SO FAR SO GOOD

May 15th 2014

With it being 2011 since I did my last blog maybe it's time to update things. I've had two books published since then, one of them. ALMOST A HERO  only a fortnight ago. No idea how well it's doing. it'll do better if you all rush out and buy it.It comes either in paperback or Kindle. The publisher's already sold the large print and audio rights to Magna, for those whose eyesight isn't so good.

Regarding the audio. I've done the reading on all but one of my audio books, 13 in all, but I don't know if that's come to an end right now, as the next two books are being done by a different sound studio. I enjoyed my time down at Whitehouse Sound near Leicester, lovely people, very helpful and understanding. They needed to be with me. My first audio book, Hope Street, took me five days to record. By the time I finished my last book I had it down to less than three days.  

As a matter of interest I also did the cover designs for two of my large print and audio books, ANNIE'S LEGACY and THE FABULOUS FOX TWINS. So I did the writing, the voice recording and the cover design. Not sure if any other writer's done that before. Just thought I'd mention it.

I've actually finished my next book. It's called NEARLY ALWAYS and set in Leeds in the 1950s and in wartorn Europe in the 1940s. I like to hang on to manuscripts for a few months before I submit them, then read through them again. It's amazing how much you see with fresh eyes.

Anyway, I've started a new book, SAY IT ISN'T TRUE, set both at home and in Europe during the First World War. If you think I'm jumping on the WW1 bandwagon you'd be dead right. However it's great how much WW1 info comes pouring out of the TV screen right now. Helps with the research no end. It's a new era for me, and this book certainly won't be the last set in that time.

I've done a partial screenplay of Mad Carew, my crime series. It's currently with Screen Yorkshire and Yo Yo Productions. I've had meetings with people from both companies and have learned one thing...it's unusual for new screenwriters writers to get their stuff on TV, but this won't stop me trying. I had a comment from one screenwriter's agent saying she thought it was too much of a cosy crime story for them. I thought she was wrong, but I've now picked out the darkest of my sagas and have begun to write a screenplay synopsis.  The book wasn't published by my regular publisher, but by Severn House. My regular editor said she read the first fifty pages and felt like slitting her throat. The book's called Free As A Bird and it's a real barrel of laughs if you like  murder, rape, drownings, innocent women being hanged, children being locked up for crimes they didn't do, crooked and perverted politicians and seriously brutal coppers. Of course there's a thread of humour running through it. It's the only way I can write.

Before I go I must mention that I've started my autobiography. It's only in its infancy but I given it a title, the same as this blog. SO FAR SO GOOD. I will report back in less than three years, maybe even three weeks.