The Historical Inkpot

  Spending Your Time (and Spoons) Wisely: I have always struggled with time management — or more accurately, energy management until I learned about the spoon theory . Living with a chronic illness means that my energy is limited, and I quickly run out of steam. Learning to pace myself and to plan around my available energy levels has made an enormous difference to my daily life and my writing life, too. What is the spoon theory? If you’re new to Spoon Theory , here’s the gist: imagine you start each day with a limited number of spoons. Every task — getting dressed, answering emails, making lunch, writing a chapter — costs a spoon. Some days you’ve got a few extra spoons than usual, and on others you’re running on fumes before breakfast. Learning how to recognise your own limits and prioritise accordingly is crucial if you want to avoid burnout . It's not about squeezing the most out of every minute, but about making intentional choices that serve both your well-being and y...

  Available on Amazon UK , Amazon AU , and Amazon US Tell us about your latest book. My latest book is Shades of Yellow , my fifth novel. It’s the metafiction novel I have longed to write for a long, long time. I wanted to show the messiness of writing, but, of course, it is about more than that. Shades of Yellow  tells the story of Lucy, a young woman in 2010, who is writing a novel about Amy Robsart , the first wife of Robert Dudley , the man who came closest to marrying Elizabeth Tudor . Lucy shares this novel with the reader —either by showing (when she shares chapters of her work in the book) or telling (when she reflects about or journals about her novel). What first drew Lucy to write Amy’s story is that Amy may have had breast cancer, like Lucy had five years before the story starts. The novel covers a few weeks in Lucy’s life when she is reclaiming her extremely messy life through writing this novel about a woman who died in suspicious circumstances.   What is...

Link: Elizabeth's author page on Amazon UK Guest post with Tudor fiction Author Elizabeth Kelly: What is the appeal of writing Tudor fiction? To my mind, no other period of English history can compare to the drama and spectacle of the Tudor dynasty (1485 - 1603). There are so many incredible characters at the Tudor court and the chronicles are filled with fascinating episodes. So, there is endless potential to write compelling stories. What is your preferred writing routine? I like to write in the morning but I have no set target of words per day. It always takes a great deal of time to complete the historical research for each novel, but often I will come across an interesting detail that will spark a scene in my mind. I start out by writing the first chapter and by the time I have got half-way, I know how the story is going to end. Where do you find inspiration? I like to visit Tudor sites, art galleries and museums to give me insights into life at court. And I have accumulated...

The Writing Desk: Special Guest Post with Nicola Harris, Author of O... : Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US In the aftermath of Anne Boleyn ’s brutal downfall, Jane Seymour is thrust into the scorched ashes of...

The Writing Desk: How to produce an audiobook with Amazon ACX in sev... :  I’d always thought the costs of producing an audiobook would be a stretch, so w...