While the book is targeted towards book authors, much of the advice is useful for any writer who needs to promote themselves (that is, for any writer). Writing good press releases, cover letters, bios and self-promoting articles are the keystones…
Interview with Dr Coral Hull
In this courageous and very in-depth interview, the author of Broken Land talks about her extensive body of work, her many ongoing projects, her literary magazine Thylazine, her passions, her politics, and the positives and negatives of life as an empowered multiple.
A review of Get Paid to Write by Thomas A. Williams
Get Paid to Write is a simple to read how to book which will have long reaching impact on how writers approach their craft. It contains chapters which only scratch the surface of some areas but overall is an excellent and…
Interview with Chad Hautmann
When Billie’s Ghost first came out in October 2002, we interviewed the author, Chad Hautmann. Following its very successful debut, the book has been taken up by Penguin, and has just been re-released. The Compulsive Reader decided that it was time to interview Chad Hautmann again and find out more about the soft spoken author, the extraordinary story of how he was found by Penguin, his new book, the difficulties (and joys) of working on a second novel, his feelings towards government funding of the arts, and lots more.
A review of Billie’s Ghost by Chad Hautmann
Despite the grief and sadness, Billie’s Ghost is ultimately a tale of hope and redemption. This slim volume will haunt you long after you have turned the last page and make you want to re-discover the music of Billie Holliday…
A review of Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
The characters age beautifully, and the reader is eager for more of the quirky and believable Eskibahce characters. de Bernieres has a wonderful sense of character and the delight in the eccentric detail which takes the reader deep into the…
A review of Millard Fillmore, Mon Amour by John Blumenthal
The opening monologue is an ill-tempered attack on romantic love. The author is even cynical about the apparent attachment between a human and the pet dog. The momentary discomfort of having a narrator before one has any characters or a…
Interview with John Blumenthal
The author of Millard Fillmore, Mon Amour and What’s Wrong with Dorfman talks about his adventures in self-publishing and how he attracted St Martin’s Press, his out of print titles, the relationship between his life and his art, his next novel, his influences, on living by the pen, his moving Blue Streak, and lots more.
A review of A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The whole book converges on one point: that all life is one, on Earth, and in the wider universe, and that life is a miraculous thing and not something to be taken lightly. Put into the context of this large…
Interview with Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
In this charming interview, the author of The Last Song of Dusk talks about the origins of his first novel, the nature of the songs his characters sing, the unbearability of mercy, his favourite scenes from the book, on being compared to Rushdie, on homelessness, future stories, and lots more.