Michael McKinley on the one piece of advice he was given when starting out as an author — and why he ignored it.

With June's arrival and the beach calling out for books to be read, Nancy Merritt Bell on the podcast that brings books to life all summer long.

By Nancy Merritt Bell It's February and we're creeping out of the dead of winter into the adoring arms of Valentine's Day. Time to cuddle up with someone or a good book, and I'm thinking romance. But why think of one book of love literature or two, when there is an entire bookstore to look over. The Ripped Bodice bookstore (or TRB for short) is deeply devoted to romance books — all of them, from the tried and true Dame Barbara Cartland to the new queen of romance, Colleen Hoo

By Tomas Elliott The Craft Bootcamp In our regular bootcamp dedicated to the craft of literature, we'll be getting writing fit with some specialist exercises designed to hone your literary muscles. Each week, we take a brief look at an example of writing by a master of their craft — whether in prose, poetry, drama, film, or TV — and follow that up with a challenge for you to practise on your own. This week, in keeping with our theme of romance, we look at the craft of opening