Critics – Be Kind
There are many critics in the world. And they have suffered some horrible comments in the past. Tynan said, “A critic is a man who knows the way but can’t drive the car.” Sadly, there are all too many critics around today. The advent of the internet has created an explosion of critical writing as … Continue reading
Persistent, Polite and Persuasive
This weekend I received a new book in the post. Actually I received three, but only one is relevant for this blog post. I regularly get books posted to me. Sometimes it’s a pain, especially when I’m in the middle of a book myself. Why? Because when I’m sitting at my desk trying to … Continue reading
End of the Series? Or Just a Pause?
This blog piece was prompted by an email I received this afternoon. The message was from someone who wanted to let me know how sad they were to hear the news that Baldwin and Simon’s series was to end. I know this has affected a lot of readers, so I thought it would be a … Continue reading
Gardening – and Cats
There are times when writing is a sheer dream. Other times, of course, it isn’t. Today I set out with the best of intentions. I managed to subdue the work displacement activities that immediately sprang to mind, and got on with work. Off, first thing, with the dog to keep her quiet while I worked, … Continue reading
A New Diary
A short blog today – there is far too much on for me to spend too much time here. I have, over the years, tried out a load of different types of planner and diary. In between writing a novel or two, you understand. Many years ago, I was determined to keep a diary so … Continue reading
TEMPLAR’S ACRE Out This Week
So, here we are, in the launch week of another Templar Series story. But this time it’s going back in time to the siege of Acre, my first prequel to explain why Baldwin became the man he did. It was huge fun to write this book. The main story was complicated to work through, but … Continue reading
Working Again
I was chatting to Paul Johnston, the author of several excellent books (I recommend them), and he demanded to know whether I ever actually wrote anything. Well, Paul, yes I do, actually. I don’t spend all my time Morris dancing. Writing is a tough job. No, seriously – the worst part is, that you’re never … Continue reading
A new pen!
I first heard of the Visconti pen some months ago when I was working hard on my last book. It is the normal way of things for a writer. You would not believe the inventive ways by which an author can avoid writing. There is research, there is reading other people’s books to get a … Continue reading
Random Thoughts
It was a while ago that I first spoke with the folks at Cult Pens. At the time I was desperate for some special ink colours, and I was delighted to learn that I could buy them from a company based not far from my house. Tiverton has always had a special importance for … Continue reading
Displacement Activities
This has been one of those weeks of urgent work with very little to show. A few days ago Simon and Schuster let me know that there were another three books needing to be proofed, and suddenly there were three more titles to look at. And they were good books, too. The Abbot’s Gibbet, The … Continue reading
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