What makes you pick up and buy a novel by an author you’ve never heard of?

As I’m an aspiring novelist – three started, three abandoned, a fourth in gestation – you may find it surprising to learn that I don’t frequent book shops much.

It’s not that I don’t like books, I do, I love them dearly, I love the smell and the feel of them, and the promise that’s held between the covers, it’s just that they’re a bit, how shall I put this? Expensive!    Continue reading →