Books

28 January 2021

Writing crime fiction with an older female character by author Sheila Bugler

The main character in my Eastbourne Murder Mystery series is called Dee Doran. Like me, Dee is in her early fifties. With some rare exceptions (e.g., Ann Cleeves’ Vera novels), ...

27 January 2021

Seven things I'd like my readers to know about me by Julia Roberts, author of My Mother's Secret

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Julia Roberts

26 January 2021

The importance of eco-fiction by Joshua Phillip Johnson, author of The Forever Sea

Hello, Female First! Thanks for inviting me to write about eco-fiction. I’m a catastrophizer. Awful possibilities outnumber good ones twenty to two in my every thought about what might happen. ...

26 January 2021

Don’t give up the day job by Joan Haig, author of Tiger Skin Rug

‘What do you work as?’ is a question we’ve all been asked in one form or another. What we do for a living often forms part of our identity, or ...

25 January 2021

My life in dog’s years by Ella Carey, author of The Things We Don't Say

I can’t imagine life without dogs. I’ve been fortunate enough to share my life with seven dogs so far, and from them, I have learned the value of loyalty, sympathy, ...

24 January 2021

Review: Women Don't Owe You Pretty by Florence Given

Privilege, energy, growth, insecurities, behaviour, and the real meaning of beauty. ‘Women Don’t Owe You Pretty’ is the best-selling debut novel from activist and illustrator Florence Given and even from ...

22 January 2021

Five things you didn’t know about mystery shopping by author Helen E Field

As an expert in the hospitality sector, I have designed and implemented mystery shopper programmes for hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, fitness centres, golf clubs, contract caterers and private members ...

22 January 2021

Allie Reynolds discusses her new book Shiver

We caught up with debut novelist Allie Reynolds to talk about her new book Shiver, here's what she had to say... Shiver begins as five former friends are invited to ...

21 January 2021

21 years as an author by Monica McInerney, author of The Godmothers

2021 marks Australian-born, Dublin-based Monica McInerney’s 21st year as a published author. She offers 21 memories and observations on her writing career, as her 13th book, THE GODMOTHERS, is released. ...

21 January 2021

10 Reasons why I wrote my first novel by Abigail Mann

Writing a debut novel is a strange and wonderful experience. After planning a book for months, you spend hours and hours with a set of fictional characters that are a ...

20 January 2021

Seven tips for a vegan, gluten free diet

Extracts taken from Vegetarian, Hassle Free, Gluten Free by Jane Devonshire (£22, Bloomsbury Absolute), Photography © Mike Cooper Veganuary is the world's largest vegan movement, inspiring thousands of people to start a plant ...

Gluten Free Vegan Veganuary Plant Based

20 January 2021

Don’t let self-sabotage stop you from succeeding by Dani Wallace, author of I Am The Queen Bee

Dani Wallace, 36, an ambitious entrepreneur who has risen from the council estates of Preston, where she experienced the depths of domestic violence and homelessness is now a highly sought ...

20 January 2021

Seven things I'd like my readers to know about me by Carly Schabowski

I secretly love Magnum PI. Not the new show. The old one, with Tom Selleck, with his moustache, his teeny tiny shorts and the silly fighting scenes. I am not ...

19 January 2021

Ten Things I'd Like My Readers To Know About Me By Author and Poet Arch Hades

In the space of a few short years, Arch Hades has established a reputation as one of the UK’s bestselling feminist poets. It is also believed that she is the ...

19 January 2021

Ten Things I'd Like My Readers To Know About Me By Author and Poet Arch Hades

In the space of a few short years, Arch Hades has established a reputation as one of the UK’s bestselling feminist poets. It is also believed that she is the ...

18 January 2021

Seven things I'd like my readers to know about me by Vicky Fraser, author of That's What She Said

- It’s fantastic hearing about inspirational women who’ve reached the dizzy heights of Oprah Winfrey—but what if success, for you, looks completely different? And what if you can’t relate to ...

18 January 2021

How boxing helped me get my life back on track by Carolyn Hobdey

I’d never been one for the gym. I’d once belonged to one for a little while, but the wall-to-wall beautiful people and equipment I didn’t understand intimidated me, so eventually ...

17 January 2021

Seven things to know about transcendence by Cathryn Jones, author of The Reluctant Alchemist

I am grateful for leaf blowers. Not in spite of, but precisely because of the annoying noise they make. On a recent cool morning I was lucky enough to be ...

16 January 2021

Why positive thinking could be holding your back by the authors of Be More Kid

If you type ‘Why positive thinking is good for you’ into your internet browser, links to literally hundreds of articles appear - each telling you why you should think positively ...

14 January 2021

Seven things readers might not know about me by Noelle Harrison, author of The Boatman's Wife

I started out writing plays and set up a theatre company called Aurora in Dublin in the nineties. In fact, I still write plays! Last year I put on a ...

14 January 2021

Why you should make your own wardrobe rather than buy it by author Rose Alexander

A covered coat-hanger. If you think that sounds underwhelming as a first make, you’d be right. But that was the requirement of needlework lessons when I was at school. Amazingly ...

13 January 2021

How I won the first Polar Race by Manley Hopkinson, author of Compassionate Leadership

My expedition to the Magnetic North Pole – The Polar Race – was the first race to any Pole where the competitors were to start at the same time in ...

13 January 2021

Five things you don’t know about Sam Tschida, author of Siri, Who Am I?

My name is Sam Tschida (pronounced cheetah) and I am a romcom author. My debut novel, Siri, Who Am I? (Quirk Books) is about a woman who wakes up alone ...

13 January 2021

Seven things I'd like my readers to know about me by Hayley Doyle, author of Love, Almost

Yes, the real Shirley Temple, not the drink! When I was a little girl, I loved watching her films with my nan. I would dance around the house and copy ...