Books

6 October 2020

Why we need to feel more by Dr Karen Gaye Graham

- Accept How You Feel by Dr Karen Gaye Graham is published by Light Ideas Press and available now, priced at £15.50 ...

6 October 2020

Kim Nash discusses her new book Sunshine and Second Chances

I was totally flabbergasted when I got a call from Amazon to tell me that I had been shortlisted for the 2020 Kindle Storyteller Award. When I plucked up the ...

6 October 2020

Finding creativity and success in lockdown by Amanda Radley

As a full-time author, I’m used to writing no matter what. I’ve been writing for the last five years and treating it as an occupation for the past three. I’d ...

6 October 2020

J M Dalgliesh discusses his new book Hear No Evil

From stay-at-home dad to the Kindle Storyteller Shortlist in two and a bit years… Quite frankly, the stuff of dreams and no one has been more surprised than me apart ...

6 October 2020

Why we should encourage children to talk about their mental health

By Esther Marshall I became passionate about writing books for children through personal experiences that have totally changed my outlook on life for the better on certain topics. Firstly, after ...

Mental Health

6 October 2020

Review: Lockdown Parenting Fails by Nathan Joyce

As soon as Lockdown Parenting Fails landed on my desk, I knew I had to read it right away and I demolished it in one sitting. As a parent during ...

Parenting Lockdown

6 October 2020

How I spent my lockdown by Nathan Joyce

The happiest memory of lockdown was hearing my three-month-old baby laughing for the first time at my frantic attempts to entertain him by dancing to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give ...

6 October 2020

Pursuing your writing dreams by John Wells III

- “You hear that music in the air? Take the train to the top of the world and I'm there! I'm Home!” -Lin Manuel Miranda, In The Heights ...

6 October 2020

The monsters lurking online and how their reality might surprise us

I saw something really interesting happen when I started my research into digital monsters. People’s biases regarding the online environment became massively obvious, and often spoken of freely where previously ...

6 October 2020

Five delightfully unlikeable female characters by Seraphina Nova Glass

Let’s get something straight. Female characters do not need to be “likable.” It’s a double standard to demand that of them. In fact, if you scroll through Goodreads or Amazon ...

6 October 2020

Why I love haunted houses by Darcy Coates

Horror thrives in the familiar. That sounds counter-intuitive, but all of the most iconic horror stories involve something normal—something mundane—that has been changed. Malevolent children. A phone call with no ...

5 October 2020

10 Things I love about being a crime fiction author by John Ryder

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4 October 2020

James Thornhill's top tips for student budgeting

- 1. With more banks building budgeting functions into their apps, keeping on top of your finances has never been easier. If your bank does not offer this yet, check ...

2 October 2020

How I spent my lockdown by Ceril Campbell

Former celebrity stylist turned author Ceril Campbell writes exclusively for Female First upon the release of her new novel, Secrets In The Dark. I am sure we all experienced some ...

2 October 2020

Review: The Devil and the Dark Water

Wow. That's the review. Saying much more would spoil the surprises that Stuart Turton has layered throughout his sophomore novel, The Devil and the Dark Water. Acting as the follow-up to ...

1 October 2020

Read an exclusive extract from The Becket List by Henry Becket

In amongst all the shocking puns so often deployed in this sector, one that made me laugh for its inventiveness as well as inappropriateness (wrong country) was ‘Estu’hair’ on the ...

1 October 2020

The huge benefits of freelancing on your mental health by Fiona Thomas

Working in the management ranks of a busy tourist attraction was good for my CV and my bank balance, but it wore my mental health down to the quick. A ...

1 October 2020

Celebrating women in our history who have done amazing things by Clare Whitfield

Writing my first novel felt like a huge undertaking, especially attempting to write historical fiction. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to manage the research as well as ...

30 September 2020

10 Things I'd like my readers to know about me by Juliet Warrington

- “You know I had to do that, don’t you?” he asked, “You might have killed that bloke, but…” he nudged me and winked “If you’re ever attacked in the ...

30 September 2020

10 Things I'd like my readers to know about me by Shirley Dickson

1. I didn’t get published until my early seventies. I’ve written ever since I was young – mostly short stories and poetry. Twenty years ago, I wrote a novel and ...

Calming Magic: Enchanted Rituals for Peace, Clarity, and Creativity.

29 September 2020

Seven rituals for peace by Nikki Van de Car

We are just beginning to recover from the nightmare that was 2020. It’s going to take some time, and it’s important to allow ourselves the space to try to find ...

29 September 2020

Seven ways to look after your wellbeing as a creative

Taking self-care seriously is key, and that means more than a long soak in a warm bath, although that often helps. There is so much information out there about wellbeing ...

29 September 2020

10 MORE things I'd like my readers to know about me by Anna Mansell

1. I lived by the sea for ten years and only recently started swimming in it. The sea was always for looking at, not going in because I am Generation ...

28 September 2020

Top tips for autumn cycling by James Witts

Covid-19 has shaken the world – and it shows no signs of going anywhere just yet. But through the darkness, a beacon of light shines in the form of the ...