• How to escape the scammers’web

    I am delighted to see more and more authors joining literary agents, publishers, booksellers and editors in the campaign through articles on their websites and social media to educate the public about the risks presented by fraudsters at work in the industry. Scammers can be plausible so are difficult to spot and I am sure…

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  • Fancy a spot of murder with your dinner?

    Have you ever fancied sitting down at dinner with a crime writer and exploring the darkest recesses of their murderous imagination over the dessert? A unique event in Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway will offer guests the opportunity to do just that with two best-selling crime writers and one of the most highly respected editors…

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  • The wait is nearly over

    The wait is nearly over

    I am looking forward to Thursday (September 10) because it is Publication Day for the latest crime novel featuring Detective Chief Inspector John Blizzard. The Informer, the 27th of my books to be published by The Book Folks, a Joffe Books imprint, is the 13th featuring Blizzard and is set as usual in the fictional…

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  • Still time to enter competition

    There is still time to enter one of the UK’s biggest writing competitions, which seeks to find the next best-selling crime writer of colour. The aim of the competition, which was established in 2021  by the crime publisher Joffe Books and is now in its sixth year, is to discover and launch talented crime writers…

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  • Essential reading in the battle against the scammers

    The industry we love is being blighted by scammers who adopt the names of authors, agents, editors and publishers in order to con the unwary into helping them to bring about financial benefit for themselves. I have come across several in recent months because, in addition to being a crime writer I also write children’s…

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  • New festival to be staged

    New festival to be staged

    Joffe Books, who I am proud to call my publisher is one of the sponsors of a new entry into the calendar of crime fiction events. Preston Crime Fiction Festival happens in the Lancashire city between September 25 and 27 and will start with moderator Harry Navinski, and fellow authors Guy Hale, Sarah Mellor, Roger…

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  • Writers ready to take the next step

    New Writing North has named the writers who will take part in this year’s ADAPT development programme supporting writers from any creative background to adapt their work for the screen. Three writers in the North East have been selected to receive 1-2-1 script development support, participate in workshops on the fundamentals of screenwriting, story and…

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  • Viva the young crime fiction readers!

    Here’s an optimistic thought for those authors who, quite rightly, worry that a lot of their readers are retired people, and that welcome as they are, they will not be around for ever, and that there are not enough young people reading crime fiction to replace them. Research on the Accio.com website has identified a…

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  • Now who wrote that?

    Now who wrote that?

    As you know if you read my blogs, I have been struggling with ideas for my new Jack Harris novel, which will be the fourteenth {the thirteenth is currently going through editing and is due out in November}. An old idea came back to me, a good one, but I had this nagging feeling that…

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  • Festival programme goes on sale

    The programme for the Durham Book Festival has been revealed and tickets are on sale. The event, which runs between October 9-11, includes Christopher Eccleston, Susanna Clarke, Sophie Irwin, Lucy Foley, Sufiyaan Salam, Neil Tennant, Hollie McNish, James Marriott and many more.Whether you love music and poetry, fantasy and gaming, crime and Regency romance, life…

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