Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
‘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 →
Festival organiser Isabel Picornell, Jason Monaghan and Paul McCormick of Gower Financial Services who sponsored Jason's talk (Lucie Stribrska) It's back! Alderney's small but perfectly formed Literary Festival returned after a two year absence due to covid. What makes the event special is that it concentrates on historical fiction and non-fiction, achieving a satisfying coherence.... Continue Reading →
It's launch week for Blackshirt Masquerade, which has entailed a flurry of social media posts, blogging and cross-sharing. A key part of the launch was giving a talk at the Alderney Literary Festival entitled 'Was British Fascism Doomed to Fail?' Given that Hugh Clifton's undercover work aims to thwart the fascists, his success seems pre-ordained... Continue Reading →
Announcement of publishing deal for 'A Brush With Life'
It felt like a return to normality, a real live crime writing conference with actual live authors. Zoom conferences never did it for me – I’d quickly drift off, or busy myself doing something else whilst my camera was off. This July saw the welcome return of the Theakeston’s Crime Writing Festival at the Old... Continue Reading →
Autumn is approaching in Britain. From my balcony this week I’ve noticed the trees browning day by day, and leaves starting to accumulate on lawns. It seems an opportune moment to share an image of Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness by Guernsey artist Peter Le Vasseur. It was part of a series of 20... Continue Reading →
‘It’s like yelling into an empty cave,’ is one of my character’s opinion of blogging. To some extent, my character is right. One of my friends stopped writing her very well informed and amusing movie blog because nobody read it. ‘And I mean, literally, nobody,’ she said. Writers can struggle to find enough hours in... Continue Reading →