An acquaintance who is part of the Teach for India programme asked whether I would be willing to come to a small government school in Chandannagar and talk about my book, about writing and about dance. I was tremendously excited by the prospect, and agreed immediately. When I got there, though, I realised how different […]
Apricots at Midnight
Many would say that Apricots at Midnight is an outdated book: old-fashioned and preachy. Yet, the simple childlike stories made it altogether loveable. Imagine a patchwork quilt, in which each little bit of cloth has a story to tell. I wish I had one! Apricots at Midnight has the sense of a collection of stories, united by this […]
Reflex
If I don’t read, I can’t write. It’s as simple as that. My mother introduced me to Dick Francis years ago, and I never imagined I would like more than one odd book about jockeys. I’m not horse-mad, and I don’t like the idea of horse races. It’s a lifestyle about which I know nothing. […]
The Ant Colony
Books that I’ve loved and re-read time and time again have nearly always emphasised character over plot. Take, for example, Anne, Emily, Little Lord Fauntleroy and the little princess. There’s something about character that just warms me, perhaps because it’s like discovering a friend, rather than having an experience. Stories with exciting plots are certainly […]
My Name is Rose
I could say that Smarties Gold Medal winning author Sally Grindley’s book is about a Romanian gypsy being integrated into a dysfunctional recomposed English family. Orphaned during a road accident, she has to find her way into the affections of a money-hungry man, an attention-seeking girl and a guilt-ridden woman. She has to surmount the […]