creative writing

Hazel Gaynor / 22 October 2014

Strictly Writing

I was very honoured to be invited to judge the inaugral Open Mic event as part of a local writing festival last weekend. Dalkey Creates was a four day event, …

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Hazel Gaynor / 12 November 2013

The Lost Duchess, by Jenny Barden

This month I'm delighted to welcome back historical fiction author, Jenny Barden, to Whims & Tonic to tell us about her second novel, THE LOST DUCHESS, …

Hazel Gaynor / 2 October 2013

Discovering the creative spark!

Ah, Saturday mornings. Quiet, peaceful, reflective Saturday mornings ….. yes, I’m kidding. My Saturday mornings usually consist of a stressful hour of trying to …

“… a collection of short stories inspired by the plangent, romantic landscape of imperiled mansions, trench warfare and Anglo-American overlap, contains nine loamy tributes to the genre. These miniatures center on Nov. 11, 1918, the day the Great War ended and its memory began.”
New York Times (on Fall of Poppies)
“Gaynor’s talent for evoking a time and place, as well as her ability to write a beautifully heart-wrenching story with realistic characters, enables her to touch readers. The unexpected twists and turns of the plot and jumping of timelines holds readers’ attention to the satisfying climax.”
Romantic Times Book Review (on A Memory of Violets)
“The Girl Who Came Home follows on the centenary remembrance of the Titanic in 2012. Is the world ready for yet another account of this tragedy? With this novel, the answer is a resounding yes.”
New York Journal of Books (on The Girl Who Came Home)
“Hazel Gaynor captures both the heartache and hope of England between the Wars in this richly imagined novel peopled with unforgettable characters, impossible ambitions and unexpected twists of fate. Once begun, I dare you to put it down.”
Kathleen Tessaro, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector and Rare Objects (on The Girl from The Savoy)
“For fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society comes another terrific epistolary historical novel that is simply unputdownable [...] this remarkable novel will undoubtedly go on my keeper shelf.”
Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of The Night the Lights Went Out (on Last Christmas in Paris)
"I adored The Cottingley Secret ... Gaynor has penned, in majestic prose, an enchanting and enthralling tale of childhood magic, forgotten dreams, and finding the parts of ourselves we thought were lost forever"
Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale (on The Cottingley Secret)

Strictly Writing

The Lost Duchess, by Jenny Barden

Discovering the creative spark!

New York Times (on Fall of Poppies)

Romantic Times Book Review (on A Memory of Violets)

New York Journal of Books (on The Girl Who Came Home)

Kathleen Tessaro, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector and Rare Objects (on The Girl from The Savoy)

Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of The Night the Lights Went Out (on Last Christmas in Paris)

Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale (on The Cottingley Secret)

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