just gone live here.  This week in Corrie we enjoyed one of the best Corrie Christmas weeks in years. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

It's been quite a year. My debut novel Belle of the Back Streets was published in hardback and ebook and made its way to No. 2 in the Sunderland Waterstones chart. I've also been published weekly in The People's Friend magazine where my weekly soap opera Riverside continues its fun and friendly run. And there's been more, too... I was one of 16 winners in a short story competition organized by Fahrenheit Press for my story T he Canary Islands Crime Boss , and published in crime anthology Noirville: Tales from the Dark Side One of 10 winners in the Ryedale Book Festival for my short story inspired by Donald Trump - called  The Wall and published in 10 Short Stories anthology One of 16 winners in the Olga Sinclair Short Story Competition (Norwich Writers Circle) with my short story The Caller and published in an anthology called Strangers Won third prize in Doris Gooderson Short Story Competition (Wrekin Writers) for my short story The ...

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street  has just gone live here.  This week in Corrie Jenny Connor pressed the self-destruct button. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

1 manuscript 16 chapters 6 months of my life And, I hope, 1 incredible story about to be brought to life in my 3rd novel. I can't reveal the title just yet but I can let you know that it's a novel set in the northeast coalmining village of Ryhope in 1919. This one will be published November 2019 in hardback and ebook, and then in paperback in March 2020. So, not too long to wait! Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street  has just gone live here.  This week in Corrie Archie Shuttleworth popped his clogs. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

Me with my pal Paul Dunn This week I was invited to my local branch of Waterstone's book shop in Sunderland to sign some of the hardback copies of my debut novel Belle of the Back Streets.   I took with me a box of sweets, hoping to entice book browsers to me. One of the lovely people who came in to see me and have their book signed was my pal Paul Dunn who came in with his wife Nessa. I love Paul and Nessa, they're crackers in the best possible way. I met them both while I was pretending to be a stuffed lion. Yes, that's how my life rolls. Wallace the Lion at Sunderland Museum Anyway, Paul was one of the people who was instrumental in giving me the confidence and courage to submit my novel to an agent.  Not only that, but he's written about me on his own website and if you'd like to have a look at it, it's here. I find it very  hard to blow my own trumpet and sing my own praises but I'm learning that if I don't do it, nobody else will. Wel...

My debut novel BELLE OF THE BACK STREETS is out as an audio book this month. My fun Q&A interview with them is below where you can can also listen to a sample read by esteemed film, TV and stage actress Janine Birkett. The interview and audio sample are here. And if you'd like to, you can also read my blog post about the day I sat in on the recording of the audio book. It really was an amazing experience and one I will never forget.  Behind the scenes at an audio book recording . Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

I'm thrilled to bits today.  My debut novel Belle of the Back Streets  is in this week's edition of Inside Soap magazine in the Christmas Gift List. What an amazing surprise!   Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

I'm the first person to admit I'm not a poet. I don't even try. I can't. Anyway, I like poems to rhyme. But there was something poetic that I had to pen today.  It was in response to a digital artwork I viewed at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland. It was called 'Continuous Topography' by an artist called Dan Holdsworth and there are images of the installation here. I sat and watched it last week and knew I had to return with my writer's head on. I did that today and here's what spilled from my pen to my blog. Skeleton blood of a bride in a filigree shroud.  Networks and neurons, fingerprints dusted, curdling and screaming.  A child's head, a shark's fin on the foggiest day where mountains are moving from a plane window.  Demons are rising, stay home and don't climb.  The ghosts of the mountains are crying ice tears.  Snow storm and blizzards and etch-a-sketch lines are falling and jagged and squirling.  I...

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street  has just gone live here.  This week in Corrie Sally was found guilty, guilty, guilty. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

This week I went into my local Waterstone's branch in Sunderland's Bridges shopping centre. I was there to drop off some free bookmarks, which the staff kindly put on the counter for readers to take as they please.  "Would you like to sign some books while you're here?" the lady behind the counter asked. I couldn't speak for smiling. "Yes, please." I signed three piles of books... "Would you like to sign the books in our chart too?" she asked. "Chart?" I squeaked. It turns out that Belle of the Back Streets is in at No. 5 in the best-selling hardback books in the Sunderland store.   No 1 is J K Rowling.  No 2 is David Walliams No 3 is George R R Martin No 4 is Lee Child and in at No 5 is ... yours truly I didn't sleep much last night. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayou...

I was going to ask Santa Claus for a new pen this year. A posh pen, an expensive pen. A pen that I could use to sign my name if anyone asked for a signed copy of my book.  Well, a girl can dream. But then I thought, what if I lose it? What if I chew the end while mulling over a tricky writing problem? What if I leave it in a cafe? This started me thinking about the kind of pen that I really would like as a Christmas gift this year. I thought back to the pens I used to love writing with when I was a child, the pens that I daydreamed my days away with. The pens that I made up stories, poems and tales with. The pens that I treated myself to from my pocket money each summer to take on family holidays with my mam and dad and two younger brothers. And that's why I've asked Santa for a green Pentel this year. And from what I understand, he's been able to find three in a pack for just over six quid. If you see me signing a book with my green Pentel pen know that I...

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street  has just gone live here.  In this week's Corrie Sally did herself no favours at all. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

I've been writing Coronation Street weekly updates since 1995 and this week's Coronation Street has just gone live here. In this week's Corrie there was a chucked bouquet of flowers as Audrey got very, very drunk. Debut novel Belle of the Back Streets Now out in hardback and e-book  Kindle e-book just 99p until January 1st 2019  Website:  glendayoungbooks.com

The old Ryhope Junior School, Ryhope, Sunderland  It's been quite a week in my writing world this week. MONDAY The gorgeous Lewis & Cooper store in Northallerton On Monday I traveled by train (always my favourite mode of transport) to the North Yorkshire town of Northallerton. It's a bit posh, is Northallerton. Anyway, I was there to meet bestselling author Margaret Graham , who also writes as Milly Adams .  We had a lovely lunch together and I learned a lot from this prolific author, who had a great deal of experience under her belt. I also made a start on my Christmas shopping in Northallerton, it really was a good day out. Mondays are my "day off" writing which means I stay away from my computer, laptop and try my best to switch off. It's not always successful, but I try. TUESDAY Ryhope Community Centre, Ryhope, Sunderland Tuesday saw me giving a talk to the Ryhope Heritage Society on my novel Belle of the Back Streets . What a turn out...