"This is a superb book. I don't think I've ever learnt such a lot in such a short space of time and enjoyed it so much than when reading this.

Each chapter takes one aspect of writing a novel, such as plotting, characterization, dialogue, love scenes, sexual tension etc. and explains it in easy to read language. Then she goes on to use excerpts from different authors, together with more explanation, to illustrate each point.

I enjoyed it so much I just wanted to hole up somewhere and read the whole book straight through, soaking up every word. There's a lot of it (257 pages) and it's quite densely printed, but that doesn't make it difficult to read because the text is broken up by subtitles, bullet points and boxouts.

As a novice writer myself I couldn't recommend it highly enough and will treasure my copy for many years to come."