by Nick Hirst
Welcome to my blog pages where I share random thoughts about my writing journey as well as up to date information on what I’m doing right now. And, because I can’t help myself, there’ll be the occasional rant! Of course, if you have subscribed to my newsletter, you’re ahead of the curve because you’ll get a lot of this before anyone else.
I’ll also share the thoughts and inspirations behind specific scenes…letting you see behind the curtain in a manner of speaking. And, for what it’s worth, I’ll describe some of my experiences of the writing process.
The Writing Journey
Books don’t just appear. They begin with an idea, take unexpected turns and occasionally refuse to behave. Here, I’ll share the stories behind my books, the process of writing them, and some of the discoveries and frustrations along the way.
Latest Blog Posts
Why real settings make fiction come alive
Real places have a way of making fiction feel more believable. Real places will inevitably make fiction feel more believable, relatable. For example, my first novel – The Shape of Rain – moves from London to Prague, then Saudi Arabia with its climax in Seattle…click here to read more
Interview with Nick Hirst
This is the transcript I did with Olto Books – published on Oltobooks.com back in February 2022.
The interview covers my background growing up in the suburbs of England, then moves on to how I became the first professional broadcaster on Saudi Arabia’s English language TV station. Then it covers my time as a music producer at the BBC – which led to some fun interview experiences (pictured left – with Ozzy Osbourne in his L.A. office, one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet)…click here to read more
Check out more articles from my writer’s blog – click on the button below…
Reviews and Opinions
As a regular traveller, mainly around Europe, I am a dedicated reviewer of the places where I stay. I have driven around France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Czechia, Slovenia, Croatia and others and will write a short review of all the places I visit on my travels. Also, being a firm believer in writing can right most wrongs, I share occasional thoughts and opinions on a variety of lifestyle and consumer issues.
I also like to wax lyrical about random TV shows and movies that catch my attention – normally in a bad way!
As you can see below, I organise these ramblings into four categories, and they are all curated on my sister site – undercoverofthewrite.
undercoverofthewrite
consumer and lifestyle insight
reviews
Personal reviews of places I have stayed in or visited on my travels; and TV shows and some movies that I had a strong opinion about – normally because there was something so bad about them! Read more…
consumer
Consumer investigations and observations plus the one thing that truly gets me going – bad service and/ or useless products. We’ve all suffered from both – the ‘you had one job, and you’ve blown it’ moment. Well, I can’t keep silent about these – so here’s where I let off steam and, at the same time, warn you about companies who fail, so you don’t have to find out the hard way. Read more…
opinion
We’ve all got them, at least I hope we do! Every so often, I just have to throw in my tuppence worth. Read more…
lifestyle
OK, so this isn’t exactly Gwyneth Paltrow, but I have a bit of fun with some lists. I’ll be adding to this regularly with diet and healthy living articles. Read more…