I am absolutely delighted that my recently-released DCI John Blizzard Kindle box-set of crime novels (The Book Folks) has hit Number One in three of Amazon's crime anthology charts, earning the coveted Orange Bestseller Logo.

Thank you to everyone who bought the box-set and has supported me down the years…

Ever thought about writing a bestseller? Well, if you have, the talk to be given by author Ryan Stark during Kirkcudbright Book Week is well worth attending.

Ryan moved from IT Specialist to full-time novelist eight years ago. The learning curve was steep and, with no knowledge of the writing process, it was quite a journey. Yet from a…

Crime writer James Davidson has been added to the panel for an in-conversation evening staged by publisher The Book Folks during Kirkcudbright Book Week.

He has agreed to appear following the recent death of author James Andrew, who was due to appear.

Event details: Wednesday March 6 In Conversation with the Book Folks Crime Writers…

The process of writing continually teaches the author new lessons. It also reiterates the wisdom behind old ones. The truth of that statement has been proved to me yet again as I write the final chapters of my latest DCI Jack Harris novel for my publisher The Book Folks.

I have found myself struggling with pulling together the threads of the…

I am really looking forward to being part of this event as part of Kirkcudbright Book Week, which runs in the Dumfries and Galloway town between March 4-10 2024.

Wednesday March 6 In Conversation with the Book Folks Crime Writers Selkirk Arms High Street Tickets £8 7pm - Publisher The Book Folks presents an evening with some of its…

The latest DCI John Blizzard Kindle box set (the first seven in my series of Blizzard crime novels published by the Book Folks, for just 99p) is storming the Amazon best-selling charts!…

I am proud to have been part of the team that has revamped the Crime Writers' Association's (CWA) prestigious Dagger in the LIbrary award for crime writers.

I was involved because I am one of the CWA's UK Libraries Champions (I am our representative in Scotland) and one of the main aims of the revamp is to increase the number of library staff…

I am really looking forward to this event, which is part of Kirkcudbright Book Week, which runs in the Dumfries and Galloway town between March 4-10 2024.

Monday March 4   Ryan Stark Selkirk Arms High Street 2pm Tickets £6

Ryan Stark is a Midlands-based thriller writer and publisher. His Aidan Beckett and Daley & Whetstone…

I am really looking forward to this event, which is part of Kirkcudbright Book Week, which runs in the Dumfries and Galloway town between March 4-10 2024.

Thursday March 7 An evening with Simpson Grears Selkirk Arms High Street 7pm £5 Supported by Scottish Book Trust through its Live Literature programme

The crime writer talks…

Book Review The Ferry Port Mystery by David Pearson (The Book Folks)

What do you do if you are the author of a couple of popular crime fiction series but fancy a change? The answer is to create a new series with a new cast of characters, which is exactly what David Pearson has done with The Ferry Port Mystery.

The first in a new series…

Some of you may know that I was one of four crime writers who appeared recently at an in-conversation event during the inaugural Kirkcudbright Fringe festival (along with Jackie Baldwin, Ann Bloxwich and fellow Book Folks author Ian Robinson).

To feed the conversation, each of us selected a facet of writing to talk about and I chose the way…

Book Review - Nothing But Smiles by Linda Hagan (published by The Book Folks)

A truly enjoyable novel which sees Linda Hagan returning to Belfast for the seventh book in her popular Northern Irish crime series.

Characterised by the author’s customary economical style…

This event may interest

Castle Douglas Community Centre

Love Crime Fiction?

Curious how those plots are plotted?

Join us at an informal workshop

Exploring how crime novels take shape and

doing some plotting of our own

Thursday September 14^th…

Inkers, a long-established collection of writers of which I am a founding member and who gather fortnightly in person at the Friends’ Meeting House in Darlington, as well as online, have published their latest anthology.

A Thread of Raindrops and Other Stories contains short stories in various genres, many of them featuring a satisfying…

I have mused in previous blogs about the role played by detail in writing and, as my latest DCI Jack Harris novel passes 25,000 words (authors are great ones for milestones!), I have yet again been reminded of the part it can play in plot development.

During the writing process on the book, I had written various short scenes and fleeting…

As is the case with most, probably all, authors from time to time, I recently reached an impasse with my writing. Work on the new DCI Jack Harris crime novel had been going well and I knew what I wanted to happen in chapter twelve but, for some reason, found myself struggling to bring it all together.

As so often, the answer was provided by my…

Book Review Murder by the Seaside by Jackie Baldwin (Storm Publishing)

As with all Jackie Baldwin’s crime novels, her latest book shows her innate understanding of the importance of secrets in telling a story that holds the reader’s attention from the first page to the last.

Murder by the Seaside…

I am looking forward to meeting up again with fellow crime writers Jackie Baldwin, Ian Robinson and Ann Bloxwich for a special event entitled Walking on the Darker Side at the first ever Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival in the Dumfries and Galloway town.

Introduced and chaired by myself, the event will sees us exploring some of the main themes…

Book Review

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

The opening pages of this novel tell you everything you need to know about David Pearson as an author, that he is supremely confident in the way that he handles the task of crime writing. The story begins at Christmas when nothing is happening and few people…

As you may know if you have read my recent blogs, I am at work on the latest DCI Jack Harris crime novel for my publisher The Book Folks.

A number of readers who follow the series have told me that they look forward to meeting the members of the regular ‘cast’ but it is crucial that I, as the author, put as much effort into creating new…