Category Archives: Books

What do I find scary?

Posted on June 22, 2018 by

As someone whose writes horror stories, I often ask the question, what do people find scary? Of course, scariness is very much in the eye of the beholder. For some, the prospect of being stalked by a serial killer is … Continue reading →

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In the shadow of Nineteen Eighty-Four: Writing my current novel

Posted on June 15, 2018 by

I have recently re-read George Orwell’s dystopian milestone, Nineteen Eighty-Four. As ever, I came away from it stunned by the satirical and chilling narrative, and deeply alarmed at its prophetic insights. However, I also experienced something I hadn’t expected: intimidation. … Continue reading →

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Love vs Honour – Did I fail?

Posted on June 8, 2018 by

In 2006, I wrote Love vs Honour, which I then self-published nearly ten years later, in 2015. The novel is a sideways step outside of my usual world of thrillers, horror, science fiction, fantasy and children’s adventures. Teenage romance isn’t … Continue reading →

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My Five Favourite Gothic Mysteries

Posted on June 1, 2018 by

As regular readers of this blog (and indeed my novels) will know, I absolutely love a good gothic brew of mystery, melodrama, thrills and horror. To date I have written five novels of this kind, including The Birds Began to … Continue reading →

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Why do I write?

Posted on May 25, 2018 by

Someone recently asked me why I write. It’s a fair question, and after stating the obvious reason (to silence the voices in my head by putting them on paper), I came up with three additional reasons, all of them beginning … Continue reading →

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My top five Alex Rider novels

Posted on May 18, 2018 by

I’m a big fan of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series. Think teenage James Bond, but without any sex (though there is a hinted-at love interest in the character of Sabina Pleasure). In each novel, loads of globe-trotting action ensues, with … Continue reading →

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Shadows of the Sea launch

Posted on May 13, 2018 by

My author friend Marcus Bines has had a fantasy story accepted to be part of an anthology entitled Shadows of the Sea. Today there is a launch party on Facebook between 13:30 and 00:30 UK time, with Marcus’s section at … Continue reading →

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Three Underrated Fantasy Series

Posted on May 11, 2018 by

I’m sure most people have read CS Lewis’s Narnia stories, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, and Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. If not, I urge you to stop what you … Continue reading →

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Download Children of the Folded Valley FREE – for five days only!

Posted on May 7, 2018 by

Anyone who grew up in a cult, or amid a stifling religious atmosphere, may find my most successful novel, Children of the Folded Valley, resonates with their own experience. Certainly I’d be lying if I claimed my own rather peculiar … Continue reading →

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Book reviews: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Posted on May 4, 2018 by

Obviously it is gratifying to see my books being appreciated by reviewers on Amazon and in other places where they are sold. However, I get a similar, arguably masochistic pleasure from bad reviews. In that spirit, here are excerpts from … Continue reading →

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