It has been noted that authors sometimes put a lot of themselves into their favourite main characters. Personality quirks, expressions, similar histories, shared experiences. I certainly find myself drawing on these things with many of my main characters, though usually subconsciously. I guess it’s easier to write a character you can relate to in some way, and Ange in Atomic Goddess is no exception. When I first started writing the story that became Atomic Goddess, I ha

It’s a curious process, picking what events and cultural references to use as a backdrop in an alternative history fantasy story. For me, reference to the happenings and popular culture of the period is a must to help create a setting – and its society – realistically. And the 1960’s seem to me to be a time that is particularly bursting with interesting, world-changing events and culture. There are the fantastic songs of the 60’s (as I’ve talked about in my previo

I probably don’t have to tell most people what an interesting time the 1960’s were. Many societal- and world-changing events took place in this decade. But if you think it was difficult picking what events from the 60’s to include in my story, imagine how hard it was to pick my playlist! Many writers (including me!) see their stories unfold in their head as though they’re watching a movie. And nothing enhances a movie like a good soundtrack. Music adds an extra dimensio

I want to tell you a story. A story about a story, and about a period of history that I’m crazy about. The 1960’s. So why the sixties, you might ask? Well, the sixties and I go way back. Not literally – I missed the decade by a couple of years, and probably wouldn’t have been old enough to appreciate them if I had been born the requisite nine months after my parents married in mid-1967. But I ‘discovered’ them in a major revelation when I was sixteen, when I