I’m sometimes asked by people (as opposed to animals, plants, or house bricks) what my writing routine is like. So, today I thought I’d share it with you. PART 1, at least.
Now, bear in mind, this is an average week. I do sometimes have a holiday, get ill, or suffer from a hangover, all of which can interrupt my flow.
Monday to Friday (and quite often, Saturday and Sunday)
It’s a job—that’s the first thing I have to say. It’s not a hobby or a pastime, or a fad. This is my...
Tea Break Trivia
When is a Cake Not a Cake?
Each day before I hammer at the keyboard making things up, I spend fifteen minutes catching up on the news.
I restrict it to fifteen minutes — any longer, and I end up depressed and anxious for the rest of the day. Amidst the usual mayhem, war, death, destruction, and economic woe, I look out for stories that are a little different.
The other day, I stumbled across a gem: apparently, I’ve been eating McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives wrong all my life....
After nearly three months overseas, my wallet resembled a slice of desiccated pastrami. Before I left on my trip, my wife (who had preceded me by a month) issued strict instructions for me to purchase a pair of anti-embolism stockings to prevent deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, while flying. These are designed to stop the blood from pooling in your feet. I always thought that was the heart's job, but what do I know?
As usual, she...
Picture the historic and charming fishing port of Whitby, with its cobbled streets and haunting abbey ruins, as the stage for my stories.
In my books, you'll meet DCI Frank Finnegan, an old-school copper with a dry sense of northern humour, and a gruff exterior. Alongside him is DI Prisha Kumar, an intuitive and feisty woman sharper than a Gillette razor blade. Then there's DS Zac...