My Life as a writer - When I'm not scribbling

I write books, I love writing books and the flip side to that is I love reading books.  So here's the second update on the books I've read so far this year;  1. Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts  - Lucy Dillon  Rachel has inherited her aunt's house and attached Rescue Kennel as well as Gem her aunt's beloved border collie.  It's come at a bad time in Rachel's life as she's also just lost her job, her boyfriend and her London apartment.  While trying to come to terms with all her losses and decide what to do with her life Rachel also has the added pressure of sorting out the probate on her aunt's property and find homes for the abandoned dogs.   Matching dogs to potential new parents was a skill her aunt had and after a while it seems maybe Rachel does too, if she can just let go of her past and decide on her  future.   I love dogs, I have a huge cuddly Golden Retriever so any books about dogs pulls at my heart strings.  I liked Rachel and felt for her,

Music is one of those things in life it's always there whether we realise it or not.  From the sweet song of the birds in the trees to the musical score of the latest movie.  It draws on your emotions lifting you up or making you cry. I think everyone has a soundtrack to their life, songs that have an impact, that stay with them maybe just for a day or maybe for a lifetime but they each have a place in your story. So far this year, these are the songs that are forming the soundtrack of my 2017: 1. I love my Life - Robbie Williams This was the first song I heard this year (well after Auld Lang Syne).  I'm not a huge party person on New Years Eve, I tend to be a home body celebrating with family anyway I was watching Robbie Williams Rocks Big Ben and this was the first song that stuck with me moving in to the new year. It's a song that has meaning to me - I think we can go through life not being happy, not being satisfied and sometimes our own inner voice plays a p

I love London, I love theatre land, unfortunately I don’t get there as often as I would like, which is why I love the National Theatre’s live streaming of some truly remarkable performances. The Barbican’s current run of Hamlet staring Benedict Cumberbatch was the latest offering, which I was glad to see knowing I wouldn’t otherwise get the opportunity to see the performance. The Barbican is a grade two listed building, from architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon as part of the regeneration of London’s bombed landscape.   It opened in 1982 and is Europe’s largest multi arts and conference venues. Hamlet (5 August – 31 October 2015) Shakespeare’s great tragedy has been adapted for the stage by Director Lyndsey Turner and Producer Sonia Friedman.   The run time is approximately 1 hour 50 minutes. Hamlet played by Benedict Cumberbatch is grieving for the loss of his father and is enraged by the marriage of his mother to his uncle.   As war looms outside the gates of their

Late 2013 I read an article on Guy Richie’s new project, taking on the 1960’s TV Series “The Man From Uncle” and I remember feeling rather excited.    Having seen other 50’s and 60’s shows reimagined and revitalized, Hawaii 5-0, Mission Impossible for contemporary audiences and having seen how Guy Ritchie adapted Sherlock Holmes for a stem-punk action generation I was intrigued to see how he would approach the world of cold war espionage and make it relevant to a modern audience. As a child growing up in the 80’s a lot of my TV habits were dictated by my parents and grandparents   and they all loved TV dramas like Chips, Dukes of Hazard, The Saint, Mission impossible and The Man From Uncle which were on re-runs throughout my childhood.   I vague memories of watching Robert Vaughn and David McCallum strut around opulent sets looking rather dapper in a similar style to how I remember my grandfather dressing.   It was in a way dated to me even then but in a colourful, vibrant good

Now, firstly I must admit when Mark Haddon’s novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time” was released I wasn’t really aware of it.   I saw it in a few books stores but it never really caught my fancy.    Then I heard it was being adapted into a play for the West End and I read a bit more about it.   After seeing a documentary on the production and hearing there was to be a UK tour I decided this was something I’d love to see.   So, over twelve months ago I booked tickets for the opening night at the Sunderland Empire and well I wasn’t disappointed.   Late one night Christopher (Joshua Jenkins) finds his neighbour’s dog dead in the garden, speared with a garden fork.   After being found with Wellington (the dog) he has a run in with a police officer who doesn’t understand Christopher doesn’t like to be touched. He is taken to the police station where his dad, Ed (Stuart Laing) comes to collect him.    Christopher decides at this point to investigate Wellington’