News, thoughts and musings from the desk of Paula Hillman
Lenny Diamond
Looking back at my fourth novel, Chapel Field, made me realise how much I love the fictional Diamond family. I keep coming back to them in my writing and musings. The themes are so compelling: small town dysfunctional families, small town secrets; generational trauma. Chapel Field is my favourite novel in the mystery series I…
You are no ruin
I entered this piece for the 2024 Nature Chronicles Prize. It didn’t get selected, but I quite like the piece. There are some bits from other pieces I have written, and the tone is quite formal, but if you’re a fan of Furness Abbey, you’ll understand the restorative atmosphere of the place! (title stolen from…
The Silver Road
I’m reviewing the first of my unpublished novels at the moment. It’s called The Silver Road and it’s set in a beachside community (locals know it as The Black Huts). I have no idea why the novel was rejected…it’s hilarious and poignant and rather spicy in places. I’ve included this extract, as I was writing…
Darkwater Farm
(Photo of Biggar Village courtesy of The Sankey Archive) I’ve had a read through my attempt at writing a historical novel set in Barrow. I based it on the farm at the bottom of Ormsgill Lane, reinventing it as Darkwater Farm. It was about twin brothers, William and Gabriel Ward, who buy the farm during…
Black Ghyll Falls
I’ve been in the Lake District a lot lately, especially the Ambleside area, where I did my teacher training. Walking up Stock Ghyll got me thinking about setting a novel right there, and I penned a first chapter. I’ve put aside my epic romance now it’s finished, before I think about where to send it.…
Moonlight, chapter two…
More rubbish news about my writing last week, and I had a few wobbly days. When I left teaching, I felt like every door I’d ever worked hard to open had been slammed in my face… this is how I felt last week, too. Then I remembered how those slammed doors forced me to search…
Look for me by moonlight.
After four years of querying my children’s novel, Look for me by Moonlight, I’m giving up. I’ve had one full request (followed by a rejection), and hundreds of form rejections, or simple ‘ghosting’ from agents and publishers. Publishing is a brutal industry, but I knew that from the start, and I’ve accepted that trying to…
Halfmoon Lane…that moment!
Here’s a sneaky peek at the moment when Gabriel Da Silva, the busker of Halfmoon Lane, turns up at Nina’s house unannounced… I stare at Gabriel, my mouth half open, brain trying to catch hold of the right words. ‘You haven’t told me your name,’ he says, voice low. ‘Nina.’ My throat tightens. ‘I’m Nina.’…
Kapok
Here’s another extract from the memoir I’m working on. Preparing a float for Barrow carnival is one of my earliest teaching memories. I’ve never looked at Kapok in the same way since then! Names have been changed, obviously! Kapok Summer 1988 Kapok floats through the slants of afternoon sunshine and settles on the playground floor.…
Coming home!
Once I’ve finished novel number seven (and I’m not far off) I have resolved to finish a first draft of my teaching memoir. I posted a sample chapter on the website quite a while ago. Since then, writing for Bloodhound has been full-on. I have done little bits of twiddling around with an opening memoir…
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Paula Hillman, author 