Bless me Father --- there's an App for that.

A Good Confession is set in the early 1960s just before The Beatles and Vatican II and everything started to change. But I thought the central theme was pretty timeless...a love affair between young widow and a Catholic priest. It's not a will-they-won't-they kind of book. You know that they do from the first page and that's deliberate...I was interested in how two decent, sincere people cope when they break the rules of the club they belong to, when they go against the religion they believe in and the culture they are part of...

I guess that's pretty universal and I've been invited to speak at a synagogue about the book's themes but - because my characters are Catholics - confession plays a big part in their world, hence the title and a major scene about a third of the way through....

But I was thinking of whispering behind a wooden screen to a face you can't see, and the smell of old incense. Today I hear that the Catholic Church has approved an iPhone app for confession. It's on sale through iTunes for £1.19 ($1.99) and is described as "the perfect aid for every penitent."

PITCHING advice from an expert - there's nothing new under the sun

Here's advice from Rachelle Gardener, an American literary agent

In non-fiction book proposals, we always have to provide comparable titles (the "Competition" section) and increasingly, editors are asking us for comps even for fiction. Many authors write something like, "There are no books similar to mine." What it says is, "I haven't taken the time to properly research the market and I have no idea what other books could be compared to mine."

Remember, it's not bad to be able to compare your book to others people have heard of. It's good. It helps people begin to capture a vision for the type of book you've written. If you can point out the ways your book is similar and different, and why you think yours is a good complement to the other, you can further help a publisher understand what your book is all about. Don't ever claim "There are no books like mine." If that's your impression, go back to the bookstore and find some.

Good advice....and I guess A Good Confession was pitched as A London Irish Thorn Birds....the one I am working on the at the moment I hope has the absorbing action of Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News combined with the rawness of Gerry Conlon's In the Name of the Father...I think...

Read more of Rachelle's advice on her blog by clicking the title of this post