State of Play
As you may have seen, I've updated the website. I've added an extended extract from The Maze Garden, and also an extract from my current...
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William Dawson
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Novel Update
So An Angel of Glass is complete. Sort of. It still requires a little polishing here and there, but I feel that it can be left on the...
Why The Good Place is the Greatest Show Currently on Television
It's rare to find a comedy that genuinely loves its characters. Most comedies seem to thrive on humiliating their cast. Think about the...
Inspirations: Hergé, Tintin, and the Never-History of Europe
There was a period during my childhood when my reading consisted pretty much solely of Asterix, Tintin, and the Horrible Histories. All...
Inspirations: Robin Hobb and the Don Giovanni climax
Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy were the first books that I really hated. I must have been about fourteen or fifteen when I first read them....
Review: Polish Romantic Composers
Quick, quick – name a Polish composer. Now name a Polish composer who isn’t Chopin. If you remembered Szymanowski, well done – have a...
Review: Mozart Operas; Currentzis vs Jacobs
I had to buy my own Christmas present this year – which isn’t quite the sob story it sounds to be, because it meant that I finally got my...
Review: Three Films
One of the joys of being a student again is that I get six months of Amazon Prime for free – and it’s a privilege that I’ve been...
Review: Gone with the Wind and Continuum
Just a quick update on a couple of things I’ve loved recently. GONE WITH THE WIND: I finally finished reading Margaret Mitchell’s epic. I...
Inspirations: 'Map and Maze Puzzles'
I used to love the Usborne Puzzle Adventure as a kid. But one volume in particular has had a lasting influence on me. That is (the...
On Fantasy
So, I've written a fantasy novel. It wasn't a direction I anticipated on going in, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. I read quite...
Review: Tchaikovsky from MusicAeterna
Something interesting has been happening in the period instrument movement recently. For many decades 'authenticity' was the watchword....
Review: The Other Works by Max Bruch
Max Bruch is one of those composers who, like Pachelbel, often gets dismissed as a one-trick pony. His First Violin Concerto is one of...
Review: Parade's End
I've just finished watching the BBC production of 'Parade's End', starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall - and I'm completely in...
Back to Front Research
I always fall into this trap. Really, if you want to make your novel convincing, you should go where your research takes you. But...
The Malignant Ending
I love writing beginnings. Whether it's the start of a whole novel or just the start of a chapter, there's a sense of infinite...