Writing Category
Nottingham, City of Crime
Posted on September 5, 2019 2 Comments
Today is publication day for Dead Flowers and I want to talk about Nottingham, where I live and where the novel is set. I was born in Nottingham in 1971, moved away in the early 90’s, then moved back to the city, in part to study Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University, in 2002. I […]
Opportunity Knocks
Posted on September 4, 2019 Leave a Comment
So, in the latest in my blog series about Dead Flowers, I’m going to talk about Opportunity Knocks. This was TV talent show in the 1970’s (briefly revived in the late 80’s, I think) The show pitted some very different acts against one another, a bit like a school talent show. So, any one week, […]
The Pitcher and Piano
Posted on September 3, 2019 Leave a Comment
Tonight, it’s another location from the book and, actually, another pub. This one’s the Pitcher and Piano, a converted church that is one of the most beautiful bars in the city. This pub sits at the top of the same cliff where the Loggerheads nestles at the bottom. As pubs go, the two places couldn’t […]
The Loggerheads Pub
Posted on September 2, 2019 Leave a Comment
The Loggerheads is one of my major settings in Dead Flowers. In fact, more action takes place there than anywhere else in this Nottingham-set novel. The first reviews are in and they’ve been lovely, which makes me very happy. One of my favourite comments so far was from The Bookbag about the setting. “Monaghan’s other […]
Dead Flowers – cover reveal
Posted on August 4, 2019 Leave a Comment
It’s getting exciting now as my next novel Dead Flowers will be out in just four weeks. My lovely publisher Verve have revealed the cover, so here it is! You can read more about the book and preorder it on Amazon here! Or read first reader responses and reviews on Netgalley here!
Indigenous sea criminal subject matter
Posted on March 18, 2017 Leave a Comment
Indigenous sea criminal subject matter One is auditorially stimulated by a number of thoroughfares Immobilise the tuning dial that is in your possession Consider oneself to be comfortable as if in one’s own domicile We are in possession of vegetation, some of which we have propagated by our own means Recline in one’s own royal […]
What might have happened if R Kelly had been a member of a writer’s workshop
Posted on February 27, 2017 Leave a Comment
In today’s writing workshop, we’re going to look at R Kelly’s Ignition (remix) I enjoyed reading this piece of work and can certainly see that there’s a rhythm to the way you use words. I particularly liked the bouncing, tooting and beeping, which are lots of fun and encourage participation with the text. That said, I […]
It’s that time of year again
Posted on November 7, 2016 Leave a Comment
I’ve always loved autumn. The carpets of shed leaves, the colours, the skies. Halloween and all the fancy dress and apple bobbing and toffee. Bonfire Night and fireworks, the smell of gunpowder in the air. And, in Nottingham, the fair comes to town too. I love that feeling of being cosy inside whilst the rain […]
What is crime fiction?
Posted on September 17, 2016 Leave a Comment
This week, on a course about Crime Fiction, we were asked the question ‘what is crime fiction?’ You’d have thought we’d know, since we’d signed up for a fairly significant chunk of education on the subject, but it was harder to answer than you might expect. It was really quite a clever bit of teaching, […]
Nothing new under the sun
Posted on January 2, 2016 5 Comments
I’m often asked by writing students about copyright and plagiarism, and the best ways to make sure no one steals your ideas. It’s something that beginners seem unduly concerned about. I’m not saying it can’t happen but I’ve never really worried. I know a lot of writers and I understand the mindset; the very last thing […]
nicola monaghan 
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