Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
May has seen a swift change of hats from thriller writer to archaeologist and traveller. And then back again. Quite literally, as my trusty leather packer hat is an essential piece of kit for two weeks in the sun. It folds into a suitcase and is tough enough to be thrown onto the dusty ground... Continue Reading →
The Jeffrey Flint archaeology mystery series has a new home. Joffe books acquired Lume Books in April 2023, including its backlists. The Flint e-books remain available through Amazon, including as a box set of all five. Joffe Books Website
Winter keeps up its stubborn rear-guard action, but at least dismal February is done with. All three of my personas have been distracted during the cold months. Normal life stopped for Christmas, then stopped again for my second helping of covid. Essential family commitments ate up much of January and February, squeezing my writing time.... Continue Reading →
All too often, angst-ridden writers post about how they have lost or messed up their work in progress. Surprisingly this includes traditionally published authors with many books behind them; laptops are stolen, manuscripts are corrupted or deleted in their entirety. The writer’s biggest crisis is losing an entire book – the modern equivalent of leaving... Continue Reading →
Plenty of bloggers have by now reported on the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival that took place in Harrogate at the end of July. The huge airy marquee gave it a different feel to pre-pandemic years, but the panels were as engaging as ever. One idea stuck with me; the difference between being a... Continue Reading →
‘Department Z? That sounds very mysterious.’ ‘Intelligence section,’ Parker said. ‘We identify threats and hunt down traitors.’ ‘Traitors? And what happens to them?’ Although Blackshirt Masquerade is fiction, Department Z really existed. The British Union of Fascists was established in late 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley and grew rapidly in both support and ambition over... Continue Reading →
As many authors do, I write many drafts of my books. Partly this comes from the early years in which I had very little time to write, and fitting writing into irregular time slots resulted in untidy early drafts. Draft 4 is what I call my Continuity Edit. I have a story with a beginning,... Continue Reading →
'Thriller Writer, Archaeologist and Traveller' it says at the head of the website, and that was the plan at the end of 2019. Then guess what happened to spoil everyone's year... and the one after that too. Never one to be in fashion, it wasn't until the second anniversary of lockdown that I went down... Continue Reading →
Yes Crimefest is back! After having been cancelled twice due to covid, a big question mark hung over the Bristol crime extravaganza’s future. Many attendees rolled our 2020 tickets over to keep supporting the team, and Specsavers stepped in to ensure it could go ahead this year. Attending three days of panels, choosing between two... Continue Reading →
I was pleased by Windy Tree’s five-star review of Blackshirt Masquerade, which catches the essence of what I intended to write. “I liked this a lot...it was a pleasure to read...I have seen it listed as a 'historical mystery' elsewhere, and it certainly is historical, with espionage (MI5) and a good dash of detectiveness thrown... Continue Reading →