“A Born Storyteller”
How My Writing Career Started:
Some years ago I had several short stories published in Woman’s Weekly, which gave me my first taste of writing success. I enjoy crafting short stories but my real interest lies in writing full-length detective fiction, in which the investigation of crime is combined with complex relationships.
Thirteen years ago I entered a competition where the first prize was support in self-publishing your book. I didn’t win but I was on the short list of five authors and got some superb feedback praising my entry, The Terminal Velocity of Cats. That decided me to self-publish my books, and two friends and I created a co-operative, Pentangle Press.
Since then I have published nine contemporary crime novels (including two comedy/cosy crime novels), plus one Victorian Murder Mystery, and four children’s picture books illustrated by my grandson, Adam.
I have always enjoyed reading and writing series books because I find it fascinating how characters and places can develop. There are now three books published in my Galmouth Mysteries series, which started with The Fragility of Poppies, and I have four more in the series waiting for editing and publication. Also my second Victorian Murder Mystery will be ready to hit the shelves very soon, and I am considering putting together an anthology of my short stories.
Speaking at Conferences:
A few years ago, I agreed to write ‘a few’ articles about the Golden Age of Crime Fiction for Mystery People. The few turned into many, and I became an expert on the Golden Age, giving talks at several conferences, including Captivating Criminality and the Crime and Mystery Conference at St. Hilda’s, Oxford. I also became the moderator of The Deadly Dames, a panel of crazy crime writers who give talks about crime fiction. For seven years I organised and moderated Mystery Fest, a day conference that was a collaboration between Mystery People and Portsmouth Bookfest.
In recent years I have cut back a great deal on my conference attendance, but I still give papers at the annual conferences run by Golden Age Mysteries ( https://goldenagemysteries.co.uk ) who offer exciting new insights into this crucial period in the development of detective fiction.