I’ll be publishing a new Mac Maguire mystery in October called Two Dogs. In the book Mac tells his new colleague Kate Grimsson how he got his nickname ‘Mac’ (his real first name is Dennis). I’ll not tell you here as that would be a spoiler so you’ll need to read the book to find out. Over the series of books I’ll be letting readers know a little more about his past, however, this isn’t something I’ve had to think up as I already knew his back story long before I wrote the first book in the series The Body in the Boot. Continue reading
Author Archives: Patrick C Walsh
The Harrogate Crime Writing Festival 2017
I’ve only started writing crime novels with any seriousness in the last three years or so and in that time I’ve never attended any sort of literary festival. So when I heard about the line-up for this year’s Harrogate Crime Writing Festival I decided that it was about time I made the effort.
I had no idea what it might be like and it did indeed turn out to be somewhat different to my expectations. So below I’ll briefly talk about what were the highlights for me and whether I’d attend again. Continue reading
23 Cold Cases – How come my detective is in bed for most of my latest book?
Throughout most of my latest book 23 Cold Cases the main character, retired murder specialist Mac Maguire, spends virtually all of his time in bed. Why did I write a crime book with this in the plot and what were the challenges?
When I started writing the book I must admit that I had doubts about this plot line and considered scrapping it more than once. Why? Mostly because it was difficult to come up with a sustained story that would keep readers interested and wanting to turn the next page. There’s also the fact that I had to include the details of many crimes, quite a few in some detail, and at times I began to wonder if I’d have any plot lines left for future books!
So why did Mac Maguire have to be in bed? Continue reading
Some thoughts on writing and self publishing
The next Mac Maguire book, the fifth, is nearly there and after some three years or so of seriously struggling to put the right words in the right order this has given me some pause for thought. Looking back I’ve learnt so much from the writing process and I’ve no plans for stopping anytime soon. So what’s changed with me since I started out on my writer’s journey?
Why did I start writing? Continue reading
Why write ghost stories?
My latest book 13 Ghosts of Winter was a new departure for me. My previous books were all detective stories featuring the same character Mac Maguire. So why such a change of direction from crime novels to a book containing thirteen original tales of the supernatural?
I’ve always loved ghost stories ever since I’ve been young and I pretty much read everything that was even remotely supernatural that our local library held by the time I was eleven. There’s a bit in my detective novel The Dead Squirrel where Mac goes into a library for the first time in quite a while and the smell of the books brings back memories –
‘It immediately brought him back in time to the red-bricked Victorian palace of a library he’d almost lived in when he was young. Ghost stories had been his favourite back then. He remembered reading them aloud to his friends by a flickering candle in the gang’s hideout, in reality his father’s garden shed, and nearly scaring each other to death.’ Continue reading
Mac Maguire and two great detective writers
I’m sometimes asked about which authors have influenced me most. It might be hard for some authors to identify such influences but I have to admit that for me it’s fairly straightforward.
I absolutely adore crime writers like Chandler, Hammett and Mankell but when it comes to those who have directly influenced what goes on the page there are really only two – Conan Doyle and Simenon. They are both very different to each other but, luckily for me, quite complementary. For while Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is all about the puzzle, Simenon’s Maigret is more about the human side of things. I figure that if you can provide a good puzzle as well as a good human story then I think you’ve probably cracked it as a crime writer. I hasten to add that I’m far from being there yet but then it’s all about the journey, isn’t it?
So let’s look at how each might have contributed to the make-up of Mac Maguire. Continue reading
Location, location, location
So why Hertfordshire and especially why Letchworth Garden City as the backdrop for a series of crime books? As I said in my earlier post when talking about why I made my main character disabled, I was just following some good advice – write about what you know. As I live in Letchworth I know it quite well. There’s a bit more to it than that though.
Letchworth is the result of a unique experiment as it’s the world’s first garden city. It looks and feels different too, the building above was actually a factory! I’ve been living here for around four years now but it feels longer. I really like the place and feel like I owe it something. So what really decided me on Letchworth? Continue reading
Patrick C. Walsh Author 