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 →
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 →
The First World War was a century ago, which is as far in the past as the American Civil War was when I was at school. Nobody who fought in it is still alive and it is harder for the modern generation to understand than the Second World War. Countless films, books and TV series... Continue Reading →
So I’m trying something different, a Twitter Campaign. Mostly it is to test the water, see how effective it is. After all if the Russians can change the result of elections by mass tweeting, there must be some power in social media. Although it was my sixth novel Glint of Light on Broken Glass was... Continue Reading →
January is a hectic time at Guernsey Museum, as we turn around all the temporary exhibition spaces in three weeks. For me it means checking and proofing all the wall text, and numerous press releases. New Year's Day is also when I like to pitch into the new book - NRT in the case of... Continue Reading →
Whilst selling my books at a Winter Fayre this weekend I tweeted “I sometimes feel I’m too English for this”. I’m no shrinking violet, but when I first came into writing I felt uncomfortable pumping up my own books (and hence, myself). I didn’t have the ego to say “my books are great, buy ‘em”,... Continue Reading →
It was close to home in more ways than one. I’m not on the organising Committee, but our Castle hosted some Literary Festival events and I had three slots to participate in, so it was a busy few days preceded by a week of preparation around the ‘day job’. The fun began with a reception... Continue Reading →
This has to be the best literary festival in the land (if you count the tiny island of Alderney as 'in the land'). Its cosy, its intimate and its focus is firmly on history: historical fiction, biography and non-fiction. As the speaker's room at the Island hall only accommodates an audience of 50, there were... Continue Reading →
'Artie, could you kill a German?’ ‘Course, easy.’ ‘No, but really kill him if he was standing just over there?...’ George challenges his brother as Glint of Light on Broken Glass enters the summer of 1917, with the Great War at its height and no sign of it ending. Artie’s reply is off-the-cuff, the stock... Continue Reading →
How many times have I been watching a film and two-thirds the way through thought 'finish it now!'. Likewise when reading books, a point often comes where I feel the author is spinning the story out, or we are anticipating the denouement so why another red herring? Some books feel simply too long at this point. I... Continue Reading →