Well, I was surprised this morning to find an email in my inbox from the BBC WeatherWatcher team, advising me that my Brocken Spectre photo taken a few weeks ago has been selected as one of the ten shortlisted images for the BBC’s Pic of […]
Category: Latest News
I’m Judging the 2021 Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition
I’m delighted to share the news that I’ve been invited to judge the 2021 Evesham Festival of Words Short Story Competition. The competition is now open and accepting short stories on any theme of up to 2,500 words. The closing date for entries is 5pm […]
Writing Magazine’s Inspiration Month
To help inspire writers across the country, Writing Magazine has designated July as Inspiration Month, and has asked writers and some of its contributors to make a short video offering advice and inspiration. So here’s mine … recorded at the top of my local hill […]
The Complete Article Writer’s Box Set
It was while updating Photography for Writers, that I realised I had the perfect opportunity to create a box set, combining this book with The Complete Article Writer. Now available in eBook format (via Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, etc), The Complete Article Writer’s […]
Photography for Writers – Take Two
I can’t believe it’s been six years since Photography for Writers was first published. At the time, I wasn’t able to pursue my goal of including photographs within the book. Sadly, the publisher explained that would make the book uneconomical.
Wordsworth and Bing
No, not a new double act between the poet and singer, but a search engine’s use of one of my photos to celebrate the anniversary of Wordsworth’s 250th birthday. Bing has used one of my photos for their search page background for today – it’s […]
272,222 and still counting
Well, what can I say? Each year the number just keeps getting bigger. Thank you to everyone who’s bought a copy of my first book One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human. Lifetime sales through all outlets up until the end of […]
Readers Like Walking
I’ve been producing walking route descriptions for Country Walking magazine since 2004 (so my feet ache a bit now 🤣), and I always hope that my route descriptions are easy to follow. It’s not that writing route descriptions are difficult – they’re not. It’s editing […]
Newsletter Signup Freebie!
Have you signed up to my occasional newsletter yet? As a thank you, you’ll be sent a link to download a free collection of some of my previously published short stories (in whichever format you need – mobi (Amazon Kindle), ePub, PDF). Sign up here […]
271,833 … and counting
The royalty statements are in, and I can’t believe the sales figures keep growing. Thank you to everyone who bought a copy … all 271,833 of you!
Interviews and Open Top Busses!
I’ve been busy, recently, being interviewed by the lovely Anita Loughrey, for her Research Secrets column in Writers’ Forum magazine. It’s a fascinating column where she asks writers and authors to share their research tips. Every writer has their own way of doing things and […]
The 270K Dog Book
It’s sixteen years since my first book was published, and it still amazes me how it continues to sell. According to my latest royalty statement, total sales in all formats, for One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human, now stands at an […]
The Complete Article Writer – Revised
One of my (many) little projects that I was working on over Christmas, was the updating and revision of my popular book for article writers: The Complete Article Writer. It was also an interesting exercise because, as a self-published book, I had the joys of […]
Stationery Secrets
I can’t believe that it was back in June 2016 that the lovely Anita Loughrey chatted to me about my stationery obsessions. (It’s a true fact that only proper writers can’t walk past a stationery shop without spending some money … and usually a lot of money.)
Business of Writing – Volume 2 launched
Another two years have passed, and so I’ve just published the next collection of articles from my Writing Magazine column. The Business of Writing – Volume 2 includes articles covering a diverse range of topics including: Exporting to Foreign Markets Time Travel Festive Fever Conquering Challenges
The Tale/Tail That Keeps Wagging
Every six months I get my royalty statement from hatchette, and every six months I’m always astounded by the fact that my first published book keeps selling. Who’d have thought back in September 2003, fifteen years ago, that One Hundred Ways For A Dog To […]
Barking, Again!
Woof, woof! Following the recent acquisition of the Bluffers Guide series by Haynes Publishing, I’m delighted to say that the Bluffer’s Guide to Dogs has been re-released with a new cover (and a small amount of additional material). For more information, click here: http://www.simonwhaley.co.uk/the-bluffers-guide-to-dogs/
Joanne Harris Shares Letter
Further to my open letter to the directors of Ti Media, publishers of Woman’s Weekly, the other week, I was a little surprised, but delighted, to see that it had been brought to fellow Society of Author’s member Joanna Harris’ attention, and she too agrees […]
An Open Letter to the Leadership Team at TI Media.
Dear Marcus Rich, Sam Rich, Andrea Davies and Angela O’Farrell, I used to hold Woman’s Weekly in high esteem. Not many men read women’s magazines, but as someone who always dreamed of having a short story published in the Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special, I […]
Congratulations, Kate!
Many congratulations to my agent, Kate Nash, who’s been selected as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars of 2018. To be recognised in this way by the publishing world’s trade journal is an amazing accolade, and just shows the efforts she goes to for her […]
Inaugural Telford@50 Write Now Right Now Literary Festival
I was lucky enough yesterday to be involved in the inaugural Telford Write Now, Right Now Literary Festival, which took place as part of the Telford@50 celebrations. It’s always a little daunting when you establish something new, because you never know whether all of the […]
BoW Blog: Spacebar Trampolining
I’ve a new post on my Business of Writing blog for writers this morning: Spacebar trampolining.
Authors for Grenfell Tower
My lovely agent, Kate Nash, is auctioning a query critique to help raise money for the British Red Cross to support the residents of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The successful bidder will receive a written critique of their query letter, synopsis and the first three […]
A Positively Productive Weekend
Got plans to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year? Or does the thought of writing 50,000 words in 30 days fill you with dread? Perhaps my next course for Lois Maddox’s Relax and Write organisation might be just what you’re looking for.
Bye Bye Wunderlist For Writers
Microsoft, who bought the Wunderkind software company in 2015, has announced that development of their productivity software, Wunderlist, will cease, and the software will be withdrawn at some point in the next few months. Staff are now focussing on a Microsoft To-Do programme called ‘To-Do’, […]
2017 Relax & Write Short Story Retreat at Cirencester
Thank you to Lois, Liz, Sally and Daren for all their hard work at last weekend’s Relax & Write Short Story Retreat, which I was running at the rather impressive Royal Agricultural University, near Cirencester.
262,468 Thank yous!
My thanks go to the 262,468 people who bought a copy of One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human, since it was first published in 2003. It always amazes me how the book is still selling so well. And this year, I’ve […]
Out of Place – Senior Travel Expert Competition Runner Up
My entry into last year’s Senior Travel Expert ‘Off the Beaten Track’ competition has just been published. To read the full entry, click here. Weston Park is a fabulous place to stay, especially for that special occasion. But there’s something for everyone: historic house, fabulous […]
Teatime Tales
My next collection of short stories, previously published in a variety of women’s magazines and other outlets, is now available, as is a box set of both volumes. Teatime Tales Series
Alfie Dog Stories
Two of my short stories (Fledgelings, and Wiggle, Waggle, Woggle) have gone live on the Alfie Dog website today, for you to download to your reading device for the princely sum of 39p each! Enjoy.