September 23rd 2014




Hello there. 

Well I hope you managed to get away for a holiday or two during the summer, and that you had decent weather.  Lots of holidays are now spent on cruise ships, and they are giving pretty good value, I hear.  My wife and I didn’t go anywhere.  Between us we have health issues, so it isn’t possible to travel much.  We don’t mind.  We live in a beautiful part of the world.  Except for chores at home that we have to do, we consider ourselves on holiday all the time. 

My excuse for not updating the diary is that I have been writing another Angel book.  It is finished now and I have posted it to the publishers.  It is called, THE MURDER LIST.  It’s a bit of a new departure for Angel and tests his ability more than most situations I have put him in before.  If it is accepted, it will be out in 2015.  I’ll keep you posted.  

The book I finished last May was accepted but the title has been changed.  It is now called ANGEL AND THE ACTRESS, which is a far easier to remember and indicates something about the story.  It will be published late this year or early next.  

Since I last wrote, my weight has been yo-yoing a bit, but overall I have managed to lose only a few pounds.  I am the same weight I was when I was about twenty.  Sexy Linda from Change4Life doesn’t think I should be worrying about it, but I do.  I get weighed again on Friday next 26th, I’ll report back the result.  I’ve still not been able to reduce further the size of my ample stomach, but I am keeping on at it.  I will have to eliminate absolutely my pinching of pieces of fruit from the fridge.  It is the over consumption of fruit that I think is hindering me. 
By the way, did you know that a typical glass tumbler full of fresh orange juice (not the stuff sold in wax packets in supermarkets but literally fresh orange juice with nothing added and nothing taken away) contains 5 or 6 teaspoonsful of sugar?  And I thought it was about the healthiest drink you could have!  As sexy Linda pointed out to me, there would probably have to be the juice of two or three oranges to make a tumbler full. 

I understand the rights have been bought to bring out an audio of THE FRUIT GUM MURDERS, so that the blind can enjoy Angel being read to them by well-known actors.  I believe this book will be read by that famous actor Jonathan Keeble who has recorded some of my other books and catches the northern style perfectly. 

By the way, on Thursday next, September 30th, THE MONEYTREE MURDERS in hardback will be in the shops and libraries.  It’s about some trickery and murders in a TV studio.  I hope you will look out for it and enjoy reading it. 

Wherever you are, whatever your age, enjoy your reading.  And remember, you’re only young once so make the best of it.  Take care.








May 3rd 2014

Hello there.  Glad to be back.

I have been very busy writing another new book tentatively called MURDER ON A THREAD.  I have just finished it.  It’s another Angel book - that’s what my publisher wants, and where would we be without publishers?

Don’t answer that.

My dear wife is proof-reading it and I hope to submit it in a few days time, and we’ll see what happens.

Oh dear, I have to report that last time I was weighed, I had put on 1½ lbs, having lost 2 lbs the month before.  I know that ½ lb isn’t much but considering that I go to the gym 5 days a week and do without all sorts of things like pies, sausage rolls, Yorkshire pudding, chocolate and goodness knows what else, I should be losing a stone a month not ½ lb! 
I believe that the intake of fruit - particularly pineapple - is the cause.  I tend to pinch chunks of it while I am in the kitchen and preparing meals.  Sexy Linda from Change4Life doesn’t think it is anything to get into a tiz about, but I’m not pleased. 

I was complaining to a friend about the protuberance and size of my stomach and she said, ‘Well, maybe it’s comfortable where it is?’  I had to laugh.  I’m certain it’s comfortable where it is, but I am still going to try and move it.  I’ll let you know how I go on. 

Since writing last December, a few things events have happened.  In February my book SHRINE TO MURDER WAS PUBLISHED in eBook form so that it can be read on Kindles and similar.  On March 31st my book, THE FRUIT GUM MURDERS was published in hard back, and my book, THE MONEYTREE MURDERS is coming out in September next.  So you see I am not wasting my time. 

Wherever you are, whatever your age, enjoy your reading.  The summer sun is coming soon.  Watch out for it.