Chris Longmuir on research for historical fiction - A Dangerous Destiny?

I’m delighted to welcome crime writer to the blog. I was entranced by Chris’s ‘The Death Game’ where I first met Kirsty Campbell so I had to know more. Chris won the Scottish Association of Writers’ Pitlochry Award for two of her contemporary thrillers in the Dundee Crime Series. One of these books, ‘Dead Wood’, […]

Book reading in Lockdown 2021 – Jan/Feb

Writing is going along steadily, but slowly. I’ve written a 5,000 word short story as a prequel to Double Identity which will become exclusive to newsletter subscribers. The draft of my next full-length thriller stands at just over 40,000 words, so about halfway. But in the lockdown I’ve been reading like a demon. That’s […]

2020 – Books I read and enjoyed

This is not a beauty contest or a selection. The list below contains just books I’ve read this year because I wanted to. Some made me catch my breath, others made me weep with joy or sorrow and others appalled me. But they all enthralled me.

I’m not mentioning those I read or part-read […]

Antoine Vanner: Writing about a female protagonist – a challenge for a male novelist?

I’m delighted to welcome back Antoine Vanner, creator of the Dawlish Chronicles series featuring Royal Navy officer Nicholas Dawlish (1845-1918) and his wife Florence (1855-1946). Nine volumes have been published to date and I’m looking forward to reading more!

Antoine’s own adventurous life, his knowledge of human nature, his passion for nineteenth-century history and understanding […]

E M Powell: How to write a mystery

This week’s guest is the wonderful E M Powell whose historical thriller and medieval mystery Fifth Knight and Stanton & Barling novels have been #1 Amazon and Bild bestsellers. The third Stanton & Barling mystery, ‘The Canterbury Murders’, will be released in November 2020.

Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the […]