June 2019 Blog Posts (16)

Selling well

I am delighted that the latest DCI Jack Harris mystery Error of Judgement (The Book Folks) continues to do well in the various Amazon Kindle best-seller charts. You can find out more at…

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Added by John Dean on June 28, 2019 at 11:20 — No Comments

Meeting old friends

I have just finished the first draft of the latest DCI Blizzard novel for The Book Folks and, as is my wont, I will now leave it for a few weeks then come back to edit it with fresh eyes.Only then will I know for sure if it's achieved what I hoped for it and how much remains to be done.

That means that, in the meantime, I can start work on a new novel in my other series, featuring DCI Jack Harris. A different setting, rural against city, a different cast of characters, a different…

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Added by John Dean on June 28, 2019 at 11:10 — No Comments

Mentoring for writers

Best-selling novelist John Dean is running an online mentoring and writing workshop programme for aspiring authors.

John, who is based in Dumfries and Galloway, has had eighteen crime novels published and is with London-based The Book Folks. He is a co-director of Inscribe Media…

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Added by John Dean on June 28, 2019 at 8:56 — No Comments

Writing award winners are named

New Writing North has announced the winners of the Northern Writers’ Awards 2019.…

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Added by John Dean on June 27, 2019 at 11:03 — No Comments

Now let me 'tell' you something

There is a debate that has been rumbling on in writing circles for years, namely the balance between ‘show’ and ‘tell’. But what does it mean? Well, this is telling:…

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Added by John Dean on June 27, 2019 at 9:26 — No Comments

Audio book of The Secrets Man

I am delighted to say that the audio book of the DCI Blizzard mystery The Secrets Man (Whole Story QUEST), narrated by the brilliant Nicholas Camm, is out on Thursday June 27, 2019.…

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Added by John Dean on June 26, 2019 at 10:13 — No Comments

Attention turns to next creative writing courses

Thoroughly enjoyed a great weekend course with authors from the Darlington-based Inkerman Writers, very creative! Now attention turns to July 6.

Indeed, there are still plenty of places left on both weekend summer courses for writers run by best-selling crime novelist John Dean at his home near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway.

John, author of 18 novels and currently published by London-based The Book Folks, is the creator of the popular DCI John Blizzard and DCI Jack…

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Added by John Dean on June 24, 2019 at 11:45 — No Comments

To Honour the Dead audio book is published

At the end of a busy week, I am delighted that the DCI Jack Harris mystery To Honour the Dead (Whole Story QUEST) is out as an audio book, narrated by the brilliant Nicholas Camm, my second such launch this week!

You can find out more…

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Added by John Dean on June 21, 2019 at 16:07 — No Comments

Well,um,yes....

I am working on a new DCI John Blizzard novel at the moment and am at the stage when I am assessing what I have written so far, including a close look at the dialogue.…

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Added by John Dean on June 21, 2019 at 15:42 — No Comments

The Railway Man audio book is published





Delighted to say that the DCI John Blizzard mystery The Railway Man (Whole Story QUEST) is now out as an audio book, narrated by the excellent Nicholas Camm. It is available at…

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Added by John Dean on June 21, 2019 at 11:00 — No Comments

Learning the craft behind crime writing

A quick reminder that best-selling crime novelist and creative writing tutor John Dean, who is based in Dumfries and Galloway, has launched an online Crime Fiction Course.

John, author of 18 novels and currently published by London-based The Book Folks, and the creator of DCI John Blizzard and DCI Jack Harris, also runs Inscribe Media Ltd, which…

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Added by John Dean on June 20, 2019 at 15:39 — No Comments

Giving creativity a chance

You may know from my blogs, that, as a writer, I am always inspired by a sense of place, and living on a windswept hillside in southern Scotland certainly inspires me greatly.…

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Added by John Dean on June 17, 2019 at 14:35 — No Comments

Places left on weekend courses

There are still places left on two weekend summer courses for writers run by best-selling crime novelist John Dean at his home near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway.…

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Added by John Dean on June 17, 2019 at 13:37 — No Comments

Loadsa Blizzard

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Added by John Dean on June 6, 2019 at 11:38 — No Comments

When has a story been told?

One of the questions that I am occasionally asked in my creative writing classes is ‘how long should a novel be?’ It’s a question that sometimes crops up in reviews as well, with some readers saying that they felt that a story was too short and wondering why the author did not write more?…

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Added by John Dean on June 6, 2019 at 10:49 — No Comments

Unimportant? Moi?

Following on from my previous blogs on creating characters, a word about minor characters and the care you need to take when creating them.

But why, you may ask, spend unnecessary time on insignificant characters? Some may have roles so negligible that they won’t even get names:…

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Added by John Dean on June 4, 2019 at 14:56 — No Comments

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Festival announces top quality line-up

One of the strongest features of Kirkcudbright Book Week right from its early days has been the popularity of crime fiction - and the 2025 event is set to continue the tradition.The programme to run in the South West Scotland town between March 3-9 includes appearances by several best-selling crime fiction authors as well as those starting out  on their writing careers.One of the highlights will be a performance by award-winning crime novelist Chris Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman, who was a…See More
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How to keep a long-running series fresh

Writing a long-running series of novels, as can so often be the case for crime fiction authors, brings its own set of challenges, not least how do you keep the writing fresh for reader and writer alike?As I start the latest DCI  Jack Harris novel for my publisher The Book Folks, the twelfth in the series where the action is divided between the North Pennines and southern…See More
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An exciting time

Having just completed my latest DCI Blizzard crime novel for my publisher The Book Folks, this is both a nervous time and an exciting time. Nervous because, however experienced you are (and this is Book 25), it’s always a tense time as you wait for feedback from your publisher. You are never too old to learn!Exciting because your thoughts turn to the next book, which…See More
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Injecting energy into your crime novel

I am currently 43,000 words into my latest DCI Blizzard crime novel for The Book Folks and key to getting the process right is to ensure that the story continually benefits from injections of energy to maintain its momentum - and increase it, where necessary.But how do you do that? It’s not as simple as the old crime writers adage that if you want to inject momentum into…See More
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A challenge for the reader

Crime writer Ian Robinson has a new novel out, marking the return of renegade police officer Sam Batford in his latest undercover assignment for the Metropolitan Police.In Lines Crossed (The Book Folks), an armed gang is robbing cash vans in North London, and Detective Sergeant Batford’s bosses want his help catching them. That’s not all that they want, though.…See More
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