Show, Don’t Tell and Ghost Writing
I learned about ghost writing in my early teens, which were a long time ago. I was constantly in the library returning books I’d read and taking out new ones. I had a spell when I devoured sportsmen’s autobiographies. At …
Genre Writing: Defying the Police Procedural Rules
Writers of genre fiction who don’t give readers exactly what they expect from that genre can pay a heavy price. It’s generally accepted by authors that writers of “literary fiction” can write their own rules, but if you write genre …
Police Procedurals. A Killer Makes Himself Known
I’m writing a series of police procedurals under the new pen-name, JJ Sullivan. Book 1, Drawn to Murder, is already complete and when I went to bed last night I was 17,000 words into Book 2, Death to Order…
Darkness Comes – What Genre Is It?
You have to have a genre
There’s a question that every writer has to answer about every book. The question is: What genre is it? Readers want to know, because readers have firm opinions about the genres they like and …
Offensive? Moi?
I am not someone who likes to get up people’s noses. Left to myself, I’d prefer not to upset anyone. Sadly, that isn’t possible. The title of Zappa’s Mam’s a Slapper comes from a passage in the book – this…
‘A powerful, unrelenting page-turner. Highly recommended.’
Rather nice feedback from the Wishing Shelf Awards on Zappa’s Mam’s a Slapper:
Readers’ Comments
‘A very enjoyable read. The plot is superb and the writing is lively.’ Male reader, aged 43
‘The criminal element of the book, mostly …
Download a free audiobook sample from A Just and Upright Man
A Just and Upright Man is the first in the five book James Blakiston series of romance and crime novels set in northeast England in the 1760s. The second book in the series, Poor Law, should be published by …
This is a Romance and you’ll love who I tell you to love
Preparing A Just and Upright Man for publication as an audiobook – an audiobook in which I, the author, am also the narrator – has brought me closer to the people behind the text than I’ve ever been. Sometimes I …
Bookmuse says Zappa’s Mam’s a Slapper is sad, uplifting, shocking, funny, hopeful and frustrating
I think this, from JJ Marsh, is the most warming review I’ve ever received.
You can read more about the book here.
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