Blog posts
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Writing is all about learning, and re-learning, lessons, however experienced the author is, and yesterday’s lesson was the importance of listening to your characters. I knew what I wanted to achieve with the scene I had just started to write – it was part of the synopsis – but I needed a way of making…
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Caption: Some of the 2026 winners (L-R) Sarah Hunt, Italo Ferrante, Rhianna Frances, Beth Broomby, Carlton Rose, Shazia J. Altaf, Phoebe Walker, Jodie Matthews, Nate Black, Antony Dunn, Amelia Loulli, Narimaan Shafi and Kris Johnson. Photo by Rob Irish. New Writing North announced the 27 recipients of its 2026 Northern Writers’ Awards at a ceremony…
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As people who read my blogs may be aware, I am optimistic about the future of publishing, an optimism driven in a large part by the rapid growth of ebooks and audiobooks, online sales, the performance of bookshops small and independent or in a high street chain, and ever more proficient software which allows self-publishers…
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There’s a half-serious/half-jokey crime writers’ adage that, if your novel starts to lose momentum, it’s time to murder another victim. Of course, it’s not that simple, although a murder would certainly do the job in the right place. I mention it because I have just dropped a murder into my latest novel and it has…
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Joffe Books, winner of Trade Publisher of the Year at the 2026 Independent Publishing Awards, has opened submissions for the 2026 Joffe Books Prize, which sees a talented writer of colour awarded a prize package that includes a two-book contract, a £25,000 Audible audiobook contract for the first book, a £1k cash payment and a…
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Authors who are writing series of novels, like myself, face all sorts of challenges but particularly how do you accommodate new readers while making sure that you do not slow down your storytelling by dumping the same information on readers who have followed your stories from the beginning and don’t require telling again? The answer…
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As someone who used to be heavily involved in the cultural scene in the south Durham town of Darlington, with a particular interest in railways, I reckon that this event should be excellent, helped by the atmosphere of the unique venue. Revenge on the Railways: A Murder Mystery Evening will take place in Hopetown, the…
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I have been asked by several readers recently which themes drive my work and some subjects do spark my imagination more than others and keep coming back to me time and time again. One is isolation and I find myself writing about people who live in areas like the North Pennines valley in the DCI…
