Wednesday, March 22nd 2012

There you are…

I went to the luncheon of the Crime Writers’ Association the other day and had a great time.
Saw a few old friends including Peter N Walker, publicly known as Nicholas Rhea, who wrote the ‘Heartbeat’ books. I’ve known him more than thirty years. He never changes. Lovely man. Also I met a new member, a young woman who lives only eight miles from me in Thurnscoe. She is writing her heart out. Her name is Ricki Thomas. Watch out for her. I think she’s going places.
The meal was good and the conversation rich and congenial, but nobody seemed to have an opinion about the introduction of eBooks into the business. Everybody it seems is simply prepared ‘to wait and see’ how it affects them.
Sadly, there were a lot of tributes to our good friend Reginald Hill who created the brilliant Pascoe and Dalziel series of novels. He died last month at 75 after a battle with cancer.

I hear from the eBook publishers of THE SNUFFBOX MURDERS that it is going well. I must think about putting some of my other titles out there in Kindle land.

Hales, my publishers have published an article I wrote for WRITING NEWS, titled ‘How to plot a thriller.’ If you’d like to have a go at writing one and/or you want to read it, email me at angeldetective@uwclub.net and I'll send you a copy.

I must say I am getting all excited in anticipation of the publication of THE CHESHIRE CAT MURDERS, which is being published in hardback a week on Friday, March 30th. It’s another Angel book, and probably the best I have ever written. It really tests Angel’s skills as a detective.

I’m itching to get started on another book, but my wife says I have to catch up with all the jobs I pushed to one side while I was writing the last one. She does have a point. Because when I do start I can hardly leave it alone. Come to think of it, I haven’t heard what the publisher’s think to 'The Mannequin Murder.' I’ll let you know the verdict here, whatever it is.

Hope to see you somewhere soon.
Enjoy your reading.

Friday, March 9th 2012

Hello there...

I have just finished my latest Angel book. I hope you will like it. Of course it might be a few months before it appears in print. I haven’t submitted it yet, I have to print it off, number the pages and so on. I should be able to despatch it in a day or two.
This book has taken me longer to write than any other, I hope you will think it was worth it. The provisional title is THE MANNEQUIN MURDER, but I’m not quite sure about it, that so I might change it.
I am going to the annual dinner on Sunday next of the Crime Writers’ Association. I might pick up an idea or two there. It’s a great pleasure to meet old friends, some great writers, interesting policemen, detectives and occasionally a forthcoming pathologist who always has something useful to tell me.

Just received fresh off the press my copy of THE CHESHIRE CAT MURDERS, which is to be published on March 30th. I must say there’s nothing quite like holding a new hardback book in your hands, opening it and smelling that unique blend of printer’s ink and paper. You know it’s a proper book. Not something ephemeral on a screen that might suddenly vanish. I am not against eBooks. I have a title on line now, at Amazon’s, Waterstones, W H Smith, Tescos, appropriate for Kindle and other eBook readers, called THE SNUFFBOX MURDERS, which I am told is doing well. And I am grateful for that. But I will always treasure the lovely books in my library. They’ve all a history, how I came by them, who bought them for me or where I bought them myself and so on.
It would be interesting to hear what you think about new books, hardbacks or eBooks. If you have a strong opinion one way or the other, let me know. I might include it in my next blog here. You can always contact me at angeldetective@uwclub.net.
Hope to see you somewhere soon.
Enjoy your reading,
Thanks for looking in.