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If so then  I'm prolific, although I never consider myself to be.  But I have written lots of books: eight crime novels, sixteen non-fiction business books and one play to be precise, not to mention scores of articles, company brochures, and training programmes. In fact, I've written all my working life and even before that I was writing plays and novels when I was ten years old. Why do I do it? Not for the money I can assure you. I've a long way to go before catching up with Rowling or Martina Cole and I doubt I ever will, but that doesn't matter.  That's not important to me.  I write because I love it, because I love communicating, and that goes for giving seminars, conferences, speeches too. I love both the written and spoken word. I'm not literary far from it.  I like to communicate simply and practically. I like to inform and entertain or both depending on what I'm writing. And I write every day.  Which brings me to a couple of qu...

I'm off to the Express FM studio today to re-record my interview with Rob Richardson, which was first recorded two weeks ago but suffered a technical hitch, so we're doing it again.  I don't mind though.  It's always good fun talking to Rob Richardson who also runs a very lively writing group and web site called Write-Invite  which has some very exciting and rather unusual short story writing competitions.  I'm not sure when my interview will be broadcast, possibly next Tuesday evening between 7pm and 8pm, but I'll check this out and post something here. Meanwhile the new marine mystery crime novel (or as they call them in the States, my police procedural) is coming along quite nicely. I've written the first two chapters but there's still a lot of research to do yet before it all comes together.  P.S I'm very pleased VAT wasn't added on books in the Chancellor's budget, but not so pleased about the rate being increased on audio and e bo...

Working on the next Inspector Andy Horton, the sixth in the series, I am reminded of a question a reader asked me at a talk I gave recently. How do prevent repeating yourself?  The answer can be both with great difficulty, and do I need to worry about this anyway? Once you find an author you like you search for other novels he or she has written because the style of the writing appeals to you .  Therefore a degree of repetition is part of what we like about our favourite novelists, and most writers repeat themselves, that in a sense is exactly what the reader wants.  At the same time the reader obviously wants a fresh story, a new mystery to fathom out, to be intrigued, gripped, entertained, etc. As a writer the challenge then is to maintain the style your readers like, develop the characters, if it is a series, and at the same time produce something new. The themes and plots of the novels change but every author has a...

Yesterday I saw Fame the musical performed by STP Musicals at Fareham’s Ferneham Hall. I’m a great fan of musicals including all the classics, The Sound of Music , Carousel, Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun , Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and many more. Being a former dancer I also adore the dance scenes. But the reason for me going to see Fame this time round had more to do with my niece appearing in the production than a desire to see the musical for itself – my niece is a singer and entertainer. What struck me yesterday though, while watching this highly professional performance, was that although I’d seen the film of Fame many years ago I’d forgotten the storyline and this time I related to it because I am working in one of those ‘creative industries,’ as portrayed in the musical. In today’s culture of the X Factor, and similar type programmes, we’re force fed the instant fame message and with it instant wealth as being the only goal, rather than doing something for the sheer ...

Each writer has his or her own routines. Some are larks up before the dawn to scribble away or pound a keyboard. Others are owls writing late into the night.  When and how much you write can also depend on your family or work commitments.  For many years while I was running my marketing and training company I could only write at weekends and during holidays so I used to write every Saturday afternoon and frequently all day Sunday. Now I have the luxury of being able to write every day. My writing routine varies, but I do write every day and usually every evening from about 5pm to 7.30pm. I still also write every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. And when I am not writing what do I do?  Well a lot of thinking, often while taking long walks by the sea on Hayling Island or in the countryside of the Isle of Wight. Then, when wrestling with a plot, I might pick up the knitting needles and think and knit. I could be mapping out a charac...

Rewriting comes in many guises and brings with it both pain and pleasure. For me it all depends on when I am rewriting. If I have to rewrite on the editor's request then it is a pain, because, by then, I am already well into the next novel. If it is during the revision stages of a novel (before it has been sent to my editor) then it is often a pleasure with one BIG exception, and that is when I am struggling with the ending. Here I want to make the novel as exciting as possible and, it being a crime novel, I want to surprise the reader, and myself, which sounds a bit loony but although I often think I know who the villain/killer is, it sometimes turns out to be someone completely different. And that means a rewrite. Once I've cracked the ending though there is a certain pleasure in going back over the novel taking it apart, questioning each word and passage, exploring, and generally testing my prose until I feel it is the best I can possibly do, and even then I always feel I co...

I'm happy. Why? Because my editor has just e mailed me to say how much she enjoyed my as yet unpublished new Marine Mystery DEAD MAN'S WHARF. This is the fourth Marine Mystery to feature my flawed and rugged detective DI Horton. This means there are no revisions- yippee! Why am I so pleased? Because if I have to revise one part of the book then it usually has an impact on the rest of the novel and you feel as though you are having to start writing it all over again. So, DEAD MAN'S WHARF has gone straight to copy-edit stage and will be published in the UK in hardback at the end of April 2009. And, in case you've lost track of the DI Horton Marine Mystery Crime Series, here's a re-cap: 1. Tide of Death (paperback) 2. Deadly Waters (hardback, trade paperback - that's the larger size paperback at £10.99, Large Print, Audio Book) Deadly Waters will be published as the smaller mass market paperback on 2 April 2009 at £6.99. Look out for more news and the new jacket...