Today's amusement - which I was somewhat in need of while I waited in all through a brilliantly sunny afternoon for DHL to come and collect the proofs of the US edition of A Secret Alchemy - is that apparently several national newspapers have been trying very hard indeed to find out who wrote which of the stories in In Bed With. Emails have been whizzing round, beseeching all 24 of us to keep everything under our hats. I can't say that half Fleet Street's outside my door, but I gather there's been a certain amount of pressure exerted in some other quarters. Whether there's a Trappist vow actually written into the contract or not, I can't remember, but it's certainly in the moral contract with my fellow contributors that no one should say anything, in case someone starts a process of elimination. For all I know, some of my fellows would actually prefer that people (their mothers?) don't know they write this stuff. Besides, it's much more fun, and more publicity, this way.

And meanwhile the legend that is Georgina Moore, Headline's publicity director, is getting stuck into the next stage of A Secret Alchemy's career, and I've got a magazine interview in a couple of weeks, though I'm used to those, these days. One way and another it reminded me, in a funny way, of a long-ago post of mine here, Leaving Eden.

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The themes are interesting, although obscure, but a cringe-making climactic breakdown scene with Ben wallowing in patriotic sentiment and sobbing over and over ‘I did a bad thing’ like Lenny in ‘Of Mice and Men’, was embarrassing.

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Have you read Twilight yet? Seen the film? Can you name one or all of the sequels? If you answered no to all of the questions above then you are, these days, a rarer creature than you would once have been. International Twilight fever continues unabated, particularly among the female of the species.

This review in the Guardian, covering both the film and the book, made me laugh. As well as making a few indignant points about the different way in which author Stephenie Meyer has chosen to present her vampires - defanged and dressed in (oh, the unspeakable horror of it!) beige ;-) - it confirms that the Twilight phenomenon is all but irresistible to any who choose to dip even the tiniest of their toes in the water. However much they claim not to want to, people seem unable to stop themselves from finishing first the original book, then the series, and, finally, going to see the film.


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No, no, no - not me! I am full of cheer (despite/because of a certain someone suggesting I was a werewolf -which made me chuckle a lot: see previous post's comments). It's the title of my story which has just gone live over at Six Sentences.

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I know it's traditional to begin the New Year on January 1st, but having been sick as a snuff movie this week I've decided that for me it's starting January 12th. That's when I will begin writing the next crime novel. I

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As I scour my subconscious and memory for inspiration, I come across subjects or experiences I’d like to draw on but can’t. I need to detach myself to the point where I can turn them into fiction, but as yet I don’t have the nerves of steel required to do this.

How do other writers deal creatively with the (metaphorical) loaded gun? [more ...]

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Thanks to J for the excellent suggestion - special offer! While The White Road and Other Stories is out of stock everywhere, which I am assured will be remedied next week, I still have a number of copies that I am happy to (sign and) send to anyone around the world.

Email me at tania(at)thewhiteroadandotherstories.com and we can discuss costs etc..!

Alternatively, the Where to Buy page on the book's website lists other ways of ordering the book, although there might be a little delay. Sorry about that. I believe there are copies in various libraries, the "green" alternative (although don't let my publishers know I'm saying that!).

Thanks and happy new year of reading.

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I feel under pressure to perform right now as this is my first official blog. Like a debutante's entry into society, this 'coming out' is just as nerve-wracking. But I'm delighted to be here and I'm grateful to you for stopping by to read and of course for any comments you may have.

Let me first of all tell you a bit about myself. I'm Gillian, and for the last ten and a half years I've been working as a newspaper journalist. The most exciting person I've interviewed so far is Uri Geller. Whilst chatting to him, my yoghurt spoon bent. I've also stood beside the Queen (royal, not Freddie) and Hillary Clinton (at separate events) and I've had my picture taken with Adele from Big Brother 3. I've been on the box a few times too and I've produced a short documentary on a pet cemetery which made the Daily Mirror telly critic cry. The most daring thing I've done in my writing career so far is dispose of a used cocktail stick inside an antique vase in the drawing room of the Secretary of State's residence Hillsborough Castle (there was no bin, and I'd no pockets).



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“Exactly £25 in two pees. What are the chances of that?” For an hour, Sue had been counting her way through the small mountain of copper and silver that had come out of four collecting boxes. The mingled heap of coins was now in neat piles and rows and waiting to be bagged up into bank-friendly denominations.

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Chicklish is delighted to interview Vanessa Curtis, author of Zelah Green, Queen of Clean (reviewed by us here).

Hi Vanessa. Please could you tell our readers a little about Zelah, the character? And what inspired her unusual first name?
Zelah's name came from a signpost as I was driving down to Cornwall. I'd seen it many times before, but on this occasion I decided to tuck it away in my head and use it for the name of a character later on. Zelah is as unusual as her name, because she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a condition that has pretty much taken over her entire life. She's also a very feisty and self-effacing sort of character with a dry sense of humour.

Your book touches on OCD, depression and anorexia, among other disorders, in teenagers. What inspired you to write about this topic, and can you tell us anything about the research you did for your characters?

I watched a documentary some years ago about adults who suffered from OCD and it really affected me. There was a woman who was frightened of touching anything glittery and another who could only touch other people if she wrapped her hand in a tissue first. When I came to write Zelah I still had these images in my head, so I decided to explore what it might be like for a far younger person to do battle with the condition. I researched Zelah in various ways - by reading personal stories on internet forums and also by reading a memoir written by a sixteen-year-old boy who suffers from OCD and had similar rituals to Zelah - touching things a certain number of times, checking obsessively and tapping certain objects in a certain way. I also researched some of the other conditions explored in the book (anorexia, self-harm etc) in similar ways, but I think it's important to say that this isn't a novel about issues, it's a book about an unusual character (Zelah) and how she finds her way in life.

Do you have a website where readers can contact you?
My website address is vanessacurtis.com ...

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