Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
'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 →
In a recent debate on a writers' forum the question was asked whether you had to actually have visited a place to use it as a setting for a novel. My answer to this is both yes and no. YES if the place is well known, such as London, and many of your readers are... Continue Reading →
It was Scotty's iconic line from Star Trek, which of course broke the laws of physics every episode. This goes beyond Sci-Fi though and into the world of thrillers and adventure, whether books, TV or films. The special effects geek in 'When the Dust Settles' explains to Maddy that if a film director wants a man thrown... Continue Reading →
In a previous blog I asked "Tell me something I don't know". Glint of Light on Broken Glass is a historical novel - I hope people will learn things by reading it, but it is not a textbook. I have made stuff up. What? You might ask. Let's backtrack a few years when I started the... Continue Reading →
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” says Gordon Gekko in ‘Wall Street’. I’m rather like that when choosing a novel. I used to like science fiction because it was not us/here/now, and dislike kitchen sink dramas for the same reason. I know what it’s like to struggle in a grim northern town, I don’t... Continue Reading →
Most of the locations I used for Glint of Light on Broken Glass still exist. The sun still sets over Cobo and can be enjoyed from the terrace at the Rockmount, but no longer from the Cobo Arms, which is long gone. A visitor to the Castel Church can see the statue-menhir I have called the Gràn’mère, the... Continue Reading →
The novel is finished. 'Glint of Light on Broken Glass' is my first historical novel, although my editor reached the half-way point still expecting a body to turn up. It began life as an unpublished short story way back in 1990 called 'A Ghost in my Eye'. During the First World War, a crippled boy drops... Continue Reading →
"Don't judge a book by its cover" is a widely ignored cliché, as many book buyers do just that. In general the advice is (1) ensure the book looks like the kind of book it is supposed to be and (2) in the modern age make sure it works as a website thumbnail. My publishers... Continue Reading →
There have been over 100 novels set on the island of Guernsey. Most of them miss one of the key features of the island - its language. They are written for the main part by off-islanders, from Britain or most famously from America. Any novel set before 1950 must however confront the question of what... Continue Reading →