As an author, I have always been the most interested by the technical side of the craft of writing rather than the creative element of the process; it may sound odd, but I love editing more than I do creating.

However, the older I become, I have found myself more and more interested in the creative process and particularly in examining the way…

My publisher The Book Folks will be running special promotions on some of my books featuring DCI John Blizzard and DCI Jack Harris on Kindle format over the next  few weeks, meaning that they will be on sale for 99p in the UK and 99c in the US on the following dates (available on Amazon):

A Flicker in the Night 16-23 July 

Dead Hill 20-27…

Authors are being asked to help celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the world’s first passenger railway by entering a rail-themed writing competition.

The…

It can be a big decision for an author responsible for a popular and long-running series of novels to strike out in another direction but Irish crime writer David Pearson has done just that.

The Farmyard Mystery introduce us to the new Mayo Murders series which begins when Pat Nevin and his…

I have written before in my  blogs about the power of dialogue to breathe life into stories and, as I work on my latest DCI Blizzard crime novel, it is doing it again.

Yet the dialogue that is jumping off the page is not all dramatic revelation, it also includes those little phrases that give readers the sense that real people are speaking and…

Best-selling crime writer John Dean will help mark National Crime Reading Month (NCRM) with a visit to Jack Hunt School in Peterborough on Wednesday 26^th June.

The former crime journalist, turned crime author, will visit the secondary school, part of the Peterborough Keys…

I return to a familiar theme for this blog, prompted by a couple of reviews of my DCI John Blizzard…

I recently received a review on Amazon of one of my crime novels, which made me think about the way I write.

I am fortunate in that I receive very few negative reviews but my view is that, even if they are negative, it is worth taking note of them if the comment by the reviewer is well-intentioned.

Writers should regard themselves as…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

I am delighted to announce that that my twenty fourth crime novel has been published and it plunges DCI Jack Harris into a murder investigation that takes him to Scotland in search of a killer.

In To Catch A Lie (The Book Folks) a man’s body is found on a country estate in the North Pennines area for which Harris is responsible.

The DCI…

Much of the writing process relies on catalysts, little bombs that explode and infuse the narrative with energy (I appreciate that chemistry practitioners may now be yelling at the page in protest at the mixed metaphors contained in that sentence but you get the idea).

So what do these catalysts look like? Well, an example from the new DCI…

Author Ian Robinson has a new crime novel out - and it’s attracting plenty of glowing reviews.

Criminal Justice (The Book Folks) introduces undercover police officer Sam Batford, a man who walks the narrow line between successful detective and corrupt cop. The novel sees him sent to work with a serious crime team in London in an…

I have just started writing my next crime novel and I have more time to concentrate on it now that Kirkcudbright Book Week, which I help organise, has come to an end for this year.

In fact, the subject of how best to begin a story cropped up during Book Week, not least when I chaired an in-conversation event at the Selkirk Arms, featuring…

I am working on a new DCI John Bizzard crime novel for my publisher The Book Folks, and that means being faced with the dreaded blank first page.

So, how do writers get going under such circumstances? How do they start writing their story? Well, in this hectic world, I have always felt that there is a lot to be said for holding back and…