Words on a Page

Portsmouth and its environs have inspired an impressive number of well-known writers over the years, and the area continues to be a hub of creative activity for writers of every persuasion.  The Portsmouth Authors Collective  was created to promote the work of the city’s current crop of authors, and this series of interviews offers a glimpse into what they're doing. Author Bio:  Chris Blackwater is an engineer-turned-writer from Leeds, who now lives in Fareham. His first novel, Emergency Drill , set on a North Sea oil rig, was shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Debut Dagger Award and was published by Dark Edge Press in 2022. ~ Loree: So, Chris, welcome to the interview. I’m looking forward to getting to know you a bit better. You’ve said you began writing stories to pass the time when working away from home. Was working on oil rigs really that boring? Chris: Working offshore can be quite tough: it’s a 12-hour shift for 14 days with no time off. However, I was only going out there to

Douglas Bruton’s latest novella is as stunning as his last – the wonderful Blue Postcards , also published by Fairlight Books . Like the earlier novella, With or Without Angels glisten’s with finely-wrought prose. But there are other similarities, too: a contemplative aging protagonist attempting to untangle memory from illusion; a fragmentary structure; and use of real artists as inspiration. In Blue Postcards , one of the storylines follows the enigmatic artist Yves Klein, and according to the author’s acknowledgements, With or Without Angels was inspired by the Scottish artist Alan Smith . The unnamed protagonist, an artist himself, draws inspiration (as did Smith) from the 18 th century Venetian painter GiandomenicoTiepolo ’s painting Il Mondo Nuovo ‘The New World’. No longer able to paint, but still with ‘too many thoughts in his head’ the artist takes a young assistant, Livvy, to help him express his artistic vision. As his hands have become unsteady, he has swapped his pai

  The   Portsmouth Authors Collective   is   a group of local authors who have come together to promote not only their own work but also that of other members. Members of the Collective publish a full array of fiction and non-fiction titles. In our latest interview, I talk to crime novelist Pete Adams. Author Bio: Pete Adams is a Portsmouth-based architect and writer. He describes himself as an inveterate daydreamer, and escapes into those dreams by writing crime thrillers with a thoughtful dash of social commentary. He has a writing style shaped by his formative years on an estate that re-housed London families after WWII, and his books have been likened to the writing of Tom Sharpe. Pete lives in Southsea with his partner June, the children having flown the coop, and has three beautiful granddaughters who will play with him so long as he promises not to be silly. ~ Loree: Welcome to the blog, Pete, and thanks for agreeing to the interview.  We’ve known each other for some time,