Unlocking the Mystery Behind The Case of the Bolted Door

When I first sat down to write The Case of the Bolted Door, I knew I wanted to craft a story that harked back to the golden age of detective fiction while keeping it firmly grounded in the modern world. The inspiration came from a classic Sherlock Holmes tale, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, […]


The Atticus Priest Casebook

My mum and dad had a small collection of books on the dresser in the living room when I was growing up. I’m pretty sure one of those books was a Reader’s Digest edition of the Sherlock Holmes short stories. I can remember quiet afternoons spent curled up with that book, lost in the world […]


“GOOD TIMES NEVER FELT SO GOOD”

I’m writing this the day after England managed to squeak past Denmark to make it to the European Championship final.  It’s amazing how sport can create drama unlike anything else.  So, with humble thanks for the indulgence for those amongst you who are untouched by this, I just wanted to write a few words.  It’ll […]


“SHH!” “NO, YOU SHH!”

I mentioned earlier this month that I was feeling positive about being able to get back to doing some of my favourite things again, now that it seems (insert caveat) that things are moving towards the better.  One of those is going to the cinema.   Like a lot of people, I’ve got a pretty […]


READERS QUESTIONS

As I mentioned last month, I plan on answering a question or two each month from one of my readers.  This month, KristiLynne Stanley asks – “do you find yourself getting ideas for another story in the middle of your writing, and if so, what do you do?”   It’s a problem!   Everyone tells stories all […]


BUILDING TENSION, AND THE RETURN OF THE WATERCOOLER MOMENT

Someone has worked out that WANDAVISION is the most popular show in the world at the moment.  It follows THE MANDALORIAN as another example of Disney choosing to release their flagship series weekly, as opposed to what was becoming the standard – the release of all episodes at once.  Releasing an entire series was seen […]


The Leftovers And The Importance Of Theme

So, wildly late to it, but in this world of “everything is available forever” I don’t feel too bad for only now getting around to watching THE LEFTOVERS. I’ve worked backwards – I enjoyed WATCHMEN, and having been aware of Damon Lindelof’s writing for years now, wanted to explore another series where he was able […]


Lockdown Hard With A Vengeance

So, here we are again. For those reading who aren’t au fait with the state of things in the UK (and I can’t imagine why – it’s not like there’s much else going on…) we have just been put back in a country-wide lockdown, for the third time now.   It’s hard not to feel […]


2021 – Green Shoots And Taking Stock

As we come to the end of 2020, the usual end of year reflection and optimistic hopes for the new year take on even greater significance than before. It’s been a year… but we made it, and looking at the blank slate of a new year stretching out ahead of us, I can’t help but feel positive […]


“AMANDA LORIAN? IS THERE AN AMANDA LORIAN IN HERE?”

I think, like most of the world, I’ve an up and down relationship with STAR WARS. Due to the smorgasbord approach of George Lucas (over forty years ago!) there’s always something to like in the universe that he built, even when some of the choices might not necessarily be ones I can completely get behind. […]