C.C. Hogan - Author

As much as I enjoyed Lord of the Rings and even Eddings' Belgariad, I was always puzzled by the fact that when the heroes won the war, what the people ended up with was an absolute monarchy with no votes and no say. It may have even been Feudal.

So, if we are lovers of democratic rights, should this appear in our writing?

One of the things we miss in the modern gastro pub is the big bowl of spicy soup, a hunk of bread and a big frothy beer.

In poor communities, as you get to pumpkin season, vegetable soups flavoured with a bit of fat and perhaps a bit of peppers and chilli were a warming treat that would be welcome in any tavern. Well, here is a recipe...

One of the problems with being a complete nobody is that no one ever asks nobodies for interviews.

That is not surprising really since who would want to read about a nobody? Still, I fancied being interviewed and since I have been in the media for years, I decided to do it myself. Thoroughly shameless.

For just five days starting today, my ebook of short stories is FREE.

Yep, Reduced to nothing, nada, zero on Amazon for Kindle - click below to find out more

Note: No longer free - but reasonable!

I am not talking about your muse, whoever he/she is (oh, I would love a muse!), or the bloke you saw sitting on the train, or the dead tortoise you tripped over, I am talking what you surround yourself with.

Sustenance, flavours, moments of joy. What is yours?

Just about every book has some level of romance in it, even if it simple someone hankering after some romance. But should your story have sex scenes?

Sometimes it seems that there is more and more pressure to put at least a bit of graphic content in books. But are we doing ourselves any favours.

I am often getting stuck on yet another way to describe something that is beautiful or running out of sensible alternatives to "she said" during complicated dialogue.

So, on this page, I am going to collect together some useful lists that I have found to help us all along.

Just thought I would put down some random websites that I have found that I like.

I am avoiding any sites selling self promotion in exchange for giving them money for self promoting themselves. Also, avoiding those selling twitter followers, or anything else which leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

If you think I should list a site, tell me on Twitter by following me or something.

Whether you are writing a fantasy, a city thriller or a personal introspective journey, trying to get the timing of the events right is crucial.

Knowing how long it takes to get from A-B and how long anyone spends in any one place, could effect the weather, their mood, what they see, feel, hear, everything

It is a recurring problem this; how fast is my army, wagon, horse, dragon, bloke on foot going to travel across my land in my story?

In fantasy, of course, they can travel any speed you like with a wave of a wand. But what happens if we want to make it a little closer to real life? Well, research time!

This is the first in a very occasional series of recipes that might fit in with your fantasy tavern.

This one is a basic stew than can be made with mutton or beef, cooks slowly all morning and can be kept warm over the fire for the landlady to serve up with bread

I know not everyone uses Word for writing a novel, but a lot of people do. So here are some very basic tips that might come in useful for those starting out on the novel writing mountain.

Write about what you know about. This is the first bit of advice anyone gets when they first start trying to write a book. But does that mean write about the commute into town? Or perhaps the type of school you went to? Maybe about how you learned to drive?

For me, the real advice is to write about WHO you know about.

I have written a book called The Stink. It is set in North London during the long hot summer of 1976 and tells the story of a group of sixteen year olds who have finished school and are trying to start a band.

Really, it has just been an excuse to write about the era I was brought up in and I had a lot of fun writing it. It has yet to find a home, but for fun, or idiocy, I thought I would post the first chapter.