Readers

Welcome to my Musings for Readers

If you enjoy reading, you’ll find snippets about my favourite books and authors, insights into my own work, special previews and news.

Fiction to Devour

Fiction to Devour

Summer is my season for idleness. I relish the peaceful days and slower pace that summer brings. With regular activities on hiatus, I have time for relaxing in the shade of an umbrella, enjoying...

Architectural Gems: Past and Present

Architectural Gems: Past and Present

…the tarnished nameplate fixed to the wall: Begijnhof Sint-Catharine. Passing a gatehouse, they emerge into a large courtyard. Brick buildings on all sides rise three-storeys high, each façade...

Learning to Listen

Learning to Listen

Several years ago, with the aim of increasing my daily steps, I purchased a monthly audiobook subscription. With my trainers laced up and earbuds in place, I strode down the street listening to...

The ENGRAVER in Dutch

The ENGRAVER in Dutch

While I was writing The Engraver, I imagined most of the characters spoke Dutch to one another. The seventeenth-century protagonist Antonia chattered in Dutch to the family maid as they walked to...

Short and Succinct

Short and Succinct

I have turned to short stories for my reading fix of late. The long dark days of winter and enforced isolation due to the pandemic sees me wandering around my house, completing tasks while listening...

Translated Fiction

Translated Fiction

Although I can bumble my way through basic Dutch to help with grocery shopping and rudimentary French to order from the menu in a Parisian bistro, I am fluent in only one language. I admire those...

Subtle Art of Symbolism

Subtle Art of Symbolism

While reading Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, I was intrigued by her repeated use of colour as a way of adding richer context to the courageous story of former slaves in post-Civil War Cincinnati. It...

Dual Narratives

Dual Narratives

Dual narratives have always fascinated me: transitioning from one character or time period to another, an intriguing juxtaposition of language, idiom, objects and customs that describes two distinct...

Book Club Chatter

Book Club Chatter

Book clubs are the go-to places for readers to spend time with fellow enthusiasts, discover new literary voices, step outside their comfort zones and read something they would never normally...

Pin It on Pinterest