FA Cup
On this day in 1874 Oxford University won the FA Cup, beating the Royal Engineers 2-0. I’m not a football fan. In the last match that I watched George Best and Bobby Charlton were playing. It was against Chelsea for whom Peter Bonetti (the Cat) was in goal. My father...
Editing
Editing is a vitally important part of writing. They say that great books aren’t written, they are re-written. But of course you have to have something to edit, and that is why the creation of the first draft is called “getting your shit down”. I’m having some...
Outlining
Today I’ve been working on outlining the remaining chapters of The Favourite Murder, the fifth book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. I’ve already posted about research, collating my research in a spreadsheet, and working towards an ending. What I mean by...
A Good Start
Research is where I start my writing process. It’s also one of the most enjoyable and educational parts of the writing process. I have been reading about Henri II, Prince de Condé recently. He had a rather unfortunate start in life, having been born in prison. His...
Police, Poison, and Diamonds
Police are to fight crime, and the February edition of Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers Association has arrived. As usual there are too many great articles to mention all of them. The first one that caught my attention is called Bad Press for the...
Knight Night
Last night I watched Josh Widdicombe on Who Do You Think You Are? It turned out that he’s descended from both King Edward I of England and King Philip III of France. He may also be descended from Henry VIII and there were knights of the realm on route too. Who knows,...
Destination
I usually have a destination in mind when I start on a journey. I may have misled some readers with my last post, Writing and Walking. I said that I’d been struggling with the ending of The Favourite Murder, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, and...
Walking and Writing
Walking and writing seem to go together for me really well. I wrote The Spy who Sank the Armada, the first book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures during lockdown. Whenever I got stuck over a scene, I went for a long walk. I hasten to add that this was the part of...
Interview with The Reader’s House
I’ve just been interviewed by The Reader’s House magazine. Apparently it’s the first and only British print magazine available in over 190 countries. It’s available in Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Blackwells, Amazon and many, many other outlets. My interview is a...
FA Cup
On this day in 1874 Oxford University won the FA Cup, beating the Royal Engineers 2-0. I’m not a football fan. In the last match that I watched George Best and Bobby Charlton were playing. It was against Chelsea for whom Peter Bonetti (the Cat) was in goal. My father...
Editing
Editing is a vitally important part of writing. They say that great books aren’t written, they are re-written. But of course you have to have something to edit, and that is why the creation of the first draft is called “getting your shit down”. I’m having some...
Outlining
Today I’ve been working on outlining the remaining chapters of The Favourite Murder, the fifth book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. I’ve already posted about research, collating my research in a spreadsheet, and working towards an ending. What I mean by...
A Good Start
Research is where I start my writing process. It’s also one of the most enjoyable and educational parts of the writing process. I have been reading about Henri II, Prince de Condé recently. He had a rather unfortunate start in life, having been born in prison. His...
Police, Poison, and Diamonds
Police are to fight crime, and the February edition of Red Herrings, the bulletin of the Crime Writers Association has arrived. As usual there are too many great articles to mention all of them. The first one that caught my attention is called Bad Press for the...
Knight Night
Last night I watched Josh Widdicombe on Who Do You Think You Are? It turned out that he’s descended from both King Edward I of England and King Philip III of France. He may also be descended from Henry VIII and there were knights of the realm on route too. Who knows,...
Destination
I usually have a destination in mind when I start on a journey. I may have misled some readers with my last post, Writing and Walking. I said that I’d been struggling with the ending of The Favourite Murder, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, and...
Walking and Writing
Walking and writing seem to go together for me really well. I wrote The Spy who Sank the Armada, the first book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures during lockdown. Whenever I got stuck over a scene, I went for a long walk. I hasten to add that this was the part of...
Interview with The Reader’s House
I’ve just been interviewed by The Reader’s House magazine. Apparently it’s the first and only British print magazine available in over 190 countries. It’s available in Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Blackwells, Amazon and many, many other outlets. My interview is a...