Laura’s thoughts on writing, culture, and the supernatural
Coldharbour II: The Millennium
What I’ve found fascinating about writing Coldharbour is just how much changed in the early Noughties, especially from year to year. So, what happened between October 1999 and Christmas 2000? And what’s been going on in everyone’s favourite desolate seaside town…?
Coldharbour II: A Sneak Peek
Coldharbour was still a strange place: That weird little mishmash of Victorian seaside town, mediaeval marshes, and ancient cobbles that had been marched on by Romans and Vikings and, as Alex had heard and had no reason not to believe, the Devil himself.
My Favourite Vampire Books
Now, I haven’t read every vampire book under the moon and there are many more that are on my TBR, but for now here are my five favourite vampire books, from the classics to the twists on the classics to the modern icons.
My Language Learning Odyssey
My writing would be very different if I hadn’t grown up in a multicultural and multilingual environment, and since a few people have enquired about my history with languages, here’s a rundown of the ones I’ve learnt - and want to learn.
Laura’s Favourite Book #9: ’Salem’s Lot
’Salem’s Lot is not only one of my favourite Stephen King books, it’s one of my favourite vampire books. The characters are deeply sympathetic and well-rounded, the pacing is tight, the atmosphere is Pervasive Dread ™, and the vampires are proper vampires.
Ghost Hunting: A Short History
The first blog I posted here was about hauntings in the South East of England. Why are we, as a nation, not only obsessed with ghosts, but insistent on going looking for them? Well, here’s a short history of Brits going ghost hunting.
Vampires and the Other
Literature and media as a whole often filters personal and societal anxieties (such as the Other) through particular lenses, and what better lens than horror? Especially vampires, which have symbolised so many things over the centuries…
Laura’s Favourite Book #8: The Woman in Black
My first exposure to The Woman in Black was GCSE Drama many years ago. We studied it in class and then saw the West End version, which, by the way, was not only a feat of both technical design and acting, but was also bloody terrifying.
Dracula and its Adaptations
Dracula is like Frankenstein or Jekyll and Hyde – everyone knows the main beats, so the real meat of the story gets twisted or ignored. I want an adaptation of Dracula that takes it as seriously as the Muppets and Sir Michael Caine took A Christmas Carol.
My (Deeply Personal) History of Writing
I hear ‘Why do you write? a lot, especially now I’m grand and get to do the occasional interview. It’s a natural question to ask anyone who does something like this, because it certainly ain’t for the money.
Stevie Nicks: Sister of the Moon
While Jim Steinman might be the more overt musical influence on Coldharbour, Stevie Nicks really can’t be discounted, as her lightly Gothic combination of rawness and femininity with that dash of mysticism appears in Coldharbour.
Laura’s Favourite Book #7: The Secret History
I’ve read this incredible novel at least five times since last February. The mastery involved in this tale unfolding – if I produced a book like The Secret History, I’d only be putting out one novel a decade too.
Nineties Nostalgia (zigazig ah)
Why are we so nostalgic for the Nineties? Well, I’m a Millennial so I have a pretty good memory of the mid-Nineties onwards and I have some theories as to why this particular decade is so ‘in’ right now.
Dealing with Writer’s Block
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, writer’s block is ‘the condition of being unable to create a piece of written work because something in your mind prevents you from doing it’. But what’s behind it, really? And how can we overcome it?
Laura’s FB #6: The Haunting of Hill House
There’s grief, madness, and loss steeped into it. And of course, the first truly malevolent haunted house in pop culture. In my opinion, what makes The Haunting of Hill House truly powerful is its narrative ambiguity – how much is in Eleanor’s head?
Five Women Writing the Gothic
When I originally planned this blog, I was simply thinking of women writers who have influenced me and whom I haven’t already written about. However, once I really looked at my list, I realised that all five are best-known for their Gothic work.
Coldharbour I: A Prologue in a Café
Coldharbour I is the only book I’ve written so far in the series that doesn’t have a prologue of sorts, so here’s the official prologue to Coldharbour: A Gothic Tale of Love and Death, from an exclusive POV: the elusive Elizabeth Black.
The Magical Art of World Building
World building is most commonly connected to speculative fiction, in which the writer has to create more of the environment their characters are in, as opposed to researching a real time and place.