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The Crime Spoof
This week, The Guardian newspaper published this: Stop it, Sherlock! Five TV Tropes that need to die. I wholeheartedly agree. Here’s one I wrote earlier. (Tune in next week for chick-lit.) Only Dead...
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The Best Words
A phenomenon is scaring me. No, not just SCROTUS, although he’s a big part of it. There’s a peculiar anti-word, anti-thought movement spreading through our societies, which opposes reason and...
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For Smart Women (and men)
Last weekend, I tried three things I’d never done before. I did not regret any of them. (More of that later.) Your challenge this weekend , should you wish to accept it, is to try something new. It’s a...
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A Writer’s Day
Get up. Walk dogs and rework key climatic scene in head. Feed dogs, make breakfast, clean kitchen and sit down to write. Go back to kitchen to check champagne is in fridge because I am going to finish...
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Why There?
Location is an essential element of my books. Not just mine, all Triskele Books make settings paramount. Our tagline says it all – Time and Place. I just sent Book 6 off to the proofreader. This will...
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Bad Apples – Beatrice Stubbs Book 6
Cover reveal! Bad Apples, the last in The Beatrice Stubbs Series, will be released on Saturday 3 June. For a taste of what it’s about, see below. “Some people are just rotten to the core.” Acting DCI...
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The ChickLit Spoof
Finished! The final book in my Beatrice Stubbs crime series is out 3 June. So what next? A few ideas are bubbling. Here’s a chicklit spoof I wrote for the Bookmuse Readers’ Journal. What do you think?...
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How Do You Like Them Apples?
The final book in The Beatrice Stubbs Series is ready for preorder! Ebook release: 26 May Paperback: 3 June Come along to hear me read, answer questions and sign copies with fellow crime writer Debbie...
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The Right to Write What You Don’t Know
The whole How-Dare-You row kicked off again after Anthony Horowitz revealed he’d been advised against writing a black character in his Alex Rider series. The BBC story is here:...
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Whose Country Is It Anyway?
An election approaches in Britain. The US looks back at its own choices. Politics and opinions fill papers and posts and ears, some articulate, others mere slogans and gritted teeth. No matter, voters...
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The Launch Weekend!
Last weekend I flew to London. My mission? To launch Bad Apples. On Friday evening, fellow author Debbie Young and I read extracts from our books at Waterstones Tottenham Court Road, organised by Novel...
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Let’s Get Digital, Digital
The reading at Waterstones. With huge thanks to Novel London Jane Davis invited me to Virtual Book Club and asked why the Beatrice Stubbs books suit book clubbers. (The answer is wine, in case you’re...
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Summertime News
Good news for writers! Creative Spark is back. Starting Friday, Triskele Books is offering ten weeks of free writing exercises for you to flex your creative musculature. For a little refresher, take a...
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The Inside and Outside of a Fictional Character
When writing a novel and even more so if you intend to make it into a series, you need to know the character as well as you know yourself. If not better. Crime writer Sheila Bugler and I worked...
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Come to Portugal
I want to go to (back to) Portugal. After spending four happy years living in the country, whenever I return my joy in the place and the people is undiminished. To remind myself of its many wonders, I...
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Scammers Break The Kindle Store
Originally posted on David Gaughran: On Friday, a book jumped to the #1 spot on Amazon, out of nowhere; it quickly became obvious that the author had used a clickfarm to gatecrash the charts. The...
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Top 10 fictional female sleuths
A friend pointed me to a piece in The Guardian this week, alerting me to the fact my own creation, Beatrice Stubbs, was recommended in the comments. I was pleased to be mentioned and fascinated by the...
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Talking Location With… JJ Marsh
Reblogged from TripFiction.com – the right book for the right place at the right time. Sometimes you find yourself in the right place at the right time. For me, it was Portugal in 1991. A country of...
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Light a Fire
A neat way to tip an author? After spending a few enjoyable hours in a restaurant, we pay our bill and give a little thank-you via a tip. For the waiting staff, this can be as financially valuable and...
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Half a Dozen Hidden Gems
Today’s post comes as a result of an urgent request. A reader Tweeted this: With pen and pencil I sat down to suggest a few delights but found the list soon out of control. How to choose just six...
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