Thriller writer Oliver Johnson speaks to me about writing, editing and dreams TEN MINUTE READ Listen to the full interview or read the edited transcript below. I was looking forward greatly to interviewing Oliver Johnson.…
HELP WITH RESEARCH I believe good research is the backbone of a good novel. For previous and upcoming books, I’ve gone undercover in police stations, tabloid newsrooms, hospitals and arms manufacturers, among many other secretive…
JEWFACE CASTING There was a massive fuss this autumn when a major Hollywood movie came out. A white actor played Martin Luther King in blackface. No, of course he didn’t. It would never happen. Blackface…
For the first post of the year, I’m delighted to welcome guest-blogger Desiree Villena, a lifelong true crime aficionado. Today she puts her passion and knowledge to use by choosing her best true crime books…
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…
Bored with the World Cup? Take another look. Football has probably taught me more about people and psychology than anything else ever has. I mentioned the World Cup to a friend of mine last week.…
Review: Black Water by Louise Doughty. Agents, publishers, books on writing tell you to write about nice characters who grow and learn. Louise Doughty clearly missed that memo. Her characters are troubled, rarely nice, placed…
Crime is the post popular genre in fiction and on screen today, but many writers fall into the crime fiction trap. Understanding the crime fiction trap The big trap in crime movies and novels is that the…
I’m delighted to be talking about Writing a Gripping Thriller for Hayley McKenzie’s blog ScriptAngel. You can read the full article below. Hayley is a great person and script consultant, who’s based in the Midlands. So…
Straight White Male by John Niven My rating: 4 of 5 stars How do you succeed in creating a difficult central character, indeed a quite obnoxious one, and yet persuade your readers to fall in…
Bake Off is back. But is there something we can learn from the series’ success? Aside from how to bake a better cup-cake. What is it that makes Bake Off so successful? It’s clearly not complexity of plot.…
I have to confess: much of what I know about life, let alone screenwriting, has come from football, and in particular the World Cup. There, I’ve said it. Feel free to shun me and pass…