JANUARY 1. Hazel sat in the quiet cottage. It was one of two, semidetached, on the outskirts of the village, completely surrounded by fields. When she looked out of the window, all she saw was unrelen

The contemporary fiction writer talks to Zoe West

Most people are glued to their phones these days, but my sister won’t go anywhere without her notebook. She bought it after we went on a writing course, and she took it out of her bag as soon as I par

WASN’T it you who used to work behind the bar at the Frog and Lettuce?” Susan Tallboys looked up. She’d been fastening the buttons of her overcoat, suppressing her dislike of its worn fabric and its m

THE BEST NEW READS

HAVE you seen the latest from Down Under?” Kelly wandered into the kitchen one Tuesday morning, hair all over the place and eyes still full of sleep. Lynne glanced up from her notebook, where she was