Monthly Archives:

red food of ghosts: pick a cover and win a book!

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

We are at the stage of choosing the cover for my new crime novel. Yeh hey! As you can see the title is Red Food of Ghosts. Here are the two  latest cover designs. What do you think? Do they … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone | Tagged , , | 41 Comments

Move over Gil Grissom and Horatio Cane, Sue Black is in the building!

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

How glorious was the weather yesterday? And where was I?  At the National Museum of Scotland, in a windowless lecture theatre, listening to a talk on forensic anthropology by a university professor. Was I mad? No. Because Professor Sue Black was worth it! … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone, For readers, For writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

a very Scottish lunch …

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

Over the weekend I visited Aunty Sue, who is eighty-seven and Dad’s sister (see my blog post on my tour of Leith for who Dad is). Aunty Sue gets a lot of pleasure from feeding her visitors and I was no exception. … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone | 13 Comments

Steamer Ship – LOST and SAVED at Middlesbrough Literary Festival 2012

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

June 2012 heralds the arrival of Middlesbrough’s third annual Literary Festival. The programme is packed with exciting, funny and imaginative events, including writingclasses tutor Natalie Scott’s wonderful debut collection of poetry, Berth, which was launched on 15th April 2012! Berth … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

pushed far too far …

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

Two tales of caution for new and not-so-new writers – and even if you are not a writer, you may be interested  to know what goes on behind the scenes in the ruthless world of publishing. If you have any … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

all writers overwrite (including Shakespeare!)

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

Six more books which can help you hone your writing skills! Alan Ayckbourn’s The Crafty Art of Playmaking is about playwriting, yes, but an awful lot of what he says can be applied to fiction writing – replace audience with … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone, For readers, For writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

the stars, the land, the sea and Leith are conquerable with Uncle Bob

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

Writers are 10 times more likely to suffer from depression than people in other professions.*Just a few who suffered from the “black dog” are James Ellroy, Agatha Christie, Virginia Woolf, Stephen Fry, Simon Brett, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, Marian Keyes, … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Gold-Hatted Gatsby? Really?

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

“Many writers, including F Scott Fitzgerald, TS Eliot and Kingsley Amis, have needed substantial help to complete their best-known work. Before Fitzgerald’s editor intervened, The Great Gatsby was to be named Gold-Hatted Gatsby. How different literary history could have been.” … Continue reading →

Posted in For everyone | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

what again? (six more books…)

Posted on by Marianne Wheelaghan

These are some of my favourite books on creative writing. Robert McKee’s The Story is a brilliant book. Not for beginners perhaps and albeit on screen writing but the book offers excellent advice on the art of shaping a story. John … Continue reading →

Posted in For writers | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment