John Dean's Blog – April 2024 Archive (6)

Crime writing couple to talk about the challenges of writing as one

Crime fiction enthusiasts – and I know from my experience at Kirkcudbright Book Week that there are plenty of them in Dumfries and Galloway – will be interested in a  fascinating event to be staged in the area in May.

The Mill on the Fleet at Gatehouse of Fleet, in conjunction with Bakehouse Community Arts, will present an evening with husband…

Continue

Added by John Dean on April 30, 2024 at 10:26 — No Comments

Taking the reader into the heart of the action

Review: Murder at the Caravan by David Pearson (The Book Folks)

Authors are driven to write by a range of inspirations, everything from compelling character to mysterious plots, from the need to write with pace to an instinctive feel for landscape, from powerful themes to sharply political points…

Continue

Added by John Dean on April 14, 2024 at 19:33 — No Comments

A compelling read

Review Status Drift by Ian Robinson (The Book Folks)

As regular readers of my reviews may well be aware, I am a huge fan of Ian Robinson’s work and a major reason in this series is the central character DS Sam Batford, who walks the fine line between corrupt cop and heroic…

Continue

Added by John Dean on April 11, 2024 at 9:30 — No Comments

Something a bit different

Review: The Counterfeit Detective by Simpson Grears (Rymour Books)

The problem with even the very best crime fiction, as well written as it may be, is that a lot of it can feel very similar. That is why we readers should welcome something that’s a bit different, and why we should welcome books like The Counterfeit Detective by Simpson…

Continue

Added by John Dean on April 11, 2024 at 8:46 — No Comments

Author re-launches online crime fiction course

Best-selling crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean has launched the latest version of his online Crime Fiction Course.

The course, which runs in eight parts and can begin at a time and date to suit the writer, helps emerging authors to improve their writing and aims to increase their chances of being successful, either in…

Continue

Added by John Dean on April 9, 2024 at 11:31 — No Comments

Crime writer ready for challenges ahead

I was pleased to hear that crime writer Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin has been elected as the new Chair of the Society of Authors.

The novelist takes over from Joanne Harris to begin a two-year term as Chair of the SoA’s board of directors. Joanne has held the position since 2020 and has now come to the end of her second two-year term.

Vanessa, who…

Continue

Added by John Dean on April 3, 2024 at 17:11 — No Comments

Monthly Archives

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Latest Activity

John Dean posted a blog post

A welcome addition to the crime fiction canon

Book Review - Murder in the New Forest by Carol Cole (The Book Folks).It’s always a moment laden with anticipation when a new crime series emerges onto the scene and Carol Cole does not disappoint with Murder in the New Forest (The Book Folks).At the heart of the novel is a new central character, DI Callum MacLean, newly arrived in Hampshire from Glasgow and plunged into…See More
9 minutes ago
John Dean shared their blog post on Facebook
yesterday
John Dean posted blog posts
yesterday
SEO Services Philippines updated their profile
Jan 25
John Dean posted a blog post

Bestseller chart success

I am delighted that two of my crime fiction works are this morning in the top 100 Organised Crime Kindle charts on Amazon.The DCI John Blizzard box set containing the first seven novels in the series, (The Book Folks) for just 99p - now if that is not an outstanding offer, I do not know what is -  is at number 43 (it is already topping various anthology charts).My new…See More
Jan 20
John Dean posted a blog post

Grant award helps develop crime fiction programme

Organisers of the fourth annual Kirkcudbright Book Week have been awarded a £1,750 grant from the Robin Rigg Community Fund to help them develop the crime fiction component of the festival.Kirkcudbright Book Week is designed to celebrate the growing literary scene in and around the South West Scotland town and crime fiction has proved to be a popular genre with audiences…See More
Jan 17
John Dean shared their blog post on Facebook
Jan 14
John Dean shared their blog post on Facebook
Jan 14
John Dean posted blog posts
Jan 14
John Dean shared their blog post on Facebook
Jan 13
Capping Machine updated their profile
Jan 8
John Dean posted a blog post

The way authors work

A few years ago, I ran a creative writing course and, at the beginning of one of the sessions, I asked my fifteen students how they worked.The result was fifteen different answers –one author wrote everything by hand then typed it onto their computer, another wrote it all in note form then linked the notes together, one did not edit anything until everything was…See More
Dec 29, 2024
John Dean shared their blog post on Facebook
Dec 27, 2024
John Dean posted a blog post

Knowing when to cast all caution to the wind

Writing is an art form which combines two skills which appear, at first glance, to have nothing on common – unrestrained creativity and well-controlled discipline.However, good writing is not possible without either of them. To explain, as I write the latest DCI Jack Harris crime novel, I am being disciplined and following the synopsis that I developed right from the…See More
Dec 27, 2024
Filling Machine updated their profile
Dec 25, 2024
Packaging Machinery updated their profile
Dec 24, 2024

Videos

Members

© 2025   Created by John Dean.   Powered by

Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service