With reference to my two most recent blogs (Everything goes in threes and In praise of small independent publishing houses), I’ve spent an intensive fortnight unearthing the 78,000 word draft of a novel, which several years ago I deemed unsatisfactory…

It’s generally accepted that today’s big fiction publishers – and, a fortiori, most literary agents – won’t take on a manuscript from a new author unless they expect it to be either a best seller or a prize-winner, or (in…

A week ago, Wednesday 8th August, I went to see my consultant surgeon to get the results of a biopsy taken on 18th July. The results told me I’ve got cancer. It’s a small, localised and by no means life-threatening…