Author of the Kember & Hayes mysteries
Sitting at the Capital Crime book signing table in 2022, I spotted book blogger Donna Morfett’s pink hair well before she approached and said, ‘I’ve got you on my radar.’ Little did I know that five months later I would be appearing on a panel at her one-day literary festival:… Read more“The Darkside of Brighton”
“Nothing will work unless you do.” Maya Angelou I’ve dreamt of being an author since my schooldays but my family tree is littered with agricultural labourers, foundry workers and cannon fodder. My background is working class and I remember hiding behind the settee with Mum and Dad to avoid the… Read more“Motivation and the Literature Mine”
Given the popularity of crime novels, it’s almost criminal in itself that it took so long for such a large catchment area as Medway to have its own major crime writing festival. Last Saturday’s inaugural Murderous Medway, under the Rochester Literature Festival banner, finally put that right. Five panels brought together… Read more“MURDEROUS MEDWAY”
I first received advice to write what you know while in school and thought it made perfect sense. After all, Ian Fleming had been in Naval Intelligence and John le Carré in both MI5 and MI6 before writing their spy novels, whilst Alistair MacLean had been in the Royal Navy… Read more“Write What You Know (just don’t kill anyone)”
Writers achieving ‘overnight success’ usually have back stories telling of failed novels, lost competitions and mounds of rejection slips, illustrating years of hard work and perseverance. Drawing on their personal experiences, they recommend entering competitions and submitting articles to many publications. Decades ago, this was not the advice my… Read more“Staying the Course to Overnight Success”
Having listened last Friday to the talented Lisa Cutts, William Shaw and Simon Booker discuss crime writing at the Faversham Literary Festival, I was reminded of Stephen King’s words, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a… Read more“Writing Festivals – It’s A Crime Not To”
An old school friend reminded me that a love of books is often forged very early in life. He mentioned Miss Brade from Kingsley Junior School who sat on her desk at the front of the class and read some enthralling books. This jogged my memory about another, Miss Richardson,… Read more“Books in the Blood”
This being my first ever blog post, I thought I’d share how I became interested in writing. It is said that everyone has a book in them but I’m not sure that’s true. Not everyone has either the inclination to complete the thousands of words necessary or the ability to… Read more“The Legacy of a Good English Teacher”