Lesley, Author at Allison & Busby

Authors are for life, not just for Christmas.

13 December, 2011

Ah, the joys of Christmas shopping. Whether it’s the cut and thrust of elbows on Oxford Street or the anxiety over curiously delayed internet purchases, nothing quite raises the blood-pressure like it. And in an effort to distract me from my far-from-complete list, I’ve compiled something of a Christmas shopping list for aspiring writers out […]

Can you crack it?

8 December, 2011

Over the past few months I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see a resurgence of interest in the story of Bletchley Park, 2011 having been the 70th anniversary of the capture of the Enigma machine and codebooks. Back during my A-Levels I read Robert Harris’ Enigma in one breathless weekend, and the subject makes rich pickings […]

A certain je ne sais quoi in a bookshop

29 November, 2011

Last Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited to a celebration of the opening of Belgravia Books, the chic new retail arm of fellow indie publisher Gallic Books. Considering that on my journey across London I’d been reading about Sir Philip Green’s plans to close 260 stores, it was particularly pleasant to be part […]

Rescued prints

14 November, 2011

Thanks to a friend with some tickets to the Country Life Christmas Fair, I’m now well and truly enjoying the festive spirit. Hurry – only forty-odd more days to go! (I’m only half joking.) Anyway, while wondering around the surprisingly cavernous Business Design Centre in Angel (how apt) I found stalls of all shapes and […]

An Animated Bookshelf

4 November, 2011

I assume anyone following this blog will agree that bookshops can be pretty amazing places. And in the best of them, you could easily believe that something magical happens when the lights are switched off and the daytime human occupants leave. DIrector Spike Jonze (of Being John Malcovich and Jackass: The Movie fame) has taken […]

The Culture of Words

17 October, 2011

There’s that much used cliché that there are dozens of Icelandic words for the subtleties of snow, and from personal experience I can vouch that there is a similar thing in Ireland with rain. My favourite, and one that I remember my Granddad in particular using, is ‘teaming’. And, after my other half walked home […]

The Power of Making at the V&A

11 October, 2011

Craftsmanship and innovative design can be something we neglect at a time of mass-produced, one-size- fits-all products. So it is especially nice, and occasionally awe-inspiring, when you come across an item that has clearly had lots of time and energy lavished upon it by an individual. Like a life-size crocheted bear, for instance. Said bear […]

Let’s hear it for the Bard

6 October, 2011

Check out this scribbled page which has gone viral for a dose of visual and literature juice! Cool and somewhat beautiful, n’est pas? What you’re looking at is a variety of expressions that we owe to Shakespeare. And, as you can tell by the fact that they are jammed cheek by jowl onto one moleskin […]

‘Reader, I saw the film…’

23 September, 2011

In the next few weeks I will be making a point of visiting my local cinema to see the latest adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. What I’ve heard of it so far, particularly how it has been structured, with much of the early portion of the story told in flashbacks, […]

B & B & B (bed and breakfast and books)

20 September, 2011

What would you say was the mark of a good hotel? Excellent food? Impeccable service? A choice selection of reading material? I’m just back from a week off which included a few nights at the very comfortable Lake Country House Hotel, north of the Brecon Beacons. Tucked away in the countryside and replete with not […]

Sorry, we’re closed…

15 September, 2011

My recent blog post about literary maps must have reawakened some very, very latent geographical interest, for as this week has progressed other maps have been coming to my attention. Firstly, Amazon released details of their reading hotspots around the UK, with Cambridge one town ranking very highly for them. I found that interesting when […]

Insert laughter/terror here [delete where applicable]…

5 September, 2011

Soundtracks in ebooks. Yes you heard me right, a soundtrack as you read. You may (rightly) infer from that abrupt tone that I’m not convinced by this new concept that I’ve come across in the past week and I’m a pretty strong advocate of digital editions generally. This ‘immersive’ experience, so the blurb goes, will […]

The reading maze mapped

2 September, 2011

I’m coming to an end of my latest reads – I was switching between Agatha Christie’s autobiography and slightly weepy chick lit The Knitting Circle, by Ann Hood, an eclectic mix to be sure – and the cupboard is bare of books. Literally, my bedside cupboard, where I store up purchases and library picks, has […]

Cookies! (The perfect reading companion)

23 August, 2011

It is a sad fact but these days I don’t seem to read at home at all, commuting has become the only time of the day or week that I really get into any books. The idea of spending a Saturday morning doing nothing but lying on the sofa working my way through a really […]

A hook me hearties…

16 August, 2011

I’m currently wearing my sales hat. It is a very fetching tricorn affair which comes with some not-so fetching dredlocks and a bumper pack of black eyeliner, but enough about that. I’m wearing the sales hat to help me ponder over an email from one of the wholesalers about their forthcoming promotions. Some are very […]

Finding the right place to be a writer in residence…

8 August, 2011

So, last week author Tony Parsons was a ‘writer in residence’ at Heathrow airport (read more about that here…) apparently using his time there to gather material for his next book. While I definitely don’t envy him the food, general ambience and variously jet-lagged and tetchy passengers he was sure to encounter, I did think […]

Men & Women – reviewing the difference…

2 August, 2011

Idly scanning through the radio stations on Sunday afternoon I came upon the purr-fect tones of Mariella Frostrop on Radio 4’s Open Book. The show was the fourth episode to look at women’s writing over the past century since emancipation and gave so much food for thought that I’ve since scurried over to the show’s […]

Books Ahoy!

25 July, 2011

When I was a young, impressionable teenager and had dozily watched ‘Summer Holiday’ on a lazy Saturday afternoon, I was seized by the idea of how cool it would be to convert a bus and live in it. The open road, the panoramic views, Cliff Richard… ahem. Somehow this idea seemed exotically cool while the […]

Wish you were here?

18 July, 2011

The Guardian have done something of a real public service, in my humble opinion, with their recent article on the best summer reads and where to read them. We’re now in the thick of that time of year when, whether it’s your Kindle or your suitcase you’re filling with books, some recommendations don’t go amiss. […]

The place for technology

11 July, 2011

I’m a fan of most technology and the internet (having the word ‘Digital’ in your job title does tend to demand that) particularly when it saves me time, money and inconvenience. Ordering groceries online – check – saving me from an interminable route around the supermarket on a Saturday morning, sidestepping toddlers and cutting the […]

Olympic confession

4 July, 2011

My name is Lesley and I got Olympic tickets. Phew, it’s good to get that off my chest, as in the past week or so I’ve certainly felt like a vulnerable minority. So, I’ve got a year to brush up on my badminton knowledge: ahem, did you know that the best shuttlecocks are considered to […]