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I had quite a bit of feedback following my post about authors’ names being hijacked by scammers and it really does make for bleak reading. Scammers are pretending to be famous authors and adopting a subtle approach, asking for nothing up front, not offering their services, just saying they want a chat author-to author. Some…
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Like many authors, I receive all sorts of emails on a daily basis, most of them selling services such as promotion of my books, perfectly genuine but basically sales pitches. Others are obviously scams, some patently obvious as they demand money from the outset, but some are more subtle. I can usually spot them but…
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Details have been announced for one of Scotland’s major literary festivals. Borders Book Festival began in June 2004, when Alistair Moffat had the idea of creating a small literary gathering in Melrose and was joined by Paula Ogilvie for an event that welcomed a handful of speakers and an audience of about 400. Today, it…
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To mark the publication of Call of the Isles – A Scottish Anthology by new Glasgow publisher Tantallon Tìr on Friday May 1, for which I was invited to write a short story, I am one the contributors who have given interviews offering an insight into my work. You can find it in the author…
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Call of the Isles – A Scottish Anthology is published by new Glasgow publisher Tantallon Tìr on Friday May 1. I am delighted to have a story included and you can read my review of the book in the Review section of my website
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Writing fiction throws up all sorts of interesting quandaries for the author such as how much, if any, of your characters can be based on real people, what can you learn by staring at trees when it comes to judging the amount of description you use, how do you avoid confusing your reader when it…
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He was the fearless whistleblower, the high-flying middle manager who revealed the truth behind the global worple sprocket (double flanged, single hinged) industry in his debut book The Diary of Ridley Pinstripe. From his account of the environmental impact on the industry when Witherings, the contractor used to manage the pot plants at headquarters, was…
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Delighted to report that Joffe Books, which is my publisher, has won Trade Publisher of the Year in the IPA Awards! The team deserve every accolade they deserve for their skill, energy and innovative approach to publishing.
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The DCI John Blizzard ebook box set (the first seven novels for £1.99, first published in December 2023 by the Book Folks, now a Joffe Books imprint), having rocketed up the best-selling charts on Amazon at the start of the week, has now been there for three days. It was number one bestseller in three…
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Some interesting findings from Writers of the West, a firm specialising in publishing and ghostwriting services in the USA, Canada, and Europe. Looking at what readers are buying in 2026, using data including that from Circana and NielsenIQ, Amazon, Kobo, Apple Books, Audible, BookTok, Kindle Unlimited and indie sales figures, they say that the leading…
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John Dean - Crime Writer 