Flaming Nora

This week I went for a walk around Ryhope village and colliery as I near the end of my research for my next book set there in 1924.  Walking around Ryhope is something I always do when I've finished my research and almost ready to begin planning out my books. I like to walk the streets and try to see Ryhope through the eyes of my heroine who I'll bring to life in the pages of the book. Whilst I was out walking and researching, I couldn't resist posing for a photograph with my new book The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon  which has just come out in paperback. I'm pictured in front of a house in the village that I used as inspiration for The Uplands in the book.  Walking around Ryhope with my 'writing head' on, I see things I usually miss, and I tune into sights and sounds in a way that I don't normally do. I try to think if my lead character would have walked over these cobbled stones - pictured above, the last remaining cobbled street in Ryhope.  Would the cobb...

Sunderland Antiquarian Society is a lot more fun than it sounds. The first time I ever ventured inside the society's offices on Douro Terrace in Sunderland, I was terrified. These people were, after all, the keepers of the city's history. I was expecting lots of dusty old papers and dusty old men. Fortunately, there are both - and there's a whole lot more. They're friendly, approachable and only too happy to help with research into any aspects of Sunderland history. They're open twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday mornings and a willing band of volunteers always have the kettle on, the biscuits ready and ready to help with advice. I've used the Sunderland Antiquarian Society extensively for researching my books and I'm a fully paid up member now too. They've even been so kind as to include flyers for my books in the mail-outs with their quarterly newsletters (as long as I go in and help stuff thousands of envelopes, which I'm more than happ...

Pre-research research Today I had the synopsis approved for the third novel I'm going to write. And before I set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) there'll be two or three weeks of head-down, serious research to do.  Past experience tells me I'll enjoy every minute of this - and it's often hard to know when to stop because once I start, there are so many rabbit holes to fall into full of jewels and gems and things to make me go "Ooh!" (or in my case: "That's fantastic! I could wrap a whole chapter around that one paragraph/sentence/word!"). But before research proper begins in a couple of weeks' time, I'm doing a lot of reading right now. It's what I'm calling my pre-research research. This means that if you call round to see me and I'm sitting in the garden with my feet up on a lounger, iced lemonade by my side and sun-specs on, I'm not lazing around. I'm pre-research researching. Oh yes. And in this, ...