Christmas in Kirkby Lonsdale

Christmas in Kirkby Lonsdale - BBC Countryfile - Dec 2015
Christmas in Kirkby Lonsdale – BBC Countryfile – Dec 2015

 

Revel in Ruskin’s favourite view, traditional pubs, cosy atmosphere and a corner of Cornwall in Cumbria, says Simon Whaley …

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Icelandic Version – Sneak Peek!

I’ve just been sent a link for a sneak peak at the Icelandic version of One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human. (My physical copies will be in the post soon.) It’s always exciting to see your book when it’s been translated into a foreign language.

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Business of Writing – Christmas Gifts

Christmas Gifts - Writing Magazine - December 2015 issue
Christmas Gifts – Writing Magazine – December 2015 issue

 

What do professional writers get in their Christmas stockings? Simon Whaley unwraps a few ideas from Christmas past to sneak onto your list this year.

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Lakeland’s Autumnal Colours

Lakeland's Autumnal Colours - published in The People's Friend Autumn Special 2015
Lakeland’s Autumnal Colours – published in The People’s Friend Autumn Special 2015

 

“I know New England is famous for it’s autumnal colour,” drawls the American tourist standing next to me in the grounds of Rydal’s St Mary’s Church, “but your Old England display is pretty spectacular too.”

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BoW – Coping With A Crisis In Confidence

Coping with a Crisis of Confidence - Writing Magazine - November 2015

 

Dark nights and negative demons can quash a writer’s confidence. Simon Whaley finds two writers who’ve trained their demons into submission. 

(Published in Writing Magazine – November 2015 Issue)

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252,381 Thank yous

And so the royalty statements are in, and lifetime sales for One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human now stands at 252,381 copies. That’s truly an amazing …

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The Spectre of Kington

The Spectre of Kington - BBC Countryfile - October 2015
The Spectre of Kington – BBC Countryfile – October 2015

Follow in the footsteps of the mysterious Black Vaughan, a shape-shifting spectre who may have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, says Simon Whaley…

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Keeping It Local

Simon Whaley explores the benefit of authors getting involved with their local literary festivals …

Keeping It Local - Society of Authors magazine

Keeping It Local was published in the Autumn 2015 issue of The Author, the Journal of the Society of Authors

Keeping it local

Phyllis Blakemore will always remember her appearance at the Wellington Literary Festival’s ‘Meet the Local Author’ event, in 2014. She sold three copies of her book, Gentlemen of the River: The Last Coraclemen of the Severn Gorge, to the same reader who’d bought a signed copy from her at the 2013 local author event. The reader wanted signed copies to give as gifts and, knowing Phyllis was local, had searched specifically for her in the new festival brochure. 

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