Review: The Bonfire of the Vanities
I asked in a blog some years ago if satire worked. If it does, why is the world in such a shitty place? But then, perhaps we’re misunderstanding. Perhaps satire was never intended to improve…
Riots, politicians and tabloids
A little while ago, I told my (then) agent I was writing a satirical novel about tabloids and politicians who spark riots over knife crime. Guess what he said.
Liam Glass #1 bestseller in Amazon mass media
A quick one today, to celebrate my award-shortlisted satire The Breaking of Liam Glass reaching the #1 bestseller spot in Amazon Mass Media this week. A thank you to everyone who bought the book and…
Nine long years for Julian Assange
Watch now Eleven years ago, Julian Assange published the first of a series of leaks from American military intelligence, showing a US gunship killing civilians and journalists in Iraq. Nine years ago he took refuge…
Putting on the squeeze. Review: Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
What’s a poor author to do? You write a comic novel that satirises the orange blob in the White House and no sooner is it in print than he’s gone. Carl Hiaasen is one of…
Why I love writing thrillers
My twice award-nominated noir thriller The Breaking of Liam Glass officially comes out in its second edition today. And I’m delighted to announce the winner of this week’s competition for a signed hardback souvenir edition…
Win a personally signed hardback copy of The Breaking of Liam Glass
To celebrate the launch of the second edition of my 5* darkly humorous thriller The Breaking of Liam Glass, I’m delighted to give away one of the very first hardback copies, which I’ll sign to…
Jeremy Clarkson has the virus
I can finally reveal Jeremy Clarkson has contracted the virus CO2-19. He had it before and it was thought that he’d recovered, but last week it became obvious that he had succumbed to a second…
Who’s to blame for the death of Caroline Flack?
If you believe the tabloids, it’s the police or the Crime Prosecution Service (CPS). If you believe the CPS, it’s the media. And if you believe the serious newspapers, it’s us. Yes, you and me.…
Why the aggressive headline?
Earlier this month, the Guardian newspaper published an article about the BBC. The headline read “BBC caves in over censure of TV presenter in Trump racism row.” The article itself turned out to be a…
Behind the Headlines: From Britain to Hollywood (and back)
All my life I’ve been telling stories. At first, I made up stories to get out of boring homework, or playing sports at school… and almost got myself expelled. Then, I found that in fiction…
How to tell when you’re being lied to in cyberspace
Lies are big news at the moment. Lies by politicians, lies by social media bots, lies by journalists… Most of the focus is on stopping the lies – less about helping us see the truth.…
How to create a character that lives
This week I talked to Bonnie D Graham on her radio programme Read My Lips. (You can listen to the recording here) As often happens, she wanted to know how I create the characters for…
Today’s real pirates of the Caribbean
Crime is exotic, exciting, fun – unless you’re on the wrong end of it. And no criminals are more exotic and adventurous than pirates. So, when I was researching a new novel last week and…
Paris by noir – Review: Clementina by Simon Cann
Last week I wrote about honesty in writing – how it is the difference that makes the difference. No amount of clever plotting or literary fireworks will make up for a lack of truth. Today…
Into The Mirror and beyond
Like all writers, I get invited to festivals, book clubs and bookshops to talk about the stories I’ve written, stories that have taken me to Hollywood and back. It was one such story that unexpectedly…
What can we learn from the murder capital of Europe?
Just this week I heard from my neighbourhood network about yet another death from stabbing, close by in Islington. Knife crime in London reached an all-time high last year and 2019 seems to be going…
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Did you pay for that newspaper?
Did you pay for that newspaper? Newspapers are central to our lives, whether we read them or not. Not only does democracy depend on good reporting but newspapers have traditionally been where writers learned their craft – from…