I am delighted that my good friend Ian Robinson has joined the Book Folks stable of writers with the first in a new murder mystery series.

Latent Damage follows a London murder squad, and, in particular, Met detectives DI Nash and DS Moretti who are hoping for some down-time when a fatal knife attack occurs.

The kill is clean. A calling…

There’s a continuing debate in writing circles about ‘how long is long enough’ when it comes to novels. For instance, some of my novels are reviewed by readers who say they have too much detail whereas some others review the same book with the observation that there’s not enough.

Most authors receive similar reviews and you’ll sometimes hear…

The Crime Writers’ Association has announced a new sponsor for its annual international writing competition for unpublished writers.…

Delighted to hear that the latest crime novel from my good friend Bud Craig has been published by The Book Folks. Stealing Time is the latest run-out for his private investigator Gus Keane. Much to be recommended. You can find out more, and purchase the book on Kindle or in paperback, at  …

The number of reviews and ratings on Amazon for my twentieth crime novel is now well over 120. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.

Kill Shot (The Book Folks) plunges DCI Jack Harris into a scenario where what appears to be a local murder not only challenges his view of an old friendship but also turns out to have national and…

Having recently delivered the manuscript of my latest DCI John Blizzard crime novel to the guys at my excellent publisher The Book Folks (No Age to Die has now been published), my attention has turned to the next DCI Jack Harris mystery.

It’s always an enjoyable moment for an author, not least because having spent many hours editing their…

I am really looking forward to joining fellow crime writers Jackie Baldwin and Ian Patrick as part of the Tall Tales Mysteries virtual murder mystery weekend on January 22-24.

You will have the chance to meet us on Zoom from 4pm until 5.30pm on Saturday January 23 when you can hear us talking about our work and answering questions. I’ll be…

As a writer, a lot of my time is taken up with the creation of characters who engage the reader. I think the key to getting it right is to create someone about whom the reader cares; the reader does not necessarily have to like them, but they should care about what happens to them.

If you place a character about whom the reader has no feelings in a dangerous situation, the reader won’t be that bothered if they survive or not. Make the character one that they care about and they won’t…

In a recent blog, I wrote about how I am always interested in what triggers a new character for a writer. When and how do they burst into life?

I am thinking of this once again because I have been working on the latest DCI John Blizzard novel for the Book Folks and, although some of my regulars appear, I needed some new characters as well, preferably trailing behind them a new plotline!

For me, characters often start out with the jobs I need them to do within the story. They…

A reminder that The Debut Dagger competition for new crime writers, which is run as part of the UK-based Crime Writers’ Association’s annual Dagger awards, is open for entries until February 26, 2021.

It’s a brilliant opportunity for writers seeking to break into the genre and you can find out more at…

Many libraries are struggling during the pandemic restrictions, so it's more appropriate than ever that the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) should champion them through its annual award, the Dagger in the Library.

The world-famous CWA Daggers have been synonymous with quality crime writing for more than half a century. Only library staff can…

Delighted to say that there are plenty of decent reviews and ratings coming in on Amazon for my twentieth crime novel to be published. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.

Kill Shot (The Book Folks) plunges DCI Jack Harris into a scenario where what appears to be a local murder not only challenges his view of an old friendship but also…

I am preparing to carry out the final edits on my latest DCI John Blizzard crime novel before sending it to those fine people at my publisher The Book Folks in the New Year - and that means taking as objective a view as I can manage of what I have written.

But what exactly does that mean? Well, for all authors, it means comparing what they have…

I have written before about my fascination with the way that characters evolve during the writing process. For me, when they are revealing things about themselves which you as the writer had not planned, that is when you know that writing is truly working. That your characters have made the transition from cardboard cut-out to real human being.

I am being given a striking example of that the more I work on the latest DCI John Blizzard novel for The Book Folks.

Major characters…

Author Alan McClure, who is based in Dumfries and Galloway, has launched a new youtube channel called Tales fae the Shed, on which he is posting weekly stories and sketches. Well worth checking out at…

Writing a novel is a big undertaking and one that will take up many, many hours so how do you know that it’s going to be worth all that effort? How do you know that the idea ‘has legs’? That you are not going to reach the end and have produced something that does not quite work?

For me, it’s simple. If you have an idea that only mildly occupies…

Delighted to say that there are plenty of decent reviews and ratings coming in on Amazon for my twentieth crime novel to be published. Thank you to all who took the time to give feedback, it is much appreciated.

Kill Shot (The Book Folks) plunges DCI Jack Harris into a scenario where what appears to be a local murder not only challenges his…

Delighted to say that a couple of the older DCI Jack Harris novels published by the Book Folks - Dead Hill and The Vixen's Scream - are enjoying a new lease of life in the Canadian Amazon Kindle British Detectives bestsellers chart - there are some brilliant writers in the top 100 and you can check out the chart at …

As a writer, I find that that it sometimes helps to liken the craft of plotting to completing a jigsaw, in that it’s all about slotting together many disparate pieces.

This thought came to mind as I worked to…

This is a subject I have broached in previous blogs but I feel that it is always worth returning to. As you may know, I teach writers both online and in person (they were the days!) and one of the things I focus on is my golden rules of writing.

This has come to mind again because I am running an online course at the moment and they form part…