Archives: December 2016

The Thirteenth Box and The Face of Sam are set in late 18th-century Hampshire, in and around the ‘smugglers’ town’ of Christchurch. Christchurch, with its then secluded beaches, a double tide, large harbour with a narrow entrance and two rivers feeding the harbour was an ideal place to bring in sought-after contraband.  Smuggling was undertaken… Read More

In The Face of Sam smugglers from Kent travel to Christchurch in search of Francis Woolsey, a dragoon captain from Faversham. The gang seek revenge for the capture by Woolsey and his men of one of their number and retrieval of a cypher they accuse Woolsey of stealing from them. In fact, the cypher, along… Read More

My father was very wise and one of his sayings was ‘there’s no such thing as something for nothing’. We all like ‘free’ things and in the internet age there seems to be even more of a clamour for giveaways. Since the age of the download ‘free’ music and pirate sites have popped up and… Read More

When planning where in Christchurch the characters for my books should live, I made sure at least one lived in the village of Burton. That character is Danny Clarke. You enter Burton just a mile from Christchurch and it sits mostly within the boundaries of Stony Lane, the road north from Christchurch to Ringwood, and… Read More

I’m very lucky indeed to have not one, but two writing mentors. Writing can be a solitary occupation where you take yourself to your writing ‘place’ and get down to the task of creating worlds, real or imaginary, depending upon the type and genre. My mentors scrutinise my work, offering suggestions and encouragement in equal… Read More

I was fascinated to read that hard copies of books outsold e-books in the first half of 2014. Sales of hardbacks and paperbacks are still outselling their electronic rivals and growth in the sales of e-books is slowing down. I believe one reason could be technology. With the advent of smart phones, computers dominating the… Read More

I love history. It is fascinating to read about how people lived in the past within the conditions of the time. Social history tells us as much about human nature and fortitude as it does of human progress. History is often seen in terms of timelines – chronological lists of key people and facts, but… Read More