Category Archives: Books

New release – The Irresistible Summons

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

Exciting news! My next novel, The Irresistible Summons, is out on the 27th of July. Published by Dragon Soul Press (who published my previous novel, Spectre of Springwell Forest), The Irresistible Summons is a gripping supernatural horror thriller that grabs … Continue reading →

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Uses and Abuses of Inner Monologue

Posted on June 3, 2019 by

Inner monologue is the unique element defining the novel or short story. The ability of the author to dive directly into the head of the characters and explore their thoughts and feelings is a literary device that cannot be used … Continue reading →

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Never Surrender to the Professionally Offended: A Rallying Cry for Authors

Posted on May 27, 2019 by

History tells us that rising dictatorial regimes first silence and eventually criminalise journalists, authors, and other writers that dare to question the status quo or otherwise express and explore difficult, painful, or controversial truths or themes in their writing. Today, … Continue reading →

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Rereading Robert McKee’s Story

Posted on May 20, 2019 by

I’ve recently re-read Robert McKee’s excellent Story, for my money, the best how-to on screenplay writing. Although specifically about writing for the cinema, most of the principles in Story apply to all storytelling, including writing novels. McKee clearly and concisely … Continue reading →

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Why Spoiler Awareness is always important – even with older films, books, plays, and television programmes

Posted on May 13, 2019 by

Is it ever OK to spoil a book, play, TV series, or film? There has been a lot of discussion online about this lately, with the release of Avengers Endgame, and the final series of Game of Thrones. Firstly and … Continue reading →

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Reflections on my earlier novels

Posted on May 7, 2019 by

Someone recently asked me whether I still liked my earlier, pre-traditional publisher novels. Another individual noted that they could see an improvement in my prose style between Children of the Folded Valley (self-published) and Spectre of Springwell Forest (traditionally published). … Continue reading →

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Papercut makes top three in Reader’s Choice poll!

Posted on May 1, 2019 by

My short story Papercut has made the top three in a Reader’s Choice poll conducted by my publisher, Dragon Soul Press. Papercut initially appeared in First Love, a romantic fantasy anthology, which is available here. Because Papercut has made the … Continue reading →

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Recent Reviews: First Love and Spectre of Springwell Forest

Posted on April 30, 2019 by

I’ve had one or two very encouraging reviews on Amazon for my recent work. Firstly, there was this review for Papercut, my short story included in Dragon Soul Press’s romantic fantasy anthology First Love. “I had a fantastic time reading … Continue reading →

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Antagonists with the same goal as the Protagonist

Posted on April 8, 2019 by

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, there’s a scene where villainous, Nazi collaborating French archaeologist Belloq tells Indiana Jones that “I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me. To push … Continue reading →

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Simon Dillon Plot Bingo

Posted on April 2, 2019 by

Someone recently read one of my novels and claimed it had a “full house of Simon Dillon Plot Bingo”. Far from being insulted, I was amused by this. In fact I was rather proud, because it meant I was getting … Continue reading →

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