Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
Guernsey-based distributor Blue Ormer are now carrying stock of books written or edited by me about Guernsey, plus some to which I'm an editor or contributor. Most were previously difficult to obtain off-island barring occasional re-sellers on Amazon. The address for Blue Ormer's Guernsey history page is here. Discover more The Story of Guernsey in... Continue Reading →
It was a busy week in Guernsey. A Brush With Life - the Art of Peter le Vasseur was published in the UK at the end of July by Lutterworth Press. It had already been available for pre-order on Amazon but we decided to initially play it low key in Peter's home island of Guernsey... Continue Reading →
Peter le Vasseur's pictures can at first glance appear to be beautiful nature pictures. Look again, look closely and you can find detail that adds meaning to the work, sometimes indeed its title. This has been part of the fun of working with Peter and writing A Brush With Life. Picture 010 deer 5.tif The... Continue Reading →
Back in 2019 I was surprised and flattered when Guernsey-based artist Peter Le Vasseur asked me to write a book about his life and work. It has been a rewarding exercise but did not follow the path expected at the outset. Firstly, I left Guernsey to live in England at the end of that year.... 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 →