Blog

The Books That Nearly Made It—Was One Yours?

5th October

Writing a book is difficult. Except, sometimes, it isn’t the most difficult part. Sometimes the hardest bit comes when the writing is finished. I have a folder on my computer called Pending. It is not a literary graveyard. A ...

The Exclamation Mark! Please Make It Stop!

1st October

I have some exciting news! Apparently. I know it must be exciting because the person telling me has put an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence. Sometimes two!! Occasionally three!!! By the time we get to four, I assum ...

In Defence Of The Em Dash

22nd September

A curious new form of literary detection has emerged. Someone reads an article, blog post or social-media comment, spots an em dash and immediately declares: “Ah, that was written by AI.” Case closed, apparently. Except that ...

Couzens-Lake Publishing Launches It's First Title

14th September

I have worked with books and their authors for many years now—as a writer, ghostwriter, editor and, occasionally, the person offering a reassuring word when the whole process begins to feel overwhelming. Setting up Couzens-Lake ...