Blog post index

Dogs’ lives are too short.  Their only fault, really. This poignant saying, attributed to American novelist Agnes Sligh Turnbull, was written on a card sent to me by a dear friend when our much loved rescue Dalmatian, Duke, died. He came to us when he was seven years old, from the wonderful people at British … Continue reading A dog’s only fault … or is it?

“Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.” John Lennon click here for buy link The proof is in the eating – or in my case, on my bookshelves. I’m super  excited today because I have just hit ‘publish’ on the print edition of my short story collection, Selling My Grandmother. There … Continue reading Selling My Grandmother. My short story collection is finally launched

I always enjoy it when I find a new to me author and when that author is in my own genre, that makes me even happier.  I recently discovered Anna Penrose’s murder mystery, The Body in the Wall which I enjoyed very much indeed. Me Welcome to my blog, Anna, and thank you for agreeing … Continue reading Where does crime writer Anna Penrose get her ideas from? (and a little rant from me!)

In my Idea Store column in the current issue of Writers’ Forum, I’m talking about The Butterfly Effect, which is (in an over-simplified form) how something that seems small and inconsequential at the time can sometimes have huge and unforeseen consequences. Here, as promised in the article is my short story, The Butterfly Effect, which … Continue reading Short Story. The Butterfly Effect

I am delighted to welcome author Val Penny back to my blog this week.  I first met Val when I joined the community of Crooked Cat authors (now Darkstroke) back in 2018.  (And I first interviewed her for my blog here.) Crooked Cat/Darkstroke was (and still is) a great community of supportive and knowledgeable authors … Continue reading An interview with crime author Val Penny

I am delighted to welcome David Gatward to my blog this week.  I recently featured him in my Idea Store column in Writers’ Forum and I was anxious to find out more about this author whose output has left me full of admiration, both for its quantity and quality. I was first attracted to David’s … Continue reading Where does crime writer David J Gatward get his ideas?

In the current issue of Writers’ Forum, I am writing about how I got the idea for one of my short stories and promised that the story in question, Good at Saying Goodbye, would be on my blog. So, here it is.  And if you have taken the trouble to come here after reading my … Continue reading Short story. Good at Saying Goodbye.

It’s always a delight to hear from readers and recently a lovely lady called Gilly Metcalfe wrote to me to say how much she enjoyed my Idea Store column in Writers’ Forum, particularly the one where I was talking about how my family have inspired so many of my short stories. “I have so many … Continue reading A reader’s special memories – and my short story OUT OF BALANCE

I am delighted to welcome one of my favourite authors to my blog this week. I discovered crime writer JD Kirk thanks to the great Facebook group that I’m always mentioning – The UK Crime Book Club.  I joined a few years ago now when the numbers were in the low hundreds and there are … Continue reading Where does JD Kirk get his ideas from?

On this weekend just before Valentine’s Day, it’s quite appropriate that I should be writing about what Shakespeare described as ‘The Food of Love”.  I’m talking about music, of course. Music has always played a very important part in my life.  I think I was born singing – although I fancy my mother probably had … Continue reading The Day The Music Died – a short story and a painful memory

I am thrilled to welcome contemporary romance author Nina Kaye to my blog this week.  I recently read Nina’s novel, Take a Moment and loved it.  But before we get into the interview I’m going to copy my Amazon review of her book so that you can see what I’m talking about. This is a … Continue reading Where does contemporary romance author Nina Kaye get her ideas from?

First, I have to start with an apology.  To you, my readers who are no doubt waiting anxiously for my latest blog post.  Or maybe not. (;-) But most of all, I owe an apology to this week’s featured guest. I interviewed Morwenna Blackwood in my Idea Store column in Writers’ Forum a couple of … Continue reading Where does author Morwenna Blackwood get her ideas from? (edited)

I’m delighted to welcome romantic suspense author, Morton S Gray to my blog this week. I featured her recently in my Ideas Store column in Writers’ Forum because I had recently read and enjoyed The Truth Lies Buried with its engaging characters, lovely setting and a great storyline.  I was intrigued to find out where … Continue reading Where does romantic suspense author Morton S Gray get her ideas from?

I have recently typed two of my favourite words.  The End.  I have finally finished the fourth book in my Much Winchmoor Mysteries. Of course, it isn’t the end of the process but merely the end of the beginning as it is now with my publisher.  And ahead of me (always assuming they decide they … Continue reading Endings, Beginnings – and waiting for my homework to be marked.

I’m delighted to welcome to my blog this week Bill Todd, author of the Danny Lancaster series of crime thrillers. I came across Bill as one of the contributors to the anthology Criminal Shorts which I have featured in previous blog posts.  I was interested in featuring him in my Ideas Store column in Writers’ … Continue reading Where does crime thriller author Bill Todd get his ideas from?

You know that moment when you read a book and think “This one’s a winner”?  It’s always exciting but even more so when the book you’re reading is a debut novel.  It sends a tingle up your spine, doesn’t it? Well, I had one such spine tingling moment recently when I picked up Trevor Wood’s … Continue reading Where does Trevor Wood, multi-award winning author of gritty crime thrillers, get his ideas from?

I am delighted to welcome to my blog this week Nathan Dylan Goodwin, author of the Forensic Genealogist series of mysteries. I am not very keen on television programmes that feature ‘celebrities’ but the one I make an exception for is Who Do You Think You Are? where a series of experts help celebrities to … Continue reading Where does Nathan Dylan Goodwin, author of the Forensic Genealogist series, get his ideas?

This is the second post featuring some of the authors who contributed to the Criminal Shorts anthology I talked about in my last post. It can be found here. Towards the end of 2020 I was delighted to be included in this anthology which was collated by one of my favourite Facebook groups and sold … Continue reading Where do these talented Criminal Shorts authors get their ideas from? Part 2.

Towards the end of 2020 I was delighted to be included in an anthology collated by one of my favourite Facebook groups and sold in aid of a very special charity. UK Crime Book Club is a thriving, well run book club on Facebook with a great mix of authors and readers. (As I write … Continue reading Where do these talented Criminal Shorts authors get their ideas from?

I hope you’ll forgive me for indulging in a bit of nostalgia this week. (Correction: a lot of nostalgia) But in my column, Ideas Store, in the current issue of Writers’ Forum, I am writing about the house I grew up in and how it inspired my sister and I to make up stories (usually … Continue reading A meander down Memory Lane and a short ghost story, The Blue Lady (edited)

I’m delighted to welcome one of my favourite crime authors to my blog today.  I featured David in the March issue of Writers’ Forum but  the 800 words I am allowed for my column are just not enough to do justice to this prolific and highly successful author. Me Welcome to my blog, David.  Let’s … Continue reading Where does crime writer David Robinson get his ideas ?

2020 has been what I’ve seen described as a ‘train wreck’ of a year and one in which, for the first time ever  in my writing career, my writing mojo completely deserted me and the fourth book in my Much Winchmoor series which had been galloping along at a cracking pace slithered to an ungainly … Continue reading What’s in a title? A Much Winchmoor update – and the Covid ‘culture shock’

It is my great pleasure to welcome historical novelist Sally Zigmond to my blog this week.  I featured Sally in my Ideas Store column in the December 2020 Issue of Writers’ Forum magazine in which I asked her where she got the idea for her novel, The Lark Ascending, which I had recently read and … Continue reading Where does historical novelist Sally Zigmond get her ideas?

I am delighted to welcome to my blog psychological thriller writer, Charlie Tyler whose debut novel, The Cry of the Lake, was published earlier this year. Here’s the book’s blurb A gruesome discovery unravels a dark trail of murder and madness A six-year-old girl sneaks out of bed to capture a mermaid but instead discovers … Continue reading Where does psychological thriller writer Charlie Tyler get her ideas from?

It gives me great pleasure to welcome historical novelist Kate Braithwaite to my blog this week. I don’t often read historical novels but during a blitz on my Kindle app the other day I found Kate’s Road to Newgate that had been languishing there for far too long. I moved it to the top of … Continue reading Where does historical novelist Kate Braithwaite get her ideas from?

When I was searching around for something to write about in my column in the current issue of Writers’ Forum, I turned to my often used source for inspiration, my old notebooks. I have kept journals, diaries and notebooks most of my life.  Many of the earlier ones were thrown away but one of the … Continue reading Paradise Revisited – one of my favourite short stories

I am now well in to Book 4 of my Much Winchmoor Mysteries.  It’s going pretty well and I’m having so much fun catching up with all the old characters and mixing them up with a few new ones. I have the murder method, the murderer, the victim and, of course, an entire shoal of … Continue reading The Trouble with Titles (or ‘I’ll Know It When I See It’)

It’s a great pleasure to welcome fellow crime writer, Robert Crouch, to my blog this week.  I first ‘met’ Robert on the UK Crime Book Club on Facebook.  This is a brilliant group (link here) whose almost 11,000 members include a mix of readers and writers, including some very well known crime writers.   The … Continue reading Where does crime writer Robert Crouch get his ideas?

Have you ever read a review for a book that’s not your usual choice of genre, but tried it on the strength of a review?  I did that recently when I read a review of Audrey Davis’s book, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings. I don’t usually read books with anything remotely ‘supernatural’ in the title, … Continue reading Where does author Audrey Davis get her ideas from?