Words on a Page

  So far in this series of interviews with writers from the Portsmouth Authors Collective , I've focussed on novelists. But we also have many non-fiction writers in the Collective, and in this interview I speak with Paul Newell who has published numerous books on Portsmouth History, as well as books on a number of other historical subjects. Author Bio:  Paul was born in Portsmouth and returned after studying in London. He now works as an HR Manager. A keen genealogist, Paul has a passion for local history and in recent years has been researching the history of Portsmouth during Victorian and Edwardian times. Paul’s first publication, Shocking Tales from Victorian Portsmouth , was a huge success, and several books around these topics have followed. ~ Loree: Welcome to my blog, Paul. It’s great to have you hear. Let’s jump right in. You write historical non-fiction. How did it all start?   Paul: I was researching some family info after I found out a great grandfathe...

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 the work their doing and their writing lives. This time around I'm speaking the the thriller writer Christine Lawrence. Author Bio: Christine Lawrence is an ex-psychiatric nurse turned author and spoken word performer whose fiction draws on real life experiences and local settings. She was one of the BookFest 2012 ‘ Writers to Watch ’ . Since then, her shorter fiction has been featured in a variety of local anthologies and projects including  Portsmouth Fairy Tales for Grown Ups , the Writing Edward King project, the transmedia event  Cursed City Dark Tide , and  Pompey Writes: the Best of Star & Crescent . In 2021, she facilitated a series of writing workshops as part of the Libraries Connected/BBC project, ‘Novels that shaped the world’ . A creative writing tutor, she is passi...