Regular readers here will know how much I love all things Norwegian. Those paying closer attention might have picked up my relatively recent plunge into the world of Golden Age (and similar) crime. Scandi Noir being what it is, it is not often that these two interests collide, although Karin Fossum has caused them to... Continue Reading →
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It's around now that publishers are gearing up to launch their Christmas titles on an eagerly awaiting public. Over the last month or so, I've received a lot of proof copies of Christmas romance novels and I've spent the the past couple of weeks reading them. I still have two or three to go and... Continue Reading →
In Priorsford with O Douglas
My first foray into books that were published for adults takes me very close to home. I've known Peebles in the Scottish Borders since I was a very little girl living in Edinburgh. It's somewhere I have a great affection for and have made many day trips to. So I didn't discover the town because... Continue Reading →
Things You Never Learn
I collect young people's books. I have a general collection of books published from the mid nineteenth century onwards which includes everything from Louisa Alcott, through Julia Green, Joan Lingard, Philip Reeve and John Rowe Townsend to Paul Zindel. I don't necessarily have everything by all the authors in this collection; it's more of a... Continue Reading →
Jane’s Isle of Dreams
Over on my young people's book blog (www.picturesandconversations.co.uk) I've been writing about books that have made me (want to) travel to their settings and places that have made me seek out books set there. For as long as I can remember, books and places have been inextricably linked. I didn't always realise it, but it's... Continue Reading →
The Path Less Travelled (sort of)
'I'm pretty flexible about the New Zealand part of my trip,' I said to the long-suffering consultant at the other end of the line. A pause. 'There's just one non-negotiable, though. I have to spend some time in Dunedin. And I wouldn't mind going to Invercargill. A longer pause. The whisper of a sigh. 'Invercargill?'... Continue Reading →