One of the key skills which the crime writer must master is the ability to be totally unreliable.

What do I mean by that? Surely, we’re all down-to-earth, honest folks? Of course, we are (!) but that does not mean that we do not dedicate every writing moment to trying to mislead our readers. Readers of crime novels expect nothing less, it’s part of the contract between us.

So how does the arrangement work? Well, at the heart of a good crime novel is secrecy, things that…

The box set featuring the first three DCI Jack Harris mysteries published by The Book Folks, is on sale.

DCI Jack Harris loves the peace and solitude of the rolling hills of the Pennines in the north of England so when criminals interrupt his quietude, he makes no qualms about catching them, even if his actions run the townsfolk and his fellow…

As you may know from some of my earlier blogs, I am one of the organisers of the first ever Kirkcudbright Book Week in the Dumfries and Galloway town (it finishes on Friday March 6).

The early events have been well attended and enthusiastically received and have reminded me how much people like to listen to the written word being read out loud.

Our programme (you can find it on…

I have written before about the way that some writers respond first and foremost to plots, ideas they hear or read which become the germ of a story. Others respond to characters. Maybe they see someone in the bus queue and an idea sparks to life featuring that person.

I have always thought that I am a writer who reacts primarily to places, as…

The latest DCI Jack Harris mystery is out. The Killing Line is published by The Book Folks and is my nineteenth published crime novel.

In the book, a schoolgirl is found dead after taking drugs, the second death…

Good writers, particularly when it comes to novels, have a deep knowledge of their characters and the way they interact with each other. And they know all about their history.

The thought process is crucial but comes with a cautionary note - you do not necessarily need every detail to go onto the page. Why? Because back story has become an increasingly hot topic for many publishers. The argument goes that the modern reader wants things to keep moving. That is certainly true of crime…

Best-selling crime 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 novels published and is with London-based The Book Folks.

John said: “Writing can be a lonely pastime and my programmes help writers tackle some of the…

I dropped in on one of the crime fiction Facebook sites of which I am a member the other day and someone had asked authors of series featuring the same characters what kept them coming back to them?

I have been thinking about this recently, having just delivered the latest in the DCI Jack Harris series to my publisher The Book Folks and moved on to the next novel, one in the DCI John Blizzard series.

So what keeps me coming back? After all, I could tell my stories using other…

Had enough of the cold, wet and dark? The hint of better things to come making you look forward to your Summer break? Then why not include a writing weekend in Scotland?

Best-selling crime novelist John Dean has announced the 2020 dates for weekend writing workshops at his home between Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and…

There is still time to enter the Crime Writers’ Association’s Margery Allingham Short Mystery competition 2020, which closes at 6pm on 29 February.

The CWA’s mission is to find the best unpublished short mystery, one that fits into legendary crime writer Margery’s definition of what makes a great story when she said: “The Mystery remains…

The programme has been announced for the first ever Kirkcudbright Book Week, which will run between Monday March 2 and Friday March 6, 2020.

The week is designed to celebrate the developing literary scene in Kirkcudbright and the wider Dumfries and Galloway area and includes a series of mainly free events featuring authors from the area.

Writers appearing over the week include children’s author Alan McClure, poet Chrys Salt, crime writers Jackie Baldwin, Ian Patrick and John…

I have been critiquing a number of manuscripts by aspiring crime writers in recent months and on each occasion, a central part of my report has focused on pace.

One thing that I have learned over the years from reading fiction and observing the changes proposed by my editors, is the importance of pace in the final manuscript.

Get it wrong and you are jeopardising your chances of success. Get it right and it keeps the reader turning the page.

I take these thoughts into my…

Like many crime writers, I am fascinated by the impact that my characters’ past has on their present. The latest DCI John Blizzard mystery, the seventh in the series published by The Book Folks, is a case in point.

In A Flicker in the Night, a spate of murderous arson attacks evoke bitter memories for stalwart detective Blizzard. It was a…

Delighted to say that the DCI Blizzard crime novel Strange Little Girl (The Book Folks) has reached 150 ratings on Amazon. You can find out more at…

As some of you may know from my previous blogs, as a writer I am always inspired by a sense of place; it is something that features prominently in my DCI Harris novels (I am close to finishing the new one).

Whether it be a gloomy city or a stunning hillside, a glass-strewn council estate or a majestic waterfall, something about my surroundings triggers ideas.

So how do writers create sense of place? For a start, it is crucial if you write about a place that the reader can see…

I am currently working on the latest DCI Jack Harris novel and, with 44,000 words already written, I am deep into a series of emotional scenes as people confront the destruction of their dreams.

ndeed, a theme of the novel is the different way that people confront tough realities. The result is that I am creating scenes full of raw emotion and human frailty.

That means that, like many writers, I am drawing on real life experiences. For me, it’s the only way to do it. Writers…

A reminder that best-selling crime novelist John Dean has announced the 2020 dates for weekend writing workshops at his home between Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright 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 Harris…

The programme has been announced for the first ever Kirkcudbright Book Week, which will run between Monday March 2 and Friday March 6, 2020.

The week is designed to celebrate the developing literary scene in Kirkcudbright and the wider Dumfries and Galloway area and includes a series of mainly free events featuring authors from the area.

Writers appearing over the week include children’s author Alan McClure, poet Chrys Salt, crime writers Jackie Baldwin, Ian Patrick and John Dean,…

The latest DCI John Blizzard mystery, the seventh in the series published by The Book Folks, can be purchased as an e-book or paperback on Amazon.

In A Flicker in the Night, a spate of murderous arson attacks evokes bitter memories for stalwart detective John Blizzard.

It was a defining moment in DCI John Blizzard’s early career when he…

I tutor quite a few writers and so often the discussions come back to dialogue. Dialogue is crucial to any novel. Good dialogue lifts a story, bad dialogue wrecks it.

Writing dialogue isn’t about replicating a real-life conversation, though. It’s about giving an impression of it. If fiction is like real life with the dull bits taken out, the same thing is true of fictional conversations. The role of the writer is to select what’s important.

There are some…