Words on a Page

Since Missing Words  was launched in the UK last summer, time has sped by, with book signings, interviews, and plans to take part in a number of presentations and discussion panels including three events at this year's  Portsmouth BookFest .  And now we have the American release to celebrate. To mark the occasion of Missing Words  heading across the pond, I've teamed up with fellow Fairlight Books author Debbi Voisey for a virtual book launch. Debbi's beautiful novella Only About Love  will be published there on the same day. Please join us on Saturday February 26th 2 p.m. - Pacific Time 3 p.m. - Mountain Time 4 p.m. - Central Time 5 p.m. - Eastern Time 6 p.m. - Atlantic Time 6:30 p.m. - Newfoundland Time 10 p.m. - UK If you're on Facebook, please follow this link to say you're coming or to register your interest, and we'll send you a reminder and Zoom link at the end of the week: Virtual Book Launch . If you're not on Facebook, please send me a message and ...

Could he pull it off? This relationship thing? He could see the future stretching out before him like a never-ending ribbon of time and he wondered, for the first time, if he could navigate it and make it to the end, and be happy along the way. Frank is the seemingly confident front man in a local rock-n-roll band, but when he meets his future wife, Liz, he is momentarily disarmed. Something about her is different from the groupies who clamber around him at the end of his gigs. When things begin to look serious, Liz puts her foot down. She won’t put up with any nonsense, she tells him. He’s going to have to behave. In chapters that move back and forth in time, Debbi Voisey’s beautiful novella gives us snapshots of Frank throughout his life: as he will be, as he was, and as he is now. In quick succession, we see him at the end of his life – confused and infirm, followed by images of him as a much younger man – vital and charismatic. We see him as a loving father to two young child...

I’m pleased to announce that Missing Words was published yesterday, and last night it was sent into the world with a fabulous (if virtual) book launch, hosted by Emma Timpany, author of the award-winning novella Travelling in the Dark . All four of the authors published this summer by Fairlight Moderns took part in the event, reading from their books and answering questions. Covid has changed a lot of things, and book launches are one of them. But you know what? Having an online launch was okay. In fact, it was better than okay. Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not a schmoozer. I hate crowds, and I hate social events where I’m expected to ‘mingle’ and make small talk. Worse yet, is talking about my book (note to self: I really must get over that). So last night’s virtual event came as something of a relief. Sure, I had to provide my own champagne, but I was very happy to stay home where my internet could unexpected go down if I started to panic. But the main thing that made the...

  In the third of this series of interviews with Fairlight authors, I have the pleasure of talking to Debbi Voisey. Debbi’s novella Only About Love will be published on 5 th August, the same day as my own, in the Fairlight Moderns list of literary novellas. ~ Loree:   I’m really looking forward to reading Only About Love when it comes out in August. I believe it’s described as a ‘novella in flash’ – which sounds really intriguing. I wonder if you could say something about your involvement with flash fiction, and what it is about the form that attracts you. Debbi:   Thanks, and I am so chuffed we are sharing a publication day. I can’t wait to read Missing Words . I started writing flash fiction when I was trying to avoid working on a novel! I love it for its immediacy. It allows you to get your thoughts out, and for people to read them, far more quickly than when writing a novel. It also really helps you to be economic with words and to tighten your prose. O...

  I am thrilled to announce that my novella, Missing Words , will be published by Fairlight Books in August, becoming one of four new titles in the Fairlight Moderns series of contemporary literary fiction. Set on the south coast of the UK during the tumultuous summer of 1984, against a backdrop striking miners and threats of nationwide industrial action,  Missing Words  is a heart-warming story about self-discovery and the power of family ties. Read more HERE . What they say: ‘Time, place and characters are all beautifully depicted here – this novella will stay with the reader long after they finish the final page.’ –  Gabrielle Kimm ,  author of  His Last Duchess ,  The Courtesan's Lover   and The Girl with the Painted Face . ‘Like cycling the hills of the Isle of Wight, this book draws you in to its undulating rhythm while propelling you on to see what lies over the next brow.’ –  Josie Dew , cyclist and author of  The Wind in ...