Romy Sommer

I discovered this book through Goodreads, and checked it out because I liked the title. When I read the blurb and realised it was set in Oxford, where my brother and SIL both received their doctorates, it became an autobuy. And I'm so glad I bought it! Deborah Harkness' book gripped me from beginning to end (and cost me two whole nights' sleep!). It might be a paranormal, but A Discovery of Witches is no teeny bopper romance. This is an intelligent story with an adult heroine and hero (who just happen to be a witch and vampire respectively). The mix of realism and magic was skillfully woven, and I loved the varied settings - from the dreaming spires of Oxford, to the richness of the Auvergne countryside, to the homeliness of New England. A Discovery of Witches reminded me a great deal of AS Byatt's Possession , and it's even easier to read. The author's knowledge never feels forced or like a lecture. She threads history, biology, science and philosophy s...

It's Monday morning and not only is it Back to Work day, but it's also the first day I start The Great Commute to take my daughters to their new school across town. Far from letting any of this get me down, I'm cheering. Because for 2012 Mondays are Inspiration days here on my blog. Last week I posted this picture , and opened a brainstorming session, asking blog readers to share their inspiration of what lay behind the door. If you haven't yet had your say, please leave a comment. This week I'd like to pay tribute to women. To all of us, because we are incredible. We are stronger than we think. We hold down demanding jobs, raise children, run households (and sorting insurances, car service, grocery shopping, and general maintenance is a full time job. Ask my PA. Ha-ha.) We support each other, not just our friends and families, but sometimes strangers too. We are often faced with really tough situations that aren't of our own making. And it amazes me ag...

My good friend Mandy and I are planning to start teaching novel-writing writing courses soon. Here in South Africa there's a dearth of courses aimed at writers (or aspiring writers) of commercial fiction. Here, if you're a poet or write literary fiction dripping in political angst, you've got it made. Write commercial fiction? Not so much. Another reason I see a huge need to pass on what I've learned over the last few years is that I really believe anyone can write a novel. (Can anyone publish? Well, that's a whole other blog post.) But I very strongly believe that anyone who wants to write a novel can - and should. We all started at that place where we said "I want to write a novel one day". Some of us did it because we had the discipline and focus to make ourselves sit down and write. Some of us needed a bit of a shove from friends or family. All of us discovered along the way that we had a helluva lot to learn. And hopefully, like me, most of us d...

There are a few basic rules to making resolutions at the start of the new year. This isn't ground breaking stuff, I know, but I need to remind myself. 1. Don't keep them to yourself, as no-one will keep you accountable unless they know what you want to achieve. DO make your aims public. 2. Don't make resolutions that rely on other people making things happen (eg. my publisher of choice will request a full within the next 3 months. Yeah right.) DO list things you can do yourself. 3.  Don't be too general. "Write more" might be an achievable goal, but it's also very broad. DO make your goals specific. 4. Don't aim low. I have a sign at my bedroom door that says "Aim for the moon. Even if you fail, you fall among the stars." DO push yourself with your new year's resolutions. Susan Meier has done a really wonderful series of blog posts on goal setting which you can read here .  She points out four more important elements for eff...