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I read yesterday that an unpublished novel by Enid Blyton had been discovered in an archive more than 40 years after her death.  Like many people I was enthralled by Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and Famous Five series and it was Enid Blyton who inspired me to write my first novel aged 11.  I've no idea what happened to it.  I think my mum must have thrown it out, but who knows, one day it might be discovered in an attic somewhere.  If it is, somehow I don't think it will cause quite the same stir as the discovery of an unpublished Enid Blyton!  And neither will the discovery of several unpublished novels I have lurking in my cupboard.  For many years before creating my rugged and flawed detective DI Andy Horton and my crime thriller novels , I wrote historical sagas and a suspense novel.  And in my cupboard they will continue to lurk. I have no intention of resurrecting them and rewriting and editing them.  I class t...

I’m often asked who inspired me to write and I’ve written about this on my blog before, but a comment left recently on one of my blog entries has prompted me to write again about my inspiration: Enid Blyton. It was Enid Blyton who launched me into a lifetime love of reading and the burning ambition to be an author at the age of seven. I was a particular fan of The Secret Seven so it was with pleasure that I read a comment left here on my blog by Stephen Isabirye, author of a book called The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage As a child Stephen also derived inspiration from many of Enid Blyton’s books which prompted him to write this book on her. It’s hailed as ‘The first analysis of Enid Blyton from an international perspective through her renowned series, The Famous Five’ In a description of the book on the web site it says, ‘The Famous Five have often been described as “The Beatles of Children’s Literature” whereas The Secret Seven are deemed to have been “the cradle ...

I'm often asked who inspired me to write and there can only be one answer to that question: the late and very great Enid Blyton. Coming from a non book, working class household if it hadn't been for my local library and Enid Blyton I would never have discovered the joy of reading and then writing. She allowed me to escape into another world so far removed from my own. I didn't care that the children in her novels were middle class, that's what made them special to me along with their wonderful adventures, of course: The Famous Five , The Secret Seven, The Pole Star Family . Now, as an author of six crime novels, and a new one to be published next year both in the UK and the USA, I owe her an enormous debt of gratitude. Enid Blyton, died aged 71 in 1968.  She has sold 600 million books which are still selling and despite the middle class establishment of her day, the BBC and the so called 'educators' belittling her work she gave pleasure to millions of childr...

"The library service is nearing a "crisis point" because of cuts and closures, union leaders warned as they launched a campaign to reverse the trend." Telegraph.co.uk We need our libraries. Libraries serve our communities and provide FREE books, and access to other services that many people cannot afford. I'm a huge fan of libraries - if it hadn't been for my small local library in Portsmouth I would never have discovered the joy of reading and hence writing. Through my library I discovered the wonderful Enid Blyton and as I grew older the great Malcolm Saville and other authors like John Creasy , Leslie Charteris , and so many others. In my house money simply wasn't spent on books because there were other priorities for my parents who worked hard for little money. My father was an aerial rigger and my mother worked part-time in the launderette so most of their income was spent keeping a roof over our heads and making sure that we never went without foo...

The National Year of Reading was launched by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Education Secretary, Ed Balls, in January in order to help build a greater national passion for reading among children, families and adult learners alike. Reading is a great leisure activity and highly affordable for everyone, especially when we need to tighten our economic belts. In fact it needn't cost a penny in the UK because we have a wonderful network of libraries. Personally I am very grateful to the library service because if it hadn't been for my small local library in Portsmouth, as a child I would never have discovered the pleasure of reading and writing, coming as I do from a non-book household. When people ask me which writers inspired me the wonderful Enid Blyton opened up a whole new world for me - a world of adventure and mysteries. I, like many others, devoured her Secret Seven and Famous Five mysteries before moving on to another great mystery writer, Malcolm Saville . Just seeing the...