An end…or an opportunity?
December 3, 2020
Asking for help is something I’m not good at… … More An end…or an opportunity?
Category: Writing updates
Find out how my novel-writing is going. Or not…
Only Connect
October 15, 2020
Recently I wrote an introduction to a fascinating panel discussion on immigration in the UK held by the Royal Society of Literature under their umbrella Only Connect… Today’s Only Connect is from RSL Member Ali Thurm, who has chosen the recording of our event The Good Immigrant with Vahni Capildeo, Eva Hoffman and Nikesh Shukla discussing what it means to be an immigrant … More Only Connect
Another journey, another chapter
September 17, 2020
Still plodding on … with so many disruptions it’s hard to concentrate. Now printed off what claims to be chapter 16 but has so much going on and so many reveals that there’s enough material for a least three chapters! I’m off to cat sit for friends in Shropshire. A blissfully quiet market town where … More Another journey, another chapter
A new chapter?
September 10, 2020
Chapter 15 almost had me beaten. During August I had a couple of weeks away but printed off the chapter and carried it around with me as if being away from my desk would inspire me. It didn’t. Too much going on, too much melodrama and everybody ‘looking’ at everyone else as if it was … More A new chapter?
Cows and Corona
September 4, 2020
I’ve already tweeted about an adventure we had on holiday last week when, trying to cross a field back to our cottage we were cut off by a gang of curious bullocks. (Apologies that these are not the actual animals but at the time photos weren’t the top of our priorities.) I know they’re more … More Cows and Corona
Not the Booker
August 13, 2020
Exciting news! I’m on the long list. If you enjoyed One Scheme of Happiness please vote for me! http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/aug/03/not-the-booker-prize-longlist-vote-now-to-decide-the-2020-shortlist
“But that wasn’t how I remembered it…”
August 6, 2020
thank you so much, Joanna for this fab review! by Joanna Clark Ali Thurm’s debut novel, One Scheme of Happiness, is an extraordinary and extraordinarily skilled piece of story-telling. The narrator and main protagonist, Helen Farrish, at first seems almost deliberately dull and self-effacing; very matter-of-fact. In new-found freedom, following the death of the mother for … More “But that wasn’t how I remembered it…”
What a debut!
July 31, 2020
From the Waterstones website… I’m thrilled with this review of my novel. Thank you, Paul! Paperback edition by Paul Barry Ali Thurm writes with delicate skill and mischievous wit to create a tale coloured with both the light and the shadow of passionate obsession. I found myself quickly sucked into the manoeuvrings of her gently drawn characters … More What a debut!
Feeding your creativity
July 16, 2020
If you want to write, you need to feed your creativity, and in lockdown it hasn’t been easy. I’m lucky enough not to have to commute to work (well only from my bed to my desk) so my first trip by tube to the National Gallery this week was more than exciting. It felt like … More Feeding your creativity
Writing update
July 2, 2020
Up and down week. The ups were: getting a five star Amazon review for One Scheme of Happiness – I’ve no idea who it was, but when things aren’t easy (lockdown isolation) the idea that someone out there has read and enjoyed my book gives me a little glow! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on … More Writing update
