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...
Galileo and Francis Bacon
Galileo discovered the first three moons of Jupiter on this day in 1610. By a happy coincidence, also on the 7th January, but in 1618, Francis Bacon became Lord Chancellor of England. The happy coincidence is because there is a connection to Sir Anthony Standen, my...
Spreadsheet & Creative Writing
Does a spreadsheet have a role in creative writing? Spreadsheets are for numbers, right? Well I’m using one for my fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, working title, The Favourite Murder. I know it sounds crazy, but let me explain. I’ve posted about the...
Fear, Forbidden Love, & Hatred
Last night Claire and I watched The Greatest Showman for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sure you all know that it’s the fictionalised, musical biography of P.T. Barnum. At the end there is a quotation by Barnum which reads, “the noblest art is that of...
Boxing Day
Boxing Day seems to be a day when a lot happens. King Lear was first performed on this day in 1606 for king James I. I’m not a fan of King James. He had my ancestor Sir Anthony Standen imprisoned in the Tower of London. You can read all about it in The Spy who Sank...
Science and Religion
On the 24th December 563 the Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was dedicated for the second time having been destroyed by an earthquake. The original church was commenced under the direction of Constantine I and consecrated by his son Constantius II in...
Murder of the Day
Today’s murder became known as the Day of the Dagger. On the 23rd December 1588 the bodyguards of King Henri III of France stabbed to death the king’s main rival, Henri Duke of Guise. The late 16th century was a turbulent period in France, marked by deep religious...
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...
Galileo and Francis Bacon
Galileo discovered the first three moons of Jupiter on this day in 1610. By a happy coincidence, also on the 7th January, but in 1618, Francis Bacon became Lord Chancellor of England. The happy coincidence is because there is a connection to Sir Anthony Standen, my...
Spreadsheet & Creative Writing
Does a spreadsheet have a role in creative writing? Spreadsheets are for numbers, right? Well I’m using one for my fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, working title, The Favourite Murder. I know it sounds crazy, but let me explain. I’ve posted about the...
Fear, Forbidden Love, & Hatred
Last night Claire and I watched The Greatest Showman for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sure you all know that it’s the fictionalised, musical biography of P.T. Barnum. At the end there is a quotation by Barnum which reads, “the noblest art is that of...
Boxing Day
Boxing Day seems to be a day when a lot happens. King Lear was first performed on this day in 1606 for king James I. I’m not a fan of King James. He had my ancestor Sir Anthony Standen imprisoned in the Tower of London. You can read all about it in The Spy who Sank...
Science and Religion
On the 24th December 563 the Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was dedicated for the second time having been destroyed by an earthquake. The original church was commenced under the direction of Constantine I and consecrated by his son Constantius II in...
Murder of the Day
Today’s murder became known as the Day of the Dagger. On the 23rd December 1588 the bodyguards of King Henri III of France stabbed to death the king’s main rival, Henri Duke of Guise. The late 16th century was a turbulent period in France, marked by deep religious...