MURDER AT THE PALACE, the first of my Mrs Lydia Bramble cosy mysteries was published on 13th March 2025 by Orion Fiction. Set in the ‘grace & favour’ apartments of Hampton Court Palace in 1891, I’m proud to say that it is endorsed by Historic Royal Palaces. It is available to buy here and can be ordered from any online or physical bookshop.
The first of my Kember and Hayes mysteries, A QUIET PLACE TO KILL, was published by Thomas and Mercer (Amazon Publishing crime imprint) on 1st September 2021, followed by A SILENT WAY TO DIE on 26th April 2022 and A PERFECT TIME TO MURDER on 22nd February 2023. All three are available to buy here and can be ordered from any online or physical bookshop.
If you can stand to watch and hear me waffle on about books and writing, my UK Crime Book Club chat with Caroline Maston (2022) and Unusual Sleuths panel with Karen Huxtable, Hannah Hendy and Kat Ailes (2023) are still available by clicking on the links below. Also, you can check my events page for details of where I shall be either appearing or just attending.
Having won over an agent who then worked hard to find me a publishing deal, my goal of becoming a published author of historical crime novels has been realised. I took the plunge in 2018 to join the Three Month London-based Creative Writing Course with Curtis Brown Creative, taught by Charlotte Mendelson, which not only gave me a supportive group of like-minded scribes but also the confidence to enter the 2019 Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award where I achieved Highly Commended. My elation then doubled when Nelle Andrew, now of the Rachel Mills Literary agency, offered me representation!
Hooking an agent is only ever half the battle and I still believe in Anita Shreve’s assertion that “The only difference between a published writer and an unpublished writer is the published writer never gave up.” Stephen King in his book On Writing said, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” It’s true, the hard work never stops.
I do hope you enjoy your visit here and I thank you for dropping by.
Neil