Creating a Steampunk World

As some of you may know, I wrote a textbook on World-Building, I thought you might be interested in a sample chapter, dealing with Steampunk, that quasi-Victorian land of heroes and villains, not forgetting the King and a good cup … Continued

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Story Arc. Can you see the future?

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. What is story arc to you? Oh no, not another technical prompt! Although this time at least it’s not grammar. I sort of get the idea of story … Continued

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Be Careful. A short story to make you think.

Today, I’m sharing a short story from one of my collections. This is the one that I (famously) wrote on my mobile phone while waiting for a delayed appointment. It was what prompted me to get the plug-in keyboard that … Continued

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Adverbs everywhere

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. Are adverbs really the devil? If they sneak in occasionally, does it mean we’re lazy? As I’ve said to you many times before, I don’t do grammar. I … Continued

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Andorra Pett takes a Break

You might think it’s strange, given that The Hitman and the Thief hasn’t even been published yet, but I’m already looking at my next release. It will be an Andorra Pett adventure. The fourth full length mystery that she has … Continued

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Putting a face to a name

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. Do you draw your main characters so that a forensic sketch artist could put them on the cover, or do they belong to the reader? Until this question … Continued

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The Hitman and the Thief

My next novel, a stand-alone sci-fi adventure, is published on September 1st, and for the month of August, you can pre-order the eBook for just 99p ($0.99). The Hitman and the Thief was written as my NaNoWriMo project last November … Continued

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It’s life, Jim

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt. What elements from your life are woven into your latest book? Travel, to strange and exotic lands. I spent most of the 1970s and 80s at sea, those … Continued

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