The Project
There are some years that start well, others that don’t start so well. This one’s not been good. We always knew that would start badly, though. I lost a very dear friend, Andy Setchell. What with that and my daughter going through the horrors of her mock GCSE exams, YouTube and my blogging activities have … Continue reading
Books, Reviews and Morris!
Look at that nice new cover. Beautiful, isn’t it? It will be the first of, I expect, a series of crime stories based around Jack Blackjack, with the first coming your way in late April from Severn House. Hope you will enjoy it! Books. I have piles of books in my office. Piles and … Continue reading
RIP, Andy, old mate
It is always the way. You prepare and plan and get ready to start a new book, and always, without fail, at the last minute another blasted editor’s commentary, copyedit or proof materialises. I have three books to write this year, and I’m dead keen to get started. But last week a copyedit came and … Continue reading
The week in view
The last week has been rather full of reading, just as the previous couple were. It’s the interesting stage (for me) of writing a novel. First there is the initial idea, that soon develops into a basic plot. Then there is the development of characters that will work within the main plot, and bring their … Continue reading
Thank You, Public Lending Right!
It’s at this time of year that authors all sit back and stare in horror at their bank accounts. Christmas is past. Long past. The summer is a long way away. The heating has to be funded, food bought, children’s dance lessons, hockey lessons, rugby lessons all have to be paid for, as well as … Continue reading
Weekly Update
A short update this week. I’m in the middle of rewriting the end of my latest modern crime story, but it’s not an easy one and it’s taking rather longer than I’d expected. However, with luck I’ll finish it today or tomorrow before sending it to Canada to my favourite copy editing expert (you know … Continue reading
Review of 2016 – Books and Tools
It’s always interesting to review a year that has just passed. 2015 was not a good year for me – with 14 friends and family dying, it was never going to be a happy year. However, at least there are people who help distract me. And first amongst these are authors, of course. Last year … Continue reading
Review: SPARE ME THE TRUTH
Tomorrow I’ll be putting up a review of my year for 2015, running through my favourite books of the year, but I have one problem. One of the books I read was stunning, was thrilling, and I should have mentioned it … except I couldn’t, really. The damn thing wasn’t published last year! Caroline Carver … Continue reading
Another Week, Another Edit
Last week I was glad to finish one edit – this week I have another. It’s one of the more accurate observations, the fact that all writing is rewriting. I estimated that my first novel was the result of reading and rereading my manuscript somewhere in the region of thirty five times. By the end … Continue reading
NaNoWriMo and more…
There are plenty of people who’ve been trying desperately hard to write in the last few weeks since the start of NaNoWriMo ’15. I can all too easily empathise with their frustrations. One thing that many people don’t realise, when they set out to write something, is that there are very few jobs quite so … Continue reading
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