Being the perfect guest.

On the list of things I should do more of, guest blogging is there, but it’s not something I’ve ever quite got around to. I did a blog for 99% Perspiration and another one for Sunderland’s City of Culture bid last year but I’ve never quite followed it up with any others due to various commitments and priorities.

This week I’ve finally managed to do, not one, but two guest blogs. It was coincidence that the opportunity for both came at the same time but I managed to squeeze them in amongst a short break, creating a book of short stories written by young people and taking some pensioners into the recording studio.

The first was for Victoria Watson who I am sure many of you will know through writing circles in the North East. We first met when Victoria brought the very succesful Noir At The Bar to Sunderland as part of the Creative Writing Festival.

Amongst the many great writing endeavours she is involved in, Victoia has her own popular website https://elementaryvwatson.wordpress.com

One of the regular themes is the guest blog, ‘Don’t quit the day job’. You can read my contribution here.

As some of you may recall, I once had a slight incident involving a lighthouse and a book cover. Despite this, I was asked to write a guest blog for the Roker Pier and Lighthouse website. The lighthouse features in my first two novels and I am delighted to see that it will soon be open for tours.

With the Tall Ships Race arriving in Sunderland this week, there’s no better time to see the pier and lighthouse in all its glory. If you’d like to see what I had to say about the use of Roker Lighthouse in literature, you can read my blog here.

And as a special treat, here’s the original book cover that I left out of the blog.

I’ve enjoyed writing for other people, the only difference is ensuring that you stick to the theme that you’ve been asked to, something I am used to with my freelance blogs, and trying to keep it within the spirit of the other blogs on the website.

Once I get a little more organised, I think I may introduce the occasional guest blog onto my website. I’ll just need to think of a theme.