Last week I put a request out to readers and writers asking them what they’d like to see less of in publishing in 2023. Three things I’d say up front. 1. I did also ask what people would like to see more of in 2023. That didn’t get enough responses to write an article (after... Continue Reading →
Background: (The 'It's All About Me' bit) I worked for an academic publisher for 25 years. My duties during that time included sales consultant, key account manager, regional sales manager, Direct Marketing Manager and, for the most prolonged period, Global Head of Digital Marketing. As Head of Digital, I oversaw a team that looked after... Continue Reading →
I’m currently 27,273 words into writing my fifth novel. Or my fourth, if you don’t count the first one, which will never see daylight. Or my third, if you don’t count the one my agent has out on submission. Or my first, if none of them ever get published. But I think it’s my fifth.... Continue Reading →
#1. The gift: it's five pounds of veal! Given to a young Frank Cross by his father in Scrooged. Much better than the choo-choo train he wanted... #2 The gift; the bear that came to the party...or sat in the Limo. John McClane's festive offering from Die Hard #3 The gift: what the f***k is... Continue Reading →
International crime writers join forces to support NHS with new Crime Anthology Features shorts from best-sellers authors including Neil Broadfoot, Roz Watkins, Sharon Bolton and Zoe Sharp Newcastle-Upon-Tyne based literary group, Noir at the Bar, has brought together some of the best crime writers from across the globe, to publish a collection of short, fictional crime... Continue Reading →
This is an article I wrote for Linked In...so it's a bit business-speak, but may be of interest to those wondering about Virtual Noir at the Bar... Background In November of last year, I moved back up home to the North East of England after 30 years away. In February I attended my first Noir at... Continue Reading →
Vic Watson has been running Noir at the Bar in Newcastle for four years. I went to my first session a couple of months ago, before things got...weird. It's a great evening - eight to ten authors, ranging from best sellers to unpublished, read from their work to an enthusiastic (increasingly so as the bar... Continue Reading →
The following is an abridged section of an essay from my collection of screenplays and 'bonus material' Off-Script. It's a weird little collection: four short scripts, ranging in technical difficulty to film, a bunch of notes, and a few glossaries. It was never going to be a best-seller. I adapted a couple of previously published short... Continue Reading →
It was 30 years ago this year that I made 'Air of December' - my Film Studies Final Project. A time of bulky video cameras, pre-affordable CGI and tape-to-tape editing processes. A dystopian sci-fi/ thriller it was described variously as 'a narrative study of the audience's view of the male anti-hero and attitudes towards violence'... Continue Reading →
I released a collection of horror stories for children back in October last year entitled Cellar Stories (a riff on my first story collection of horror and dark tales for adults Basement Tales which, two years after publication, is still doing pretty well). I've written about why I did it in detail elsewhere on this... Continue Reading →
