Author Archives

James is a full-time writer.

• The Wrong Story – 503g of obsession

  By James Ellis on March 17, 2017 • ( 0 )

  I am obsessed. For the past week The Wrong Story has been available for pre-order. I could go online and look at it, pre-order it if I wanted, search for it. And I have. I can’t stop looking at it. Sales rankings and… Read More ›

• Rolling the pastry

  By James Ellis on March 8, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  I call it ‘rolling the pastry’. And it’s not a metaphor for something rude. So those of you that thought it was, read no further. You will be disappointed. It’s about writing – again. I sit down, I start typing and when… Read More ›

• I am unblocked

  By James Ellis on February 23, 2017 • ( 3 )

  

  I spoke at the fabulous Bath Writing Events (@WritingEvents) the other day. It was my first outing and I wanted to make a good impression. I made notes, rehearsed against timings, hoped I wouldn’t run out of things to say. And then… Read More ›

• I’m in control and I’ve got a spreadsheet to prove it…

  By James Ellis on February 3, 2017 • ( 0 )

  It’s been a month now since I began my new life as a full-time writer and things haven’t progressed as well as I’d hoped. On the plus-side, I have registered as self-employed and cleared my ‘to do’ list of anything… Read More ›

• No distractions

  By James Ellis on January 23, 2017 • ( 0 )

  It’s Monday morning. The house is very quiet and I have completed every domestic chore I can think of – ironing, washing, cleaning, mopping the floor, walking the dog. I don’t even have a dog. Note to self: get a dog…. Read More ›

• A cure for the common cold

  By James Ellis on October 5, 2016 • ( 0 )

  You have razor blades in your throat and water-filled eyes and bubbling nostrils and you’ve become deaf in one ear and you can’t talk without coughing yourself inside out, and every now and then you sneeze and sneeze and sneeze until your nose falls… Read More ›

• Please vote on the 23rd

  By James Ellis on June 20, 2016 • ( 0 )

  It would have been lovely, wouldn’t it, if we’d been able to have an inclusive debate in which the pros and cons of remaining in, or exiting from, the European Union were aired and discussed and respected? But we didn’t. Instead we… Read More ›

• Go leaflets, go!

  By James Ellis on April 27, 2016 • ( 0 )

  

  From an anthropological perspective (and try saying that with a mouthful of toffee) it’s interesting how people react when I ask them to pledge support for my novel. Some I feel I offend simply by raising the subject. Others ask for more detailed… Read More ›

• You are so very very big…

  By James Ellis on April 1, 2016 • ( 0 )

  

  “Let us praise God. Oh Lord, oooh you are so big. So absolutely huge. Gosh, we’re all really impressed down here I can tell you. Forgive us, O Lord, for this dreadful toadying and barefaced flattery. But you are so… Read More ›

• A quiet night in

  By James Ellis on March 14, 2016 • ( 0 )

  It’s official: I have tinnitus. So the cracks, pops, whistles, groans and the constant background hiss, like a layer of cicadas inside my head, are here to stay. For a while at least. Probably. There is ambiguity. I’m told tinnitus is… Read More ›