Are You All Talk and No Action?

A lot of aspiring authors talk about writing a lot but don’t actually write. If you suspect that’s something you do, then here’s how to turn talk into action.

Coffee the James Bond Way: A Review of the Chemex Coffee Maker

A review of the only coffee maker in a James Bond novel, the Chemex. It’s a design classic, but is it any good at making coffee?

The Samhain Roads Published

My short story, The Samhain Roads, has been published in Superpresent Magazine. In it you can follow siblings Aoife and Liam as they search for their missing sister…

How To Write a Blurb

Maybe you spent ten years writing your novel, but you still only have ten seconds to sell it to a potential reader… and that’s why you need to know how to write a blurb.

Fade-Out – Book Review

Fade-Out, written by Patrick Tilley and published in 1975, is a cult classic, first-contact-with-aliens novel. It’s been a steady seller for fifty years and never out of print,…

My Top Ten Best Albums Ever

I chose these albums as my top ten because they influenced my musical taste and that I played them a lot at certain points in my life. Inevitably,…

The Amadeus Myth: Debunking the Illusion of Effortless Genius

An iconic scene from the movie Amadeus encapsulates what I call ‘The Amadeus Myth’. Picture this: a dimly lit room and the sound of a piano in the…

How to Write a Tagline for a Novel

A great tagline can make the difference between your novel selling like hot cakes and it not selling at all… and that, fundamentally, is why you need to…

Overcoming Self-Doubt as a Writer

Did you ever stare at a blank page or screen for so long your eyes went funny? Or rewrite a sentence fifteen times and then finally delete it…

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Book Review

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, written by John le Carré and published in 1974, is le Carré’s masterpiece, even better than The Spy Who Came In From The Cold….