Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
The Alderney Literary Festival was the first on my calendar this year and lived up to its usual high standards. It has special attractions, not the least in that it is organised by some lovely people on the very special island of Alderney. It also has a unique focus on historical novels, biography and historical... Continue Reading →
Peter Le Vasseur's Painting Treasure Trove was completed in 2021, just in time to be included as the frontispiece for A Brush With Life. It is a complex work with a simple message. A logger peers into a hole he has created in the rainforest canopy and for the first time recognises the diversity of... Continue Reading →
Most authors writing the biography of an artist have a straightforward task. The artworks are complete, and any meaning or symbolism embedded in art is fixed. It is slightly more complex if the artist is still alive and still producing new works, but a line can still be drawn. Time Limit (1979) Peter Le Vasseur... Continue Reading →
Blackshirt Masquerade is historical fiction, so required a fair amount of research before it could be plotted, and then top-up research whilst drafts were in progress. It is set in 1935 when Hugh Clifton is persuaded by MI5 to infiltrate Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists. Much of the action and intrigue takes place... 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 →
When writing non-fiction, or indeed historical fiction, the temptation is to cram as much of your research as possible into the book. Firm discipline needs to be applied to fiction as you are not writing a textbook and explicit information-dumping must be avoided. In non-fiction the need for such discipline may relax because you are... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →