Master of Hammer, Witchfinder General and the weak-chinned lover of the female protagonist in Otto Preminger’s original and magnificent film noir Laura (1944), actor Vincent Price informs our cultural consciousness. But how many of us know that Price was the Master Chef of his time? A bon vivant and gourmand, Price not only loved … Continue readings →

New Orleans-born Elizabeth Hoyt is a best-selling New York Times novelist. The author of 15 historical and 2 contemporary romances (the latter as Julia Harper), she recently published Duke of Midnight, the sixth book in the acclaimed ‘Maiden Lane’ series, set in 18th-century London. Elizabeth was brought up in St Pauls, Minnesota, and travelled extensively … Continue readings →

Leading American historical-romance writer Mary Jo Putney is known affectionately as ‘MJP’ to her fans. She was the recipient of the prestigious RWA Nora Roberts’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Mary Jo has written and contributed to more than 38 critically acclaimed books, including many series titles. Her most recent series, ‘The Lost Lords’ deals … Continue readings →

Mary Jo Putney is a leading historical-romance writer. The recipient of many awards, ‘MJP’, as she is known affectionately to her fans, won the prestigious RWA Nora Roberts’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Born in Upstate New York, Mary Jo developed a love of reading at an early age. Her favourite authors included Georgette Heyer, … Continue readings →

Award-winning Australian writer Anne Gracie‘s first book, Gallant Waif, was published in 1999 by Harlequin/Mills and Boon. Since then, she has written more than 15 novels, mostly Regencies. She was also commissioned to write the novelisation of series one of the successful TV show The Tudors. Anne’s latest series of books feature the ‘Chance Sisters’. … Continue readings →

New York Times best-selling writer Elizabeth Hoyt is one of The Literary Shed’s favourite historical romance writers. Since publishing her first novel The Raven Prince, Hoyt has published 14 novels to critical acclaim, many in the following series, ‘The Princes Trilogy’, ‘Legend of the Four Soldiers’ and the ‘Maiden Lane’ series. Hoyt also writes as … Continue readings →

EDITOR’S CHOICE Award-winning, best-selling writer Nora Roberts is one of the most popular authors in the world, selling billions of copies of books in a multitude of languages. Roberts, who began her career writing romances for Silhouette, published her first book in 1981. She has since turned romance, romantic-suspense and paranormal romance writing into an … Continue readings →

Director of health promotion and commmunication at Harvard’s Department of Nutrition, Dr Cheung has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh since 1967. She worked with him on the book Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, Savour Every Moment and Every Bite.   See also: Thich Nhat Hanh

Nominated by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967, Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, who has dedicated his life to promoting peace and reconciliation. He is the author of many books, focussing on various aspects of Mindfulness and the art of Mindful living, including Mindful Eating, Mindful … Continue readings →

  New Zealand-born Len Lye was an experimental animator and sculptor. He is known primarily for a series of innovative films produced in the 1930s and 40s, the earlier while working with John Grierson’s much acclaimed GPO Film Unit. A Colour Box (1935) was particularly influential – wonderful Norman McLaren took up animation full time … Continue readings →

  Night Mail, the GPO Film Unit’s 1936 documentary, seemingly had everything going for it from the start – from its directors Harry Watt and Basil Wright, narrators John Grierson and Stuart Legg to the poem that WH Auden wrote especially for it and the music score composed by a 23-year-old Benjamin Britten. The GPO … Continue readings →

Through focusing on dark tales of paranormal and suspense romances, Cynthia Eden is an extremely popular American writer. A two-time finalist for the RITA® award, Eden has written more than 30 books/novellas for Harlequin, Hachette and other publishers. Her ‘Deadly‘ series of paranormal romantic suspense novels are particuarly successful.   DEADLY SERIES: Deadly Fear; Deadly … Continue readings →

An award-winning writer, Madeline Hunter holds a PhD in art history and lectures at university level in the United States. She is the author of more than 22 historical romances, including ‘The Fairbourne Quartet‘ series. Hunter lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.   See also: Mary Balogh; Anne Gracie; Georgette Heyer   … Continue readings →

An eminent Russian novelist, short-story writer and playwright, Turgenev wrote many influential works, including the novella First Love, based on his own experiences as a young man.  Fathers and Sons (1862) is considered one of the greatest 19th-century Russian novels.   See also: Chekhov; Leo Tolstoy; Flaubert                 … Continue readings →

New York Times and USA Today best-selling writer of 20 novels and several short stories, Allison Brennan is a former consultant in the California State Legislature. She lives in northern California with her husband and five children. Brennan has written nine books featuring Lucy Kincaid and her boyfriend Sean Rogan.   LUCY KINCAID/SEAN ROGAN SERIES: … Continue readings →