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Wind Knots and the Polychronicon

The Polychronicon is a chronicle of the British Isles, written by Ranulf Higden (c. 1280-1364), a Benedictine monk of the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester. Ranulf apparently travelled throughout the north of Great Britain after becoming a monk in 1299, when he was just nineteen years old. The Polychronicon is a work in seven books (in imitation of … Continue reading

Author : nike

lots of people go mad in January; not as many as in May …

May is coming, and with it, the release of my new novel, Dying in the First Person, which is being released by my fabulous publisher, Transit Lounge. This may send me mad (if I’m not already). Writing this book has been a long, slow process. It has been written during a period of extraordinary … Continue reading

Author : nike

Arrival

The life of a writer is, as you probably know, a lot of time of quiet, pyjama-clad desperation punctuated by occasional bursts of socialising or special events. Today is a special event day, with pyjamas. Today, the author copies of Dying in the First Person arrived. Let me set the scene … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 6 Comments

Childhood paracosms (Alleston, Ejuxria, Farksolia, Nahum …)

  I’ll be presenting a paper on the life and work of Barbara Newhall Follett as part of the Forgotten Lives/Biographies symposium being held at USQ on April 28th this year. This paper developed out of a research interest that informed the writing of Dying In The First Person, in particular, children who have … Continue reading

Author : nike
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Soundtrack (Dying in the First Person)

I listened to a lot of classical music while I was writing Dying in the First Person. Mostly ABC Classic FM – so whatever they were playing when I sat down to write seeped into my consciousness and infected the prose. Perhaps as a consequence the main characters also listen to, and … Continue reading

Author : nike

Cover Reveal and date claimer (Dying In The First Person)

Well, it’s been a while since I posted anything, but I’ve been busy. Promise! My big news is that the new novel is as close to being ready as it can get. Edits done. Cover designed. Release date locked in. Transit Lounge have done a beautiful job of transforming my … Continue reading

Author : nike

Dying in the First Person

I have the most amazing news! Next year, in May*, my new book, Dying in the First Person, will be released by Transit Lounge. I received the edits yesterday, and they confirm everything I believe about the enormous benefits of a good editor. They make the work better; they work … Continue reading

Author : nike
Comments : 2 Comments

Our golden hearts

I’ve been dreaming of covers for Dying in the First Person. The images in my head are of water, and of Samuel and Morgan (the twins around whom the novel swirls) as reflections of each other. So, of course, the images that come to me most often are Caravaggio’s Narcissus: Or this equally … Continue reading

Author : nike