The sentiment “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it“, attributed to Voltaire, encapsulates the concept of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is integral to democracy….

In previous blogs I’ve complained about Amazon’s censoring of my list of published works and apparent contempt for authors. Now I have to eat at least some of my words, with apologies. My most recent exchanges with the author profile…

Recovery from the cancer-treatment procedure is taking time, though so far it seems to be progressing more quickly than expected. My sleep is fragmented every night, and I’m still a little uncomfortable, but it would be remarkable if it were…

Yesterday I was in hospital receiving permanent seed brachytherapy to treat this annoying cancer. (Permanent seed brachytherapy consists of injecting radioactive particles into the neoplasm, the idea being that the radiation will destroy the bad cells. It’s an alternative to…

I’ve never been subject to Seasonal Affective Disorder, but the intrinsic melancholy of this time of year is universally acknowledged. The clocks have gone back; the (temporarily) lighter mornings compensate for the early fall of darkness, but there’s no doubting…

A week or so ago, our Prime Minister, Theresa May, approached the podium for her keynote speech to the Conservative Party Conference – dancing to an Abba song. The scene was played on our television news broadcasts. Like many other…

What a great few days in the Yorkshire Dales! The cottage was miles from the nearest village and couldn’t have been quieter or more peaceful. It was also comfortable. Moreover, it was the ideal centre for visiting the places I…

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…