Just recently, I’ve been thinking about femme fatales. Not through any personal desire, you understand, but merely in a writing context. Femme fatale (“that’s yer actual French,” as Delboy might say) translates as “fatal woman”, which is quite a burden to carry if you think about it. Of course, the femme fatale is a staple…
There have been many great books written about and around war. Take Grahame Greene’s Our Man in Havana, the 18th of his 27 books, which is set in Cuba during the Cold War and which pastiches many of the spy novels of the time and lampoons both British and American spy agencies. Another of his…
I have been a fan of Burnley FC since February 1964, when a mate invited me up to White Hart Lane to see his favourite team play. I had never been too interested in professional football, preferring the kick-arounds we had down the local park and out on the Butts. But I went with him,…
When my first book was rolling round my head, I knew immediately what it would be called. After all, the fictional town of Bakerton had been my first inspiration, closely followed by its enigmatic and unorthodox sheriff, even before the crux of a plot ever developed. But this got me to thinking: had other authors…
I have been working with words since I started my apprenticeship as a proof-reader/compositor at the age of sixteen. That was a little over a month after England had won the World Cup! In the intervening years, I have learnt about many people who have shaped the history of the printed word – people like…
After receiving the book proof of Thurlow Junction, my mind wandered to a quote in it that I am particularly proud of. While chasing the baddie in his beloved MX5, Sheriff Withers contemplates turning on his CD of Django tunes. But: “He needed to concentrate, not be wafted away into some dark, smoky French jazz…
I find that one of the most enjoyable parts of writing a novel is the creation of the characters’ names. Take, for instance, Mr Sumo, my villain in Thurlow Junction. As I make clear: “He wasn’t Japanese. And he wasn’t a wrestler. But Mr Sumo was a very large man. And a very strong one.”…
I’d like to share with you a couple of reviews we got for Bakerton: “This book is a great read! There are lots of twists and turns to the storyline which keeps your intrigue in the novel to the end.” “An absolutely exciting novel … can’t wait for the next one.” All very satisfying, of…
