Tag Archives: Crime writing

Where do a writer’s ideas come from?

Posted on by under Writing process

Light bulbI attended a local reader’s group a few weeks back. It was one that specialised in crime and murder mysteries. I was interested in what they did and it turned out that they were interested in what I did too. The first question, as always, was ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’

I couldn’t give a definitive answer as I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to investigate how my ideas are created too deeply in case it’s akin to analysing a joke. It’s never funny afterwards. For me the strangest aspect of being a writer is having to keep an open mind. I don’t mean this in the usual sense as in being intellectually open to new ideas or concepts. An analogy for that is like being in a house and looking out of the window at all the new ideas parading by and then inviting the ones you like or find interesting inside. For me as a writer an open mind is more like having your front door wide open and whatever decides to walk in, walks in. Continue reading →

The trouble with book covers…

Posted on by under Crime writing, Writing process

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that the cover of The Body in the Boot has recently changed, not once but twice. This is why.

This is the original cover and it was one I quite liked. It’s the first book in the series and therefore I’m anxious to advertise it as much as possible on the grounds that if a reader likes it then they might read the other eight.

I told the designer that I wanted something that suggested film noir, those lovely old crime movies from the forties and fifties and I think he did a good job. So what’s the problem then? Well, Amazon have now made it easier for me to get my books featured on the Kindle lockscreen and it’s an advertising opportunity that I felt I couldn’t miss out on. Unfortunately Amazon also have a myriad of rules around what qualifies for a lockscreen ad and 3D lettering in the title is something that they don’t like for some reason. I have the original file but it’s a Photoshop file and, as I’m not proficient on Photoshop, I decided to try making another cover. Continue reading →

A work in progress – The Eight Bench Walk – my first international novel

Posted on by under Crime writing, Writing process

book coverIn the tenth Mac Maguire mystery Mac goes to Cyprus. It’s been a hard winter and Mac’s back has been playing him up so his daughter Bridget has little problem in persuading him that he should go somewhere warm on holiday. Of course as soon as he arrives on the island something happens and the story kicks off!

I was in Larnaka, Cyprus for three weeks last year and spent over half the vacation wandering the streets looking for locations and trying to generate some ideas for a plot. I returned with the outline of a story in my head as well as a good visualisation for, at least, some of the settings. However, one evening towards the end of our stay, we were sitting outside a restaurant when it started raining. Of course we all rushed indoors and sat down next to a couple who were speaking Greek. She turned to us, smiled and made a comment about the English and rain in perfect English. Of course, the reason she spoke perfect English was because she was English, being born and brought up in the East Midlands. Continue reading →

The Tiger’s Back – Just published!

Posted on by under Mac Maguire

book coverThe ninth Mac Maguire detective mystery The Tiger’s Back is now available in Amazon Books. Here’s the blurb –

‘It’s January and winter is biting hard. Mac has been asked to investigate the brutal murder of a homeless man in London by his grieving daughter. Meanwhile two of Mac’s police colleagues are looking into the suspicious death of a Cambridge history professor. Their paths cross and they realise that both deaths are somehow linked.

During the investigation Mac meets someone from his past, someone he’d hope that he’d never see again. The Tiger, the most fearsome and violent criminal that Mac had ever dealt with, is once again loose on the streets.’ Continue reading →

Another New Year – What happened and what’s next?

Posted on by under Christmas and New Year

bookshelfI keep the draft paperback versions of my books in the bookcase in our hallway. I rarely look at them but, when I do, I am sometimes surprised that there are so many of them and even that they’re there at all.  I only took up writing as a sort of pain therapy but it seems to have taken on a curious life of its own. At year’s end it’s the usual custom to reflect on the events of the past year and to look forward to what the new year might bring. I’ll attempt to do that in this short post. Continue reading →

The Chancer – Mac’s eighth adventure – Just published!

Posted on by under Mac Maguire

book coverThe eighth and latest Mac Maguire mystery has now been published in Amazon Books. Here’s the official blurb –

‘Mac is on his way back to Ireland for a funeral when a body is found at the airport. A man has been stabbed three times in the back and Mac volunteers to help his police colleagues. He’s flying back to Donegal where he hopes to find out something about the victim’s background.

It appears that the dead man was ‘a chancer and romancer’ and Mac has his work cut out delving into his numerous, and mostly nefarious, dealings in the north of Ireland. With the help of a troubled colleague from the Irish Police Mac soon discovers that the murder in the airport has set off a ticking time bomb that will soon explode.

Mac finds himself delving into his own past as his childhood memories of Donegal come flooding back and an old family mystery is also solved.’ Continue reading →

The Mac Maguire books – My first research trips

Posted on by under Mac Maguire, Writing process

This year I carried out my first ever research trip for the soon to be published The Chancer, Mac Maguire’s eighth mystery, which was followed up by my second research trip to Cyprus for an, as yet, untitled book that will be published next year. Two facts conspired in making these trips happen – I retired and I’m actually making a little money from book sales.

So why, after seven books mostly set in Hertfordshire, did I feel that such trips were needed?

Derry/Londonderry

derry peace bridgeEver since Mac Maguire came into my life I’ve been aware that, while he was brought up in Birmingham in the English Midlands, his Irish background is important to him too. So, I’ve been thinking about how I could explore this facet of his life and reveal a little more about his past. In this latest book Mac gets the chance to help with a murder when he is in Donegal, Ireland for a funeral. He hasn’t been back ‘home’ for a while and, as he visits familiar places, he is reminded of a past he’d thought he’d all but forgotten. Besides the murder a family mystery is also resolved. Continue reading →

Having to write a crime novel to find out how it ends!

Posted on by under Crime writing

confusing signposts

The image on the left describes pretty well how I feel at times when starting a new novel. However, sometimes I’m still feeling like that even when I’m well into it! To illustrate this I’m well over halfway through the eighth Mac Maguire mystery (provisionally titled ‘The Chancer’) and I’ve only just discovered who the murderer is!

I’m not one of those authors who like to plan the story line out in advance. I’ve heard of crime writers who even use spreadsheets to plan the plots of their books in incredible detail. If I’m honest that all sounds a bit cold-blooded to me. Continue reading →

The Match of the Day Murders – The seventh Mac Maguire Mystery

Posted on by under Mac Maguire

book coverI’ve just published the seventh Mac Maguire detective mystery novel and it’s called The Match of the Day Murders. This new book combines my love of crime fiction and football. Here’s the official blurb-

‘It’s been the worst summer in years and Mac is once more at a loose end. He then meets the mother of a murdered girl and is asked to look into an unsolved murder case that is nearly five years old. Her daughter wasn’t the only girl who died in what became known as ‘The Match of the Day Murders’. Three girls had been found on football fields exactly one week after the other and all had been strangled to death. Mac agrees to do what he can but, before he can even get started, he is asked by his old friend DI Andy Reid from the Major Crime Unit to help. They are also re-investigating the case and so Mac finds himself working alongside Kate Grimsson once again as they dig deep into the past. A serial killer appears to be still on the loose and Mac is worried that he might start killing again.

Mac too has an anniversary coming up and it’s bothering him. It will soon be a year since his wife Nora died and he is totally unsure as to how he will face it. Meanwhile Kate has her own personal problems as the past comes back to haunt her and she finds that she has an important decision to make.

A story of life, death and football.’ Continue reading →

Why can’t crime writing be more like real life?

Posted on by under Crime writing

cucumberI’m taking a quick break from writing the seventh novel in the Mac Maguire series in order to write this post. In the next few weeks I’ll be handing over the first draft to my partner for its first read through. I’m planning on publishing the novel, as yet unnamed, late April or early May and hopefully by then I’ll have come up with a title.

Among the myriad of things I often get wrong in any first draft is the plot line. There are either some obvious holes or, one of my partner’s pet gripes, some events are just too implausible. When these implausibilities are pointed out I usually groan silently and wonder how I could have written something that was so unlikely to happen in real life. Continue reading →