Here’s a quote from my Quaker Faith and Practice : “Are you able to contemplate your death and the death of those closest to you? Acceptin...

…hated a chick-lit book cover foisted on her by her publisher. Read this.

One week today I will see this: And more importantly, this little person: and this person: and this person: Excitement...

It was fun showing a couple of Yanks round my world. We only had two and a half days but packed a lot in. John was puzzled as to why it’s ca...

People often ask me how much of my books are taken from my own life. We-e-el-l-lll, one bit in the latest book  is certainly true – I did ...

Only read the following if you like lots of detail… This was an early idea for the cover of BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT I LOVED YOU : ...

I stick by everything I said about Sebastian Barry’s A Long, Long Way , and yet there are some nights when I go to bed and don’t feel up to...

Yes, it’s September today, but I’m happy - the sun is shining and I’ve just had a bike ride up the beautiful Monsal Trail I got my ...

Have you heard of PLJ? It’s a “cordial” you dilute to drink. PLJ is the brand: the product is pure lemon juice. It was advertised in the ...

Read this shocking report about the huge increase in British arms sales to repressive regimes, including ones involved in the Arab Spring. ...

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know how vital it was to me to get the cover exactly right on BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT ...

Several months ago my family in San Francisco changed their telephone system. Since then they have always sounded 5,000 miles away when t...

Look what Dave made for me with the stained glass I chose two weeks ago … Isn’t it beautiful? When I’m away, he gets up to all kinds ...

…I did nothing at Jen’s, one day of doing nothing involved sitting in the sunshine in the stern of a yacht on the Solent, while Jen’s fri...

I took another pile of books to a local bookshop yesterday and was paid immediately in cash (that’s what I like!) It’s so long ago since the...

I had a perfect holiday, doing nothing with my sister Jen. The first day it rained and we spent the afternoon clearing out the top drawer ...

I’m too tired to blog, and I’m going to stay with my sister Jen for a rest. I am also switching off comments, so I don’t have to worry ...

One of my favourite things in the summer is to go outside in my pyjamas first thing in the morning and pick sweet peas. Today I brought t...

I watched Charade last night and fell in love with Audrey Hepburn’s looks and incredible chic - again. Wasn’t she fabulous? In my next life...

It’s been a busy week. My book is selling well locally and I have to keep tabs on which shops need topping up with copies. I’ve also persu...

Our village is going digital next week, and Dave and I still have a telly that is analogue and ancient and bulbous, so unless we buy a new o...

Stuart Murray, Professor of Contemporary Literature and Film at Leeds University is an expert on the representation of disability in popular...

Have you read my new book yet? (In case you don’t know what it is – BUT I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR THAT I LOVED YOU .) Why do I ask? Well, y...

You want to send flowers to a friend in hospital in Manhattan. First you ring the hospital to check you’re allowed to send flowers. T...

When I was in Evesham in the spring I saw a large notice at the entrance to the park that consisted of a long long list of prohibitions. N...