The Crime Readers’ Association (CRA) is seeking to expand its membership to help more people to celebrate the hugely popular genre.

Established by the Crime Writers’ Association, the CRA provides readers with information on their favourite authors plus a whole host of articles offering insights and handy hints for new writers who are learning…

I have just started work on my latest crime novel for the good people at The Book Folks and have spent quite a bit of time working through the plot. At the heart of the process has been a concentration on conflict because it is conflict that will drive the story.

But why is conflict so important in writing? Because stories need things to happen and that usually comes out of conflict - characters argue, fight, feud etc. Two people having a chat in which they agree with each other can…

Dead Hill, the first DCI Jack Harris crime novel published by The Book Folks, has reached a hundred reviews/ratings on Amazon. Thank you to everyone who took the time to pen something.

You can find out more, and buy the book, at…

I have been working with a number of new writers over recent months and to be exposed to their creativity, enthusiasm and burning desire to learn their craft has been a joy.

One theme that we keep coming back to is the requirement to ensure that every word is needed. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, all writing is about every word doing its job and with that come numerous pitfalls. Yes, you may have lots to say but in doing so do you distract from the story?

In a number…

How far would powerful men go to protect their darkest secret? Blizzard must find out in this crime novel published by The Book Folks. You can find out more, and buy it, at…

I have always said, somewhat glibly, that I dislike writing and love rewriting. There is an awful lot of truth in the statement and it comes home particularly when I have completed the first draft of a novel, as just happened.

I do derive some satisfaction from the initial writing process but what I really enjoy is the editing, the reworking.…

I was delighted to have taken part in the UK Crime Book Club’s latest online crime fiction festival, which was accessed on the club’s Facebook page over the Bank Holiday Weekend (August 29-31, 2020). Attractions included live panels featuring a range of writers and a series of recorded talks – my contribution was a short talk exploring how writers…

I have been working steadily throughout lockdown, both on producing the latest DCI Jack Harris novel for those excellent people at The Book Folks (41,000 words written since you ask) but also running a lot of online writing courses to help inspire and guide inexperienced writers during these tough times.

The courses have dealt with crime…

I am delighted to have contributed some thoughts to the Crime Writers' Association writing tips section for debut writers, on the theme of standing in your character's shoes.

You can read it at…

I was asked in an interview the other day for my golden rules for new writers. I replied: “Write something every day because you cannot be a writer if you do not write – it may not always be brilliant but at least you’ve done it.” It's advice that my good friend the children's writer Mike Watson lives by. I suspect that many authors do the same.

I also said that they should not write for themselves. Always write for the reader. Think what the reader needs to understand your…

As I have said in previous blogs, you can create the most remarkable writing but you cannot make your stories live unless you have vivid characters. And that includes being prepared to let minor characters develop into someone more important.

That is happening to me (and not for the first time) as I write the latest DCI Jack Harris crime novel for those good people at The Book Folks.

The character in question did not even figure in my planning of the novel nor, as I reached…

Delighted to say that the latest in the DCI John Blizzard series published by The Book Folks is attracting some encouraging reviews on Amazon. I am very grateful.

In The Latch Man, Doris Hornsby, the bed-bound matriarch of a notorious criminal family, calls in the police after she sees an intruder in her room. Blizzard attends in person,…

The use of words is something dear to all our hearts as writers. They are the tools of our trade and we wield them with care.

That means that every word should earn the right to be on the page and that authors should be forensic in the examination of what they write, even if it means that some words slip from our usage or at least appear much less frequently. For example, I became aware some years ago that there were some words I used too often in my writing - ‘murmured’ and…

I am pleased to say that I have been running a number of online creative writing courses during lockdown and continuing into the more relaxed situation, both for individuals and groups, some focusing on crime fiction, others looking at more general fiction, both short stories and novels.

Some exciting work is being produced by those taking part,…

As a writer, I have always been interested in triggers, the images, concepts, places, people, utterances that evoke reactions in your reader.

That reaction will often be based on something the reader has actually experienced, or maybe something that they dread ever having to experience. It is why crime, horror and ghost stories work so well.

I am thinking about this because, in writing the latest Harris novel, I found myself stuck at the start of what felt like it should be an…

As you may know from my previous blogs, I am fascinated by the way that stories evolve during the writing process, which can provide the author with a balancing act between the need to plan and the requirement to let the story develop organically.

I am being given a striking example of that the more I write of my latest novel (26,000 words in).

Like many/most/all novelists, I always plan before starting to write a new book, a process which can take several weeks as I explore…

The Crime Writers' Association has published the longlist for its 2020 Dagger awards for the best in crime writing. Some great authors are included and you can read the details here…

As you may know from my blogs, sense of place is important to me as a writer and I have explored the subject in an article written for the excellent TripFiction website, which helps readers to find out more about the areas that inspire authors.

My article examines the importance to me of the North Pennines, which play such a key role in the DCI…

Writing is a hugely complex craft requiring the author to master a wide range of techniques, everything from character point of view to getting the pace right, ensuring that he or she has the grammar correct to creating dialogue that sounds like real people speaking.

However, I believe that at its heart are a small number of golden rules, out of…

Delighted to say that The Book Folks have published the latest in the DCI John Blizzard series.

In The Latch Man, Doris Hornsby, the bed-bound matriarch of a notorious criminal family, calls in the police after she sees an intruder in her room. Blizzard attends in person, bemused that a woman who has spent her life evading the law, now seeks…