I have been a fan of John le Carre' since he first put pen to paper - or more probably ...   more »

By Happy co-incidence the Chinese new Year not only co-incided with the release of the latest Tom Caton novel -The ...   more »

Rehearsing and putting on "Ladies Day" at Tyldesley Little Theatre in just over 2 weeks - thanks to all the ice ...   more »

Been very busy, hence the dearth of blogs last week. Had to replace my computer -with all that entails, and ...   more »

As is often the case, I came across The Best Writing Tips Ever while web surfing for something entirely different. ...   more »

I did.  And I specifically said I didn't want one!  Nevertheless, there is was at the bottom of my stocking.  ...   more »

Last week I was bemoaning the rise of the bemoths and decline of independent book shops. Well I have just had my drawn to attention the winner of Bookshop of The Year for 2009. Simply Books in the heart of Bramhall village in Cheshire.   more »

On Friday I had the rare opportunity to join an Urbis tour of some of the Secrets of the City of Manchester.   more »

Simon is reading the Mail on Sunday, Joanna is reading the Sunday Supplement, and drinking a gin and tonic.   more »

The Head Case is nearing the start line. Publication is likely next week, and The Tiger's Cave will be only a heartbeat behind.   more »

What at shame that Borders have gone into administration. It was one of the few remaining major retailers [possibly the only one] that was happy to take stock from self-publishing and very small independent publishers.   more »

I mentioned in an earlier blog that a copy of The Cleansing was off on a journey into the unknown.   more »

Self Publishing is set to become a major industry. There are many reasons why.   more »

I find it really interesting how the questions I get on these occasions cause me to reflect far more than I might otherwise do on how I became a writer, the influences that have shaped my writing - and those that continue to do so - and on the very different expectations that readers may have when they start to read one of my books.   more »

At every crime fiction event I’ve attended in the past two years someone has raised this old chestnut. Usually it’s a frustrated writer of literary fiction, a frustrated and impecunious aspiring crime writer, or a book festival groupie hoping to start a spat.   more »

Hi, welcome to my blog.  It's over a year since I stopped blogging on my Tom Caton site, mainly because I was so busy  publishing and promoting The Cleansing, and writing the next three in the series!  Now that I've had a chance to breathe I decided to use this as  my new home blog.  I'd like to start by thanking all of those people who have sent me reviews of The Cleansing, who tuned into the radio interviews, and adopted this first in the Tom Caton series for their Book Clubs and Reading Groups. 

I'm going to try to make this a regular daily blog, and as interactive as possible.  So here's the first challenge.  I need your help.  The feedback I received about the cover for the first edition of The Cleansing was either Love it...or Hate it!  A very talented graphic designer and web designer friend - Michael Atherton - offered to design a new one more reflective of the book's content, and in a form that might become an identifier for all future novels in the series.   I love it... but what about my readers? Click on each of the images to get a better look, and then let me know what you think?

This morning I had the privilege of being interviewed in Whittakers Nova Coffee Bar in Bolton by a journalism student from Liverpool John Moores University.  Claire had to produce a profile of someone in the news for her next course assignment.  Initially I was flattered that she'd chosen me, but that was quickly replaced by admiration for the skills she demonstrated.  I know that traditional newspaper journalism is under threat from the internet news and advertising revolution but there are plenty of opportunities in broadcast media and internet services for talented interviewers and writers.  Way to go Claire!!!

I've just learned that a copy of The Cleansing is about to be launched on a journey around the world from the bench outside the University of Manchester Humanities Building!  Now normally I'd baulk at copy being passed on to people who might otherwise have bought a copy, but to be honest, I 'm chuffed  that someone thought it worth sharing as widely as possible.  If you've never heard of BookCrossing before [I hadn't] click on the link in "Favourites" to find out more.

Oh, and now that I know about it I'll be following that copy's progress.  I'll let you know where it reaches before it finally falls apart!