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It's an early start tomorrow morning because I'm off to the Julian Clegg Christmas Party Show at BBC Radio Solent studios in Southampton, broadcast live from 6.30am to 9.30 am.  I'm not sure what time I will be on air but it will be sometime after 7.45 am.  It will be coffee and croissants and the chance to meet up with  the guests Julian has featured on his very popular breakfast radio show throughout the year, plus of course see again Julian's delightful team of Talia and Lewis. It's always a good atmosphere. I hope to post some photographs of the event later tomorrow. Before that it's marzipan the Christmas cake time, finish off some bits of correspondence and then on with some writing.

A nice day ahead and hopefully not too strenuous before a busy week with three talks and now three media interviews - the local newspaper called yesterday. They want to write a feature on me for next week, and take a photograph, which means I shall spend between now and then deciding what to wear! It's Christmas Cake day today though.  Not eating it but making it.  I can't believe it's that time of year again. The fruit has been soaking in sherry all night and later this morning I shall make the cake and then feed it a little bit of sherry each week until the grand cutting on Christmas Day. Yummee! In between baking I'll be working on making a top I've designed and squeeze in some writing of course, on Inspector Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel number seven.  It's still untitled but coming along nicely.  Now almost up to 60,000 words of the first draft.  And I'll also take a walk in the country to see the lovely autumn colours before the leaves fa...

As 2009 draws to a close I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to my success as a crime writer, not least the wonderful people who have bought my novels, or borrowed them from the libraries, and those who have been kind enough to tell me how much they have enjoyed reading or listening to them. I would certainly like to thank my publisher, Severn House, for their continued support and belief in me, so much so that they are publishing the new DI Andy Horton crime novel, ‘Blood on the Sand’ in February 2010 and the trade paperback of ‘Dead Man’s Wharf’ in the same month. I have met some interesting and lovely people during the year at my talks and I'd also like to say a big 'thank you' to all library staff both in the UK and the USA for their continued support. At the risk of this ending up sounding like an Oscar Award acceptance speech I'd better sign off now with my sincere wishes to you for a Merry Christmas, a happy holida...

It's Christmas Eve, so I thought I'd share with you a selection of my favourite Christmas films, most of which I have watched over the past few days. I'll kick off though not with a film but with a BBC Christmas Special - a huge favourite of mine The Likely Lads, with the brilliant James Bolam, Rodney Bewes and the splendid, talented actress Brigit Forsythe. I always start the Christmas season watching this and no matter how many times I see it it still makes me laugh. I know almost every line by heart and being a bit of a Christmas humbug I love the line James Bolam utters, 'I can't wait for Boxing Day to arrive when some semblance of normality resumes.' Still Christmas brings with it, as I said, some good old films - there's The Road To Utopia starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. OK, so it's not strictly a Christmas film but there is lots of snow in it and Santa does make a fleeting appearance. Then there's Christmas In Connecticut with Barbara St...

Random House US is launching a major advertising campaign in the USA on 23 November, with Dan Brown and other notables from the world of fiction, showing consumers that books make an ideal Christmas present. And I thought well what's good enough for Dan Brown is good enough for me. So, in my own little way I thought I'd beat the drum for the UK. According to a survey in the UK by Deloitte, (one of my former employers by the way) books are desired by 65% of consumers and will be bought as gifts by 63% of people. With retail sales struggling books are still deemed to be good value gifts. So, if you fancy curling up with a Marine Mystery then please go ahead. At £6.99 retail price you could probably pick up a copy for a fiver on line. Unless you pitch for Deadly Waters, or The Suffocating Sea, my two latest marine mysteries featuring my rugged detective Horton, and they are a little more expensive at the moment. Books are always popular gifts at Christmas because they offer such g...

A nice little article popped into my in box this morning courtesy of Entertainment4media news wire and it made me smile, so I thought I'd pass it on. It's not related to writing, or my marine mysteries or crime novels, but it's highly topical because it's about the office Christmas party, which is obviously why it was sent out now. This little snippet of news might very well have been covered on the radio or TV by now, but here is the link to 'New Survey says we all hate the Work Christmas Party' and below just a little taster. "Lovers of the annual office knees up were in the minority as almost a third of those polled declared they actively hate it and over 40% said they just plain don’t care. The biggest turn off is having to socialise with people with whom we have nothing in common (43%), so probably no surprise that over a third (36%) said they find the whole experience a bore and feared getting stuck with the office nerd (33%). The social pressure t...

As result of a conference talk I gave in November to a very nice group of administration officers from schools in my area (at which I sold tons of books and ran out of copies) the good organiser of the conference volunteered to circulate an order form for my marine mysteries to all delegates who attended. So today I toddled off to a lovely little infants school in the Hampshire countryside to sign pre-ordered copies of my novels, (including my latest, Deadly Waters , which is in hardback) and write personal inscriptions for those who wanted them. I was truly delighted that so many people wanted to buy my novels either for themselves or as Christmas presents. I hope they enjoy reading them. The voting is continuing for World Book Day Spread The Word 2008 and I'm busy drumming up as many votes as I can from anyone who has the misfortune to speak to me. I stopped short of telling the dustmen this morning, but if I don't get enough votes to get into the TOP TEN then maybe I will. D...