So I waited a bit to write this.

** Contains spoilers about the film choices **

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First, let me say I enjoyed it - but not as much as my husband. My appetite for battle scenes is small and I liked the family drama element the most. Definitely one of the best films I’ve seen for a long time so my criticism comes after admiration for the achievement.

Nolan’s Version

As Nolan’s version of the story, it did a good job of shaping a rambling, digressive story, was full of images that I will love revisiting in my imagination, and some stand-out performances. Hearing how practical effects were used rather than CGI makes it even more of an achievement. I preferred Dunkirk, but this is now my second favourite Nolan film.

Cast

The cast was excellent, though as a Brit I noticed the American accents. I guess they had to pick a place for accents to rest, but I’ve got used to English English being considered ‘historic’. Shows me how foolish that is because, duh, why not?

However, I have two significant reservations.

Women and Violence

There was one choice that undermines it as a film about war. Though there was space given to the experience of women - Penelope asking why her years of experience in the absence of her husband could not be respected, Circe turning men into pigs as that’s what she considers their true nature (as well as big cats and deer - not sure what that was about), Helen clearly a mistreated wife, Clytemnestra seeking revenge for the sacrifice of her daughter - Nolan avoided the real grit about sexual violence in war, implied but not admitted to.

The most graphic sexual moment comes when Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon, which is unsettling as it is the woman committing the violence. Odysseus himself plays worried dad, not raunchy hero, on the way home. He is the sex thrall to Calypso; it’s his entrapment, not the women of Troy, that gets the screen time. In the story of Troy, the women of the royal family are taken as slaves, poor Cassandra sent off with Agamemnon and killed with him - that was only hinted at with some background actors being led off to ships. The representative victim that becomes in Odysseus’s mind Athena is beheaded - the stuff of nightmares, but it seems a young woman would more likely be carried off and abused as a prize of war. Nolan is avoiding depicting an issue which is a huge and terrible part of conflict past and present.

Nolan’s thesis for the film is to give serious attention to the effects of war on the men who are part of the violence and how they can no longer fit in at home. So when he reaches the island with the ‘sweet nymph’ Calypso, it feels more like Matt Damon is trapped on a beach with his therapist rather than in the thrall of sexy creature. The tone is different in the poem. Odysseus tells Calypso that his ‘quiet Penelope…would seem a shade before your majesty’ but he still wants to go home. After that, Odysseus and Calypso ‘revel and rest’ - Matt Damon didn’t seem to be doing much revelling and struggled to recall he had a wife. It became about his mental state and Calypso as a warped care-giver.

Humour

That hints at my other reservation - the absence of humour. It was three hours of people being very stressed and unhappy. I spotted one joke - Circe turning her sister into a crow so they could get on better. I could’ve done with more of that to add some light to the shade. Though, at the end, Odysseus and Penelope sail west like Frodo and Gandalf, leaving poor Telemachus in charge when he’s only had his Dad for five minutes - and he’s facing the end of civilisation. I don’t think it was supposed to be funny but I did wonder…

What did you think?

It reminded me of the recent discussion on The Rest is Entertainment podcast (love that programme) about the need to be always ‘on’ as someone selling a creative product to the world.

We are all influencers, even if to a small group.

I sighed along with Richard Osman - it is exhausting, he said. But it might also be harmful, I added. For some, it is very stressful too as they feel to blame for failure.

Mushrooms and Cheese

I’m aware of the irony that I’m thinking about this in the ‘always on’ world of Substack. However, I prefer this longer form to the easily scrolled past world of more visual socials. I’m hoping my interaction with you the reader is a little more considered and both our attentions are engaged in a healthy and not brain-rotting way.

The problem about ‘always on’ for an author is that the creative process is like growing mushrooms - your story needs a dark private place to flourish. You can’t raise mushrooms in the full glare of publicity and on the motorway of public attention driving past. An author isn’t the story - that’s what being out there as the face of your book encourages.

And like good cheese, we might need a private pantry to mature. Vying for attention might also shift us to writing for an audience, showing off the process like a painter inviting people to her studio to watch her work. That would lead to inauthentic choices, ones made with an eye to their reception too early in the process. The wrong turns are important when writing. If you’ve announced a turn, you are then committed to it or have to explain why not.

Publisher care for authors

Maybe it is time for a Code of Care for authors about social media? Here’s what I think should be included.

1. Authors should be encouraged to be happy warriors on socials but not expected to produce miracles.

2. Authors should be told clearly that publicity is primarily the job of the publisher. They can do their utmost to help, but success or failure of the book is the publisher’s responsibility and will largely depend on the budget and effort they devote to a book, not the author’s attempts to grow a huge following doing unpaid work. It is debatable how much that effort can move the needle on sales.

3. Time for hermit creation is to be encouraged - to get a better book at the end.

4. Take a leaf out of the movie industry - organise the contract so there is a publicity period around the publishing of the book of a couple of months so effort can be focused and then pressure off. It would be brilliant if that could be paid in some way to reward the real work this involves.

Final note in praise of publicists

Working with a good publicist who takes control of a schedule, thinks creatively about how to get your book noticed, is a really welcome. I can think of some excellent ones that I’ve met over the years - thank you. The problem is usually they aren’t given the resources which is why they turn to the author. They want the success of the book too.

But the secret sauce is still - write a good book and hope for word of mouth recommendations. Authors, that’s our job.

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I would’ve likely been too late to get a ticket otherwise as it’s a sold-out run, mainly because it signals the return of Sir Kenneth Branagh to the RSC after many years where he’s been off doing such little things like directing Thor movies and Hercule Poirot. Even without him, the tickets would’ve been going like hot cakes for this summer production. The Tempest is one of those plays that people like to go to - enigmatic characters, magical beings, wonderful lines of verse, and it’s short.

What’s been so delightful about the coach-load of us going is that I’ve had lots of people around me who saw the same performance. We’ve been talking about it non-stop. Lots of them are involved in the excellent local drama community, or scholars like my neighbour, so many had other versions to compare it to. Views ranged from one star to five. Happily I’m in the 5 star contingent. I also liked that, while enjoying this production, I disagreed with some of the directorial choices - but that adds to the fun as I re-direct in my mind. I do the same thing with books I like but wish did things differently.

Perhaps the most surprising take-home for me was that it isn’t a Ken Branagh play. Don’t go expecting Gilderoy Lockhart. He shares the main character energy with an excellent Miranda, Ferdinand, Ariel and Caliban. I appreciated his version of Prospero as conductor, music the magic - that was well done. I also liked his crystal clear delivery of the verse - as in Shakespeare’s day we come to hear, not see, a play. Plus, he made sure to address every corner of the audience - no one else did that - his blue eyes sweeping even the upper circle where I had my seat.

If you can sneak in to see it by getting a return on the day, it is worth it.

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My first reaction was ‘you don’t make money from publishing’. True for most people.

But does that sound familiar? Have you been the one asked, or the one asking?

Unfortunately, authors don’t have the keys to the publishing kingdom. We are lucky if we keep a foot over the threshold ourselves. It’s very rare that I recommend someone to either my agent or a publisher - my credibility only goes so far. It has to be a manuscript I know well and rate as extraordinary if I do that.

Think of it like a football player recommending a friend to a manager for the team - the manager’s calculation is going to be completely different from the one of wanting to help a mate. It will be whether the player is a good fit, if they are any good at it, if they are suited to the season ahead…

Putting you in touch

I can, however, put you in touch with some sound advice. If writing for children and young people, join SCBWI or equivalent. These organisations are the best kind of self-help, giving you a network in which to participate, professional advice, and connections. If writing for adults in a genre, attend conferences celebrating sci-fi, romance, crime etc., talk to people, join up if they take unpublished writers publication ready. If writing literary fiction, you might be best off in a reputable MA in Creative Writing - a large number of good writers come through this route. That costs serious money and time so think carefully - you will probably not get this back through earnings.

Then there is the newer route of getting a following either as self-published (like the fantasy writer TA White, for example) or having lots of followers on the digital platform of the day, currently TikTok and Instagram. That’s lots of work and you have to hit right - hard to predict what that means. The ‘secret sauce’ is really luck on top of hard work.

If none of this applies, you could always go inside the gates by working in bookselling or publishing. I’ve interviewed on Mythmakers (my podcast for the Oxford Centre for Fantasy) many writers who got noticed this way. Once you learn how the people selling books look at what gets published, you might be able to find your place on the table.

Conclusion

The better informed you are about the business, the more you increase your chances of having that conversation or meeting the right person who can make the difference to your career.

But, please write because you love it - not to make money or have validation from readers.

As ever, I really appreciate all my readers. Have a browse in my bookshop for your next read: https://goldinggateway.com/shop/

I listen to a lot of podcasts about politics. In a recent one where Tim Miller (The Bulwark) was interviewing Alistair Campbell (The Rest is Politics) about the Iran war, they got into a argument/tease about where was better to live: Europe or America. Alistair was arguing strongly for the beauties of European cities and civilisation, which prompted Tim to say the UK had terrible food (he’d just been to an Oasis concert in Manchester) and that we ‘still hang out our clothes’.

Brakes screeched in my head.

Let’s quickly get rid of the first point. OK, you can buy a bad meal in a venue concession but there’s so much great food to be had in the UK now - it’s so different from the 1970s image that Americans seem to have.

But that’s not my beef, so to speak. It’s the hanging out of the clothes.

We’re going to hang out the washing on the washing line…

First, lots of British people have tumble dryers - about half of households. Many have them, and don’t always run them, especially in summer. I could have one, but I choose not to. There are two reasons:

1. Environment - it seems a needless guzzler when other methods are available. They use up to 5 KWh a cycle, costing up to £1.50 a go. Solar drying on a line: 0. Hey, Americans with lots of sunshine, maybe you’re missing out?

2. Hanging out clothes is one of my happy places. I find it really creative - the smell of freshly washed clothes, the naturalness of it all, doing a task where you can hear the birds and the church bells - I just love it. It links me back to all the generations of people who have been line drying clothes for centuries. I have a scene in The Wordsworth Key all about the wash tub - the community it built for women. We now do our washing alone now (unless you go to a community laundrette) but it still connects. You can tell a lot from what people have on their line, the ages and stages of life - from the sweet baby clothes to the work shirts etc. It is a great clue to character. And you’d swap this for a characterless white box that produces lint and adds to your bills?

   

What about winter - and rain? I’m imagining my American reader asking. Winter - I’m fortunate to have plenty of space for drying inside. That’s when some folk will use their dryer if they are space-poor. As for rain - there’s this thing called a weather app…

So, as this is my Substack for surviving and thriving in publishing, I’d say hanging out the washing hits both targets. It keeps bills down (surviving) and it sends me to my happy place creatively as I ponder my next scene while doing a chore I enjoy.

I’ve got some washing I need to get in. See you later! Perhaps you’d like to tell me about your favourite creative household chores?

I’ve known since January (hence the slow-burn) that I had a book in a three-way bid with excellent publishers - that in itself was new to me as I’ve not gone out the market like that for many years. If you get one of these moments, celebrate it because it means you’ve come up with a book that lots of people think has commercial appeal.

BTW this bidding process was for a full manuscript, not a concept. Even authors with a track record usually have to write the whole thing to land a new deal. The ‘I’ve got an idea for a book’ that I get told at parties really isn’t going to get you a contract.

The exception to that rule is if you are already famous for something else. Start on that stand up career/Hollywood fame now. They’ll probably also approach with the idea and the ghost writer - but that’s another part of the business entirely.

New home at Usbourne

I would’ve loved to have worked with any of the publishing teams that were after the book, but decided to go with Usbourne. I’m really enjoying working with Rebecca Hill and her team. I’ve just handed back the second draft so all is beetling along. I’ve been doing fun things over Easter like drawing maps for the designers to work off.

And yes, we are nearly there now.

So, a little fanfare, new book from me in January. I can’t tell you the title yet as we are debating the right one. It will be illustrated and zany fun - but more about this when I have the front cover etc.

Publishing Checklist

It’s prompted me to think what I did right this time round (unlike my other rejections) that might apply to other writers wanting to make that breakthrough.

1. Be tuned in to what publishers are looking for. This book arose out of conversation I had at a publishing party. An area came up and I went home and wrote something that hit the notes really quickly knowing the idea had a topical appeal. You may not yet be invited to parties like that, but reading on Substack what agents are looking for, for example, is a good substitute.

2. If you have an idea like that, speed is your friend. Other people might be having a similar idea if its something in the zeitgeist. If you can get in first, that’s great. I’m this kind of speedy writer - you might be too.

3. It helps if you already have a good track record - that’s out of your hands if you are a debut.

4. An equivalent there for a debut might be some social media following or profile in a special interest group that gives a start for the marketing people.

5. If you’ve been published and it fizzled, why not use a new pen name - refresh the brand?

6. Write the whole thing. A concept is not enough.

7. Keep it shorter than you might’ve done before. Everyone in publishing is telling me MG books are reducing in length to fit with the modern child’s attention span. Practical terms this means get it well under 60K words (that used to be the length specified in contracts back in the day).

8. In my case, my agent really helped. Molly Ker Hawn from DHA went out with the excitement and energy that made it something publishers would pick up from their pile and read. Getting notice is a huge part of the battle. You don’t have to have one, but maybe you need one? Might be worth returning to knock on some agents’ doors if you’ve given up on that?

I will have missed some things but that’s what felt important to me in getting a deal in 2026.

If you want to revisit some of my classic MG novels, you can find out more on my website.

Here’s the tree of writing we put together at yesterday’s writing workshop with eight Sixth Formers at Cheney School, Oxford. Thanks, guys, you were lovely company!

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If you are an aspiring writer, or just getting published in the younger end of the market, here’s what I’ve learned over the twenty years of doing visits. Good visits are a big part of flourishing as an author for children and young adults.

The Red Zone

It’s hard work

An obvious point but hats off to teachers. Think of a bored Year 9 class on a Friday afternoon (tough crowd) and dream up fun things to do. Bring the creativity you put into your book into your event. I always devise mine around a game that they can play with me, one that suits the theme of the book - that really helps.

Be safe

Make sure they provide a chaperone teacher for your safety and that of the young people. If you are left alone in a classroom with the children, you may need to walk out and inform the nearest teacher what’s happened. I’ve had this where the teacher I was with was called away to an incident - really tricky to know what to do. These days I’d leave the room and flag up the issue.

Not all visits will go well

You’ll get lost looking for a school you’ve never been to before in a town/city/village you’ve never visited. There was one memorable day when my publisher send me to the wrong city academy in London. I ended up south of the river when I should’ve been in Hackney. Londoners will know it is difficult to get across town in half an hour. I had a whole school assembly waiting plus the embarrassment of explaining to a bemused librarian at the wrong school that she was expecting me. She wasn’t - though she did know who I was, which softened the blow.

Some schools do zero preparation and treat you like a supply teacher. I drew up a do’s and don’ts list after a number of these but it can be grim sitting in a corner of the staff room as they gossip around you. It happens. I keep a list of schools I’ve visited with remarks on how it all went so I can make sure either it goes better or I politely decline.

I’ve had the occasional school (and a festival talk) where bookselling has been torpedoed by a teacher standing up at the end and saying the young people have to save their money for X event, or that they’ve already spent it on Y: unbelievably rude and not the deal that the author makes with the audience. It’s right to complain when this happens as a public appearance at a festival etc. is premised on the idea you might get a small fee but expect some sales if you don’t totally flunk your event.

Bookselling is nearly always tricky

I’ve never visited in a time when teachers felt the financial situation of parents made asking for book money unproblematic. Don’t think that things are exceptionally difficult at the moment - that tension is always there. It is a choice to support a child’s reading in the same way as it is a choice among the many demands on a family to pay for school trips, music lessons, sports clubs etc. Books are inexpensive in comparison to most other charges.

That said, there are plenty of people in genuine hardship and not every family can squeeze it out of their budget even if they want to. It would be preferable if there was a way to make your book available to all. Occasionally I’ve gone to a school in a poor area that has sponsorship from local companies (such as lovely idea) which means disadvantaged kids get the chance to own a book. If you know you’re visiting an area like that it might be worth asking the question if that would be possible, especially if you have some connections in the area.

Don’t apologise for wanting to sell books. I’ve felt that pressure coming at me but it is my job. The vast majority of author incomes are much lower than a teacher’s.

Writing workshops are a little different - I’m there as a creative writing expert rather than talking about a book - so I don’t expect a book stall for those days.

The Green Zone

The Joy of Young Minds

That all said, it is a real privilege to meet your readers.

Primary schools are like little power stations of energy and forgiving of a visitor - they are primed to be entertained.

Secondary is much harder, especially in the tricky years of 9 to 11. Participation up front is harder to inspire so you have to think how to adapt your material. Meeting Sixth Formers is easier - you have young adults to talk to and they can be very inspiring and open to getting as much from your session as they can.

Visits sell books

Bottom line, on the commercial side of things, you can often sell a lot of books in a way that bookshop events or even festival talks can only dream of achieving. Books build your audience and get you noticed in the wonderful network of librarians and English teachers. It is good for the children too as there is a strong correlation between the number of the books in a household and educational outcomes. Yours can be a little positive in their reading journey.

Speaking of selling books…

If you want to read my modern classic The Diamond of Drury Lane it is out in a lovely new edition right now.

And I am once again available for school events…

Next Big Thing

First thing to say is, of course, we always have to make way for the next big thing, just as actors make way for the up-and-comers. Publishers love the NBT. New writers come along, new fashions, speaking to new generations, but then these authors too find they are on the same tide to those backwaters. Welcome, if you are just joining the majority of us…

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However, as with actors who might find a new life as a character actor or a ‘top of their craft’ name whose age doesn’t matter, there might be more to you than a brief time when publishers were super-excited about you. A reader who discovers you might well want to read through your catalogue. Or perhaps your book, which didn’t quite hit before, might have its moment now, the equivalent of Ke Huy Quan popping up as a kid in Indian Jones then winning an Oscar in 2023.

Remember, every reader is meeting you for the first time. What was exciting about you in, say, 2016, might well hit the spot with someone new in 2026 - 2036 - 2056…

So what to do?

With a publisher

If you are still with the same publisher, you will recognise their interest will primarily be with whatever they have on their list this year. Hopefully, a new book by you will be on it. But if you want to persuade them to promote your backlist, start a conversation about a new jacket. This is easier for digital books. Unless you are already very established and successful, it is rare for an author to earn a reprint and campaign to send it back into the shops. I’ve successfully done this once.

More attainable is a new look. Rejacketing can refresh a title and make it look part of the current market. I’ve just gone through this with my editor, the lovely Helen Williams, at HarperCollins (One More Chapter) for my Joss Stirling Jess Bridges series. The jackets for the physical books have stayed the same (they’re great but better on a book than a screen). OMC have changed the thumbnails for the ebooks to fit current genre reading trends.

Helen has also given the series a new title (we used the character’s name before) to make what is going on inside clearer. The Oxford PI.

I see it like giving the book a makeover to make people reassess it when they are swiping through for their next read.

They are all available at the moment for 99p so do give the a go if they sound like your cup of tea!

On your own

If your book has gone through the publishing cycle and is now ‘out of print’, this is the moment you can claim back the rights and do your own print-on-demand and ebook. Remember to keep hold of the last version of the book in PDF or Word doc - this always is a wrinkle, especially if you’ve moved computers. I’m getting some books back now that were out before cloud computing, when we still did paper proofs, so I’m having to hunt down the last files I have on them.

There are many ways to self-publish but the one I’ve settled on is to use Vellum to produce the PDF and ebook. I find it very easy to use and responsive. In some cases I’ve asked the original artist if I can use their cover (if they had the rights to it) or I design my own. For this I use Canva. I actually really enjoy this so it is part of the fun of the life prolonging treatment. I often use the original cover as an inspiration but sometimes I give it a complete update to what I might’ve wanted.

Sales of backlist titles are going to be marginal but at least with the self-publishing route you get the majority of it - and that will work out more than the percentage you would’ve received from the original contract.

Don’t forget to agree with your agent (if you have one) that you can do this. My agent has always been happy for me to exploit an ‘exhausted’ title in this way, understanding that their job (and payday) is to get the next deal for me for the new book. I use Amazon KDP as my main outlet for self-published backlist. It is a decidedly mixed blessing to have such a dominant player in the market but at least it does mean I’m more in control as to what I can do with my backlist in a way that didn’t exist before.

What is your experience?

I’d love to know what others are doing to get their backlist out of the backwater. Do share your experience.

Lent

As Lent begins, don’t forget you can spend it with the Inklings (Tolkien and Lewis), in my new book, Wardrobes and Rings, co-written with Simon Horobin and Malcolm Guite.

It’s a fundraiser for the church (hence the modest entrance fee) but also a chance to hear about how we went about writing our Lent reader. I’ll be bringing books to sell and sign.

You’ll hear about Beowulf and Eustace’s undragoning, the Inklings and their friends, and there’ll be a Q&A.

If you can make it, I look forward to seeing you there.

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What do you do when you have something you created rejected? It’s going to happen if you stick around in publishing, even if your first book is a bestseller. There will be a brighter, younger star coming in behind you.

The Advice

I checked out the Brainy Quotes on this so you don’t have to. When you look at the advice on rejections it falls into two camps.

Camp 1 - the Stoics who endure - say it’s in the DNA of the publishing industry but it’s painful. It feels like you are being rejected, not just the book you’ve written. But a successful writer is the one who picks themselves up and tries, and tries again, until they succeed.

Camp 2 - the Cynics in classical terms - say actively embrace rejection, use it as the petrol in your tank, the challenge that you enjoy overcoming. Rejection isn’t final but something that can be changed or renegotiated.

My Advice

Which of those appeals to you is largely a question of character, or the frame of mind you are in when you get the email. Like grieving, you can pass from Camp 1 to Camp 2 (or vice versa).

But perhaps my own conclusions might help as the email drops into the inbox:

1. Remember it isn’t about you. Expect rejection even while hoping for success. I find it helps to imagine myself into an editorial meeting where many books are being pitched. The decisions are made on commercial terms, not personal ones. So I’d advise that you can be emotional and fragile when writing the book, but think of yourself as a business person when pitching. I guess it is a version of getting a bit tougher or developing perspective on what a rejection really means: they don’t think they can make money out of your book.

2. What is the market doing at the moment? Keep an eye on where the winds are blowing. Are you selling umbrellas in sunshine, or (hopefully) is there a rainstorm about to break? That said, don’t be a tornado chaser - i.e. chasing a trend that’s already twisting, but look to see if the market is getting ready for the book you’ve written. Many successes can’t be predicted but sometimes you can see where things might go next - it is your creative instinct that should be listening out to the wider culture here. Watch what agents and editors are open to for queries.

3. Keep on keeping on - but not in the gritty Stoic way. Make sure writing brings you joy. I was listening to the Scriptnotes podcast today and John August, the brilliant screenwriter, said (as if everyone agreed) that the actual writing was horrible and difficult. I don’t find that at all. The act of writing is what I want to get to each day. I love it. I can disappear into it. Don’t carry on trying if it feels like putting yourself through a root canal treatment. Write something new that you fall in love with all over again.

This all boils down to: Rejection happens, so be grown-up about it and don’t take it personally. Love what you do for its own sake.

If you’d like to support my career as a writer, please do look out for my books wherever you get yours from.

The Diamond of Drury Lane has just been reissued as a modern classic, so you could start there.

It’s our shed - full of apples and homemade jam.

A Year in Books

It’s been a year of four books - three conventionally published, one self-published. There have been dragons, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Wardrobes and Rings - quite a collection. If you are looking for a last minutes Christmas present…

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Behind the scenes I’ve been working on what’s to come. I’ve just finished the first draft of a new children’s book and (a little earlier) and adult novel. My wonderful agent of 20 years is retiring so I’m about to begin with a new one (goodbye, Caroline, hello, Molly!). My screenwriting is also making progress (glacial - but progress!). I’ll tell you more if it gets anywhere.

So as a little bit of Christmas fun, I’ll give my top five places to spend Christmas in literature - not necessarily for comfort and joy but for interest. Let me know yours.

5. The Court of King Arthur in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Pros - You get fifteen days of feasting in the heyday of Arthur’s court as well as a spooky Green Knights striding in to challenge you to a dangerous game of axes.

Cons - You get a spooky Green Knight…

4. The Nutcracker by Hoffmann

Pros - The toys come alive and you shrink to have an adventure in the Christmas Tree lands.

Cons - There are monstrous mice to battle and you aren’t believed when you return.

3. Hobbiton

Hobbits don’t celebrate Christmas as such but they do celebrate Yule.

Pros - Lots of eating and drinking. Snow is an excuse for snowballs and sledging. If Bywater freezes, you can go skating. Sounds very jolly.

Cons - In rare winters, the wolves come over the frozen Brandywine and you have to fight!

2. Scrooge’s House

Pros - If you go to Scrooge’s house on the night he is visited by the ghosts you get to visit lots of different Christmas in past, present and future - a fascinating journey, capped by the wonderful change of heart.

Cons - Many of the memories are sad, present-day London (to Dickens) terrible for the poor, and the future scary. You have to be lionhearted to see all of this.

1. Narnia - after Christmas returns

Pros - This combines the best of all the places. You get Father Christmas, a marvellous castle with feasts and games, and best of all talking animals and mythical creatures. If you’re very lucky, Aslan might drop in.

Cons - none - except that you have to go home one day…

Merry Christmas!

Surviving and thriving as an author - the general theme of these Substack letters - involves these moments. So…

I had a quick look at the reviews (it’s always a nail biting thing as you expect a few trolls) and it seems that The Austen Intrigue is going down really well - 4.8 stars (out of 5) average. If you’ve read it and liked it - thank you. If you can go the extra step and review it, that would be a lovely Christmas present to me! I get excited when a story that really enthused me finds its fellow enthusiasts.

If you’re thinking of a Christmas present for yourself or your Jane Austen admiring friend, it might be a good stocking filler. The audio version is pretty awesome (thank you, Rose Robinson). There are a few ‘deal’ days as well if you like e-books, so look out for these around Jane’s birthday - 16th December. You only turn 250 once.

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You can get the ebook and audio version here but if you’re fortunate enough to live near a local bookshop, they’ll be delighted to get you in a copy of the paperback. I love being able to browse so if that’s you too, let’s make sure we buy books in a bricks-and-mortar store where possible.

Cassandra Austen famously burned the ‘interesting’ letters to protect her sister’s reputation posthumously. She had to be sweet Aunt Jane, not the outrageous and sharp-tongued wit that we suspect she was from her books. Only a little of that caustic personality is left, but mostly the letters are the minutiae of family business, buying cloth, arranging visits, exchanging news about friends and neighbours. There’s not much in the way of insight as to secrets and passions of Jane and the Austen family.

Signposts

What we are left with is a few intriguing traces, some signposts pointing off into areas that must’ve been written about between sisters. They didn’t want us to know. Murder was definitely a proscribed topic.

One of these signposts to more intriguing material is a mention in 1811 of Jane going to an evening entertainment in London at the house of the Comte D’Antraigues and his wife. She was staying with her brother Henry while correcting proofs of Sense and Sensibility.

The next year, in July 1812, the comte and comtesse were brutally murdered.

Now, if an acquaintance of yours comes to a grisly end, you would discuss it with other members of the family who knew them, wouldn’t you?

I think it is fair to say the gap in Jane’s letters for this period is significant. One for the bonfire, perhaps, as sweet Jane doesn’t really fit with a bloody murder involving a French spy and an international crisis.

The Austen Intrigue

Finding a brief mention of the comte in the biography by Claire Tomalin sent me on the trail to unpack what happened - or what might’ve happened. Unlike the previous books in the Regency Secrets series, I didn’t have to make up the crime. I did however have to investigate the murder as far as I could and work out what might’ve been going on. Suffice to say that the inquest held the day after the murder was cursory and didn’t ask the questions that should’ve been asked. My detectives, with Jane Austen along with them, get to do so in the weeks that follow.

There is also a lot in this book about the attractions of London at the time - the eating places, shops, illuminations and the pleasure gardens. I wanted to give a sense of how much fun it would be for Jane coming up from Chawton and staying with her brother. And I hope you as the reader have fun imagining it too!

You can buy the book as a paperback, ebook or audiobook. You can find all those options on this link but don’t forget your local bookshop if you want the paperback.

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Shocking advice

One stop press moment for me was Richard Osman saying that social media posting by authors makes zero difference to book sales these days. All that pressure to be ‘out there’ put on us is not warranted. The faint implication of blame that we didn’t do our part if we don’t and so we are responsible for poor sales - baloney. It is the publisher’s job to market, not ours. Personal recommendations are still how it works. He said we could quote him so I am doing so. I guess he should know.

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The Swarm

Listening to last year’s episodes, I’ve also been struck by the number of times they commented on the world lapsing into mass hysteria. You remember the furore over the Princess of Wales ‘disappearance’? Wild rumours flew concerning the state of her marriage - until it was announced she had cancer and was undergoing treatment.

Brakes screeched in the rumour mills.

That story is repeated every month, every week, every day, somewhere to someone.

Isn’t it time we all took a breath? If you are reading this as a writer, wanting to learn how to survive and thrive, I truly think it is vital you don’t spend your energy fighting battles that don’t matter with strangers who you’ll never meet.

And what’s the point of this? I want to give you an image in words that might stick with you and help you do what you know is good for you. That’s the power of language.

Imagine sitting in a summer garden and seeing a couple of bees visiting the lavender bushes.

How lovely, you think. Nature is doing its stuff, pollinating and making honey.

Then you go back to work or your book, in balance with your surroundings. The buzz is a gentle background noise that lets you get on.

Now imagine being in the same garden with a swarm of bees. The sensible thing to do is to run inside and shut the windows and doors. However, what too many of us are doing is staying outside and getting stung.

Opinion overload

I’m not talking about bees, of course, but the overload of opinions online - social media or however you experience the swarm.

In my analogy, the couple of bees are informed news outlets or commentators you have learned to trust - not a corporation who uses an algorithm to drive you down conspiracy rabbit holes or rage baits you. Unless you are in politics, most of us don’t have to know everything all the time, but these professionals keep us informed.

Trying to navigate life in the swarm is enraging and foolish. You don’t know which buzz is the responsible worker bee. Pretty quickly you are tempted to swat back, which just makes the swarm more angry.

What to do?

I’m telling myself this - and you too, if you are still reading :) Go inside and shut the door. Switch off. Read a book by someone who knows what they are talking about. Listen to a podcast by an expert in the field. Don’t bother with exchanging views on social media platforms like Twitter/X as that is where people go to shout at each other.

It’s trending…

Social media usage by ‘real’ people as opposed to bots does seem to be declining, down 10% since 2022. The ‘AI slop’ might be a reason as people sense that it is becoming a heap of posts and images that aren’t real or aren’t heartfelt. And maybe that is why places like this - newsletters on Substack - might have their place as, though not a perfect platform, at least someone has sat and thought about their contribution in a longer form.

In other news

I have two books out next month - The Austen Intrigue #4 in Regency Secrets series, and Wardrobe and Rings, co-written with Malcolm Guite and Simon Horobin. Both will give you the chance to escape the swarm and relax with just the buzz of a few informed bees. I’d love it if you pre-ordered either (or both!) or them as it will help them fly off the shelves.

The choice is a novel based on a real life murder in the Jane Austen circle, or a series of readings/reflections on the works of the Inklings, primarily Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Don’t say I don’t cover all the bases!

If you want to avoid Amazon, you can pre-order through https://uk.bookshop.org or at your local bricks-and-mortar shop.

On the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I’ll let you into the secret.

The doorway for me was a garden fence in suburban Essex. I lived in the commuter village of Theydon Bois, second to last stop on the Central Line. My house was on the edge of the village, backing on to a golf course so it felt a place between, like the Wood between the Worlds.

On the other side of the fence was an older girl who sometimes babysat me - Geraldine. I can remember the hot summer’s day, the japonica bush in bloom with its dark pink flowers, the square trellis fence that gave me glimpses of her, and Geraldine telling me about this wonderful book she was reading. It had a lion, a witch and a magic wardrobe that took you into Narnia.

That’s the ideal ‘elevator’ pitch. Who would not want to read that book?

I also remember that I wasn’t yet quite up to the level of reading chapter books so I must’ve been about five or six. The magic wardrobe book became a talisman - something to reach so I too could go through the wardrobe.

And, for course, what I’m saying is that the secret entrance to Narnia is absorption in the book - and in my case, and that of many other writers, becoming a writer myself to create my own worlds.

Are we losing the doorways?

Not such a secret, you say? I don’t know. As children are now struggling to read long books, and their concentration is shot to pieces by screen habits, I wonder if we are losing those doorways? It is easier to allow yourself to be sucked into someone else’s fantasy, an online game or series of short clips. The wonderful thing about a book is that everyone’s Narnia (or Middle-earth, or Wonderland) is different. You are co-creator with the writer.

Harder work? Yes. But as any bookworm will tell you, the more you read, the easier it is to imagine.

That’s the challenge for us now: we must stop always outsourcing our imagination to screens and AI and remember that the organ of the imagination is the brain.

Wardrobes and Rings

Thank you, C.S. Lewis, for providing me with that doorway when I was little. It led to so much more than Narnia as it also led to spiritual insight and a career! Not bad for a little book! Like Aslan, it packs a mighty roar!

I’m very exited that next month I’m celebrating my love for Narnia in my Lent book, co-written with Malcolm Guite and Simon Horobin. If you like a spiritual books to read at that (or any) season, you might like to give it a go. If you belong to a church community who would like to use it and would welcome a visit, virtual or irl, please do get in touch.

You can pre-order it here or (if you are in the US) on Amazon.

One of the sidebars to the visit by President Trump to the UK last week was the list of writers that appeared in his speech at the state dinner. I had a couple of ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ moments when listening.

Let’s leave the politics for other spaces, please. What I want to think about here is the choice of the writers and what it says about the speechwriter’s slant on English as a literary language. I’m also intrigued how the choices complicate the intention.

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My guide is going to be whether the writers provide a lens through which we see the world. Are they legislators of mankind - to borrow Shelley’s phrase? Has their impact been strong enough for that?

First of all…

Shakespeare - the universal

He had to be there, didn’t he? Truly the writer for all ages. You can interpret him to suit every political moment from nearly all sides of the arguments. Who he really was and what he really thought remains opaque - deliciously so. For example, I saw powerful feminist re-imaginings of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Winter’s Tale last month. You can equally play the plays with the opposite message. And the poetry… we all swim in the exquisite beauty of it and so yes! He is deserving of his place at the front of that list. He is owned by no side but every speaker of English - in fact everyone as there are wonderful translations too!

Dickens - the energetic

I’m thinking that the global love for A Christmas Carol might’ve been uppermost in the choice of this writer. A story of second chances, of Christian compassion, of a lonely man made part of a loving community - hard to resist. Dickens is much more than that story, though. A troubled man, with a problematic home life, his work is unsettling, challenging, surprising, and creates a whole universe. We even have the term Dickensian and we all know that that means. Dickens’ heart for the poor should not be forgotten - he would rail against many aspects of inequality in our times. Yes, to him being on the list and let’s learn compassion from him.

Tolkien - the imaginative

Tolkien is my joint favourite writer (we’ll come to the other one in a moment). I was surprised to see him unexpectedly promoted to a top six. He would also be surprised to be there himself being modest about his own achievements. While his prose, particularly in The Lord of the Rings, is richly rewarding, I wouldn’t argue for it alongside, say, Virginia Woolf, a contemporary in a literary sense. However, I think he earns his place for the way he has brought a global community into Middle-earth. He is humane, funny, wise, spiritual, and he casts enchantment over us so our lives are lived partially in Middle-earth, woods are alive and mountains more majestic. Let no side claim to own him.

Lewis - the plain speaker

I imagine this name was included for the American audience where C.S. Lewis has more of a following now than in the UK. However, another surprised hooray, as my love for literature started with going through the wardrobe. As for his writing style, I would say it is characterised by plain speaking. Read any of his apologetics and you feel like he (a man of the mid 20th century) is using plain language to explain to you complicated concepts. Let’s step aside from theology and look at The Discarded Image, his explanation of the medieval world view. The medieval person ‘is like a man being conducted through an immense cathedral, not like one lost in a shoreless sea.’ Brilliant. So, while an unexpected item in the bagging area, the inclusion highlights Lewis as an excellent communicator. OK, let’s take the good in that, but I don’t think he’d make my list of top 6.

Orwell - the warning

Hmm. This one was an unusual choice, ironic at a state banquet which wasn’t really George Orwell’s vibe. It’s justified in my view by the fact that the author also has an adjective ‘Orwellian’. 1984 and Animal Farm - these are warnings to us that we need to keep in mind. We all live in something of an Orwellian world at the moment. I guess this is a moment where we should all go an look in the mirror and check we aren’t being the pigs/Big Brother and stand up for free speech. He wouldn’t be in my top 6 but only because I want to make space for others.

Kipling - the patriot

This is a surprising choice for an American president’s speechwriter. Kipling was the writer most associated with the height of the British empire. However, he is also the source of The Jungle Book so has a popular culture hold too. As for his poems, many people know his poem ‘If’ which is a poem about a certain kind of masculinity. However, he is a more complicated writer than the thumbnail sketch of him as an apologist for empire. The Jungle Book isn’t cosy bears and Indian boys singing in the jungle - it is wild and at times violent. It is about rejection and loss. Well worth a read. However, he wouldn’t be on my list if I were the speechwriter.

Who was missing?

Women!

These should’ve been on the list (if we’re keeping it UK based, not including southern Ireland, and stopping in the middle of the last century). My three substitutions to the unexpected items.

Jane Austen - particularly in the 250th year of her birth. She’s my joint favourite writer.

Charlotte Brontë

George Eliot

Others

I can also make arguments for numerous poets (the Romantics, the Metaphysical), John Bunyan, Dr Johnson, Victorians like Tennyson, Browning and Barrett-Browning, Hopkins, later writers like T.S. Eliot (shared with the US), Virginia Woolf… I would also like a more diverse list but drawing a line mid-20th century cut off Zadie Smith, Monica Ali and other writers from my self-imposed rule. My list goes on…and on…

Who would your six writers be in your bagging area and why? Let me know who I missed.

Regency Secrets

If you’d like to listen or read one of my books, all three Regency Secrets are now on audio as well as paperback and e-book. The fourth - involving my fav Jane Austen - is out in November. Literary mysteries for those who love the Regency era.

This link takes you to the wonderful Bookshop.org that supports independents.

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-wordsworth-key-julia-golding/7818317

What’s been your latest listen? Mine’s the new Cormoran Strike novel - for my view read on!

I’m part of that book buying market. I tend to buy on audio rather than kindle, particularly for books that have a strong narrative drive. This is partly because I spend my days reading and writing so it is a change of pace and means I can be free of a screen.

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The Hallmarked Man

My latest purchase was The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith - all 31 hours of it! And yes, I have listened to it - tricky to follow because the plot is very knotty. Perhaps this is a case where buying the book or borrowing from a library would’ve been preferable to keep track. However, it did all come together at the end.

While listening, I kept thinking of Robert Glenister (the reader) narrating away in a little room for all that time. How many days did it take, I wonder? His Cormoran is more Cornish than the version in the TV series as played by Tom Burke so it feels very different. I listen on train journeys, in the car and when doing household chores like shopping, so the time adds up.

Regency Secrets

My own books come in at a modest 10 hours - that’s what about 90,000 words is like when read aloud. I did have to campaign for this with the publisher but now I’ve two new audiobooks in the Regency Secrets series to share with you, making three. The fourth (The Austen Intrigue) will be out when that book comes out in November.

The reader is Rose Robinson. She’s got a lovely voice and manages well with the range of accents I throw at her. Please do give it a try if you like audiobooks. It is very restful to be back in 1812 even if there is murder and mayhem afoot. The good thing about historical fiction is you know what is going to happen in terms of the bigger picture - much less nail biting than current events.

Making my own

I’ve also had a go at making my own audiobooks of titles where the publisher hasn’t chosen to make one. Quite a few authors do this. It takes time but is so much easier now as there are great sites to clean up an audio track and make it sound professional. If you want to see what that sounds like, you could try books 1 and 3 of the Dragonfly series - here’s Ragged Wolf.

Or you can try my dragon adventure under my Joss Stirling name:

Favourite voices

If you start to listen to a lot of books, you soon develop favourite (and unlistenable) voices. I particularly like Natasha Soudek who reads a lot of fantasy titles. I enjoy Andy Serkis’ version of The Lord of the Rings, and Lorelei King - again another voice for many fantasy titles. On the other hand, oddly I struggled with Jennifer Ehle reading Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - I loved her as Elizabeth but I don’t think it suits her. Perhaps a voice you like is personal rather than objective? If so, it’s worth listening to a sample to check you want to be in this person’s company for so many hours.

AI

What I do know is that I don’t want to listen an AI generated narration. If you upload to Kindle Unlimited you are now offered a conversion of your book to an AI voice. I tried it just to see what would happen. Awful. The voice was fine but it didn’t know what it was saying. I deleted it immediately.

So for now I’ll be grateful when someone like Rose reads my book, or when I spend the time doing it myself. The human touch counts.

Have a listen.

I have a new and very different book out in November called Wardrobe and Rings. Written with Professor Simon Horobin, Magdalen College, and the inimitable Malcolm Guite, it is a book for Lent, drawing on the inspiration of the Inklings (Tolkien and C.S. Lewis) and their circle. We hope to inspire, inform and encourage in the nicest possible company.

Perhaps you’ll find it an antidote to the rather stressful times we are living in? I certainly have found the task of putting it together a refreshing and positive experience.

It is available for pre-order here and is published by Canterbury Press.

Lenten Journey

The idea is to spend the forty days of Lent thinking about themes from the works of Tolkien and Lewis, such as Legolas and time, Eustace and Undragoning, and whose quest is it anyway when it comes to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (that’s a few of my themes - there are many others).

Simon brings expertise on so many subjects, including Lewis in Oxford, with a light sprinkling of Old English and Medieval references which will leave you feeling agreeably well informed. He writes the best thing on wardrobes that I have ever read - look out for that in his ‘Through the wardrobe’ day.

Malcolm is a poet, theologian and literary critic who reveals new and wonderful aspects in familiar stories. My own reading has been greatly enriched since editing this book. Particularly special to me was his insight into Easter Saturday and The Return of the King.

While Wardrobes and Rings draws inspiration from the faith of the Inkings, we want it to be enjoyable to all their admirers with thoughts applicable to all ages and stages in life. All you need to enjoy it is curiosity about the Inklings and a desire to stop and ponder for five minutes each of the forty days (plus Holy Week).

Writing together

Our own journey to writing the book has been very enjoyable. Simon’s office is a room or two along from C.S. Lewis’s so we were able to have the same view the Inklings would have enjoyed. We met in January to divide up the themes between us, keeping three days as special joint responses - Gandalf’s wise words on dealing with our times, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We met again for an edit after Easter. Here’s the magnificent wisteria that greeted us on that occasion! It’s clambering up towards Lewis’s room where the Inklings met each Thursday for many years.

I’m excited to see where the Lenten journey takes our readers. It is the book I have always wanted someone to write for me so I did the classic things of getting it written myself. It was my privilege to have such wonderful co-writers as part of that journey.

The film is not the book and the book is not the film. We can all agree that.

And looking at TMC film, there’s lots to like - especially Helen Mirren and Jonathan Pryce.

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However, I do think there are times when having read the book first actually makes it impossible to love the film version. This is what I found with The Thursday Murder Club. I’m sure there are lots of people who will see the film and really enjoy it. I did watch it to the end so it didn’t completely fail as an evening’s entertainment. However, I found myself agreeing with the reviewers who were giving it 2 out of 5 rather than higher.

Why?

For me it comes down to two things: a failure to carry over into the film the Englishness of the book, and an underdeveloped plot which departed in weird ways from the original novel.

But it’s so English, international viewers will cry. No, it’s not. Chris Columbus and Steven Spielberg are many things, but they don’t have the lived experience of being English like Richard Osman. Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote, the writers, are both English. I’d be interested to read the screenplay to find out how much of their knowledge has been lost. What we get is a hyper-Englishness, a Disney version where OAPs live in a stately home and the decor of their flats is like Delores Umbridge’s office.

It’s been purposely pumped up - look at the size of Joyce’s cakes (and the fact she keeps leaving cake boxes all over the place - these aren’t cheap - I always get mine back!). It’s like the films of Paddington or Mary Poppins, but this isn’t really a fantasy film but a cold case murder mystery. Even the arch baddie, an inexplicable role given to Richard E. Grant, is a florist, blood running down his arms from rose thorns. More Cornetto Trilogy than TMC. The tone is a miss for me.

Osman knows retirement villages. Yes, there might be an old house at the centre, but there are also independent living units, higher care warden controlled places. The hospice wing is unusual, but OK, I can believe there’s a community somewhere with one on site (though I don’t remember any nursing staff which was a bit worrying!). He name checks places and features of everyday life we all know - Greggs, Waitrose, meal deals etc. - but none of this is in the film, Instead we are in a set of a village, a set of a small town. London is only glimpsed through a window in one scene. Oddly, out of all the retirement home windows is an undefined view of what might be the sea. I think something was missed there.

And now to the plot. Osman’s plot sprawls so there was going to be things cut. However, the cuts are odd ones and the replacements unsuccessful. The stakes have changed. The retirement community is now at risk of being shut down - why? The alternative use doesn’t make financial sense. It’s less about secrets hidden in the cemetery, which is the driver of the novel. Then the past of Ron’s son isn’t gone into so that part of the story seems underbaked. Bogdan’s motivation is unconvincing - he is too capable to put up with the situation he claims to be in (I won’t give a plot spoiler). In the novels, he’s a great character because he is so intelligent and cool. Also, the end leaves out the moral ambiguity that Osman often goes to where justice is served but not in the way of courts and police. Someone gets arrested who really shouldn’t.

The big ‘but’ here is that if I hadn’t read the book, I might’ve enjoyed it quite innocent of all this. Outside of Great Britain, people will probably have a hoot watching it.

So my advice is read the book or watch the film. I wouldn’t advise doing both!