John Dean – Crime Writer

A book written by best-selling novelist John Dean, in which he examines the craft behind fiction, has been published.

In On Writing, John, who is best known for his crime novels, 26 of which have been published, sets out to help emerging writers who are learning their craft and also to give readers an insight into the way writers approach fiction.

In the wide-ranging book, John, who has taught creative writing classes to student of all ages for more than twenty five years, examines everything from the creation of plots, characters and landscapes to writing with pace, beating writers’ block and editing.

He also examines different genres, including crime fiction, fantasy, ghost stories and children’s books, and provides useful information which it comes to approaching publishers and agents as well as preparing manuscripts  for self-publishing.

John, who has lived near Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, for more than eight years, also has strong connections with Darlington, south Durham, where he lived and worked for many years before moving to South West Scotland.

His crime novels are published by The Book Folks, a Joffe Books imprint, most of them in the best-selling DCI John Blizzard and the DCI Jack Harris series. John’s short fiction is published by newly-established Glasgow publisher Tantallon Tir, which aims to showcase the best of fiction written either by Scottish authors or writers living in Scotland.

John said: “I have learnt so much about the art of writing over the years and the more I learned, the more I realised there were so much more still to learn.

“Writers, however experienced or new to writing they may be, are constantly learning how immensely complex the storytelling process is. It may look simple when the final version hits the page but it is a very complicated process and I thought that it was time to share what I have learnt from years of working with publishers, editors and authors.

“My book examines the tools that authors need to master in order to do justice to their ideas.

‘Although much of the book focuses on technical considerations, it does not ignore the creative side of writing and much of it deals with the excitement that comes with new ideas.

“These are a time of great opportunity for authors. The publishing industry has been undergoing changes that are as dramatic as in the days of William Caxton and I have never seen such exciting times as those we are currently experiencing.

“The introduction of ebooks, print-on-demand and accessible audiobook technology, as well as online retail sites like Amazon, has acted as a catalyst, with the result that new publishing houses are springing up at an astonishing rate in many genres, small ones are growing rapidly to become significant players, big publishing houses are constantly innovating, and self-publishing is becoming more professional than ever before. And that’s before we even consider the huge number of books sold by the big high street bookstores like Waterstone’s and the resurgence of the independent bookshop.

“All this spells opportunity for emerging authors and I hope that my book will help writers to grasp those opportunities.”

On Writing includes expert contributions, including from award-winning short story specialist and children’s author Mike Watson, of Darlington, County Durham, award-winning short story specialist and crime writer Bud Craig, who lives near Darlington, Irish crime writer David Pearson, crime writer Ian Robinson, from South West Scotland, author and co-founder of Glasgow publisher Tantallon Tir John Gerard Fagan, thriller writer Malcolm Beadle, from Darlington, self-published author Carol Dean, from Darlington, Tina Hartas of the Trip Fiction website and book editor Laura Dean, from Bolton.

It can purchased in ebook and paperback format on Amazon.

In addition to his successful career as an author and creative writing tutor,  John Dean is the Crime Writers’ Association’s Library Champion in Scotland, one of several UK CWA Champions acting as a conduit between libraries and the CWA.

He was also Chair of community arts organisation Darlington for Culture, in the South Durham town, for five years, during which time he co-founded and ran Darlington Arts Festival.

John is one of the judges of the annual young writers’ short story competition run by Kirkcudbright Library in the Dumfries and Galloway town and was the co-founder of the annual Kirkcudbright Book Week (now Kirkcudbright Book Festival).

More information can be found at http://www.johndeancrimewriter.co.uk