Latest - December 2015
A huge thank you goes out to all those lovely readers who commented on the latest DCI Mason and David Carlisle novel, The Wharf Butcher. This was my first attempt at crime writing, and the past few weeks have been hectic, what with book signing events and talks – a big thank you to all.
Satan’s Beckoning – Summer 2016
Well, the second novel in the DCI Mason and David Carlisle series is now onto its second draft. I normally like to do three or four before going to print. Fingers crossed, I’m still on track for summer 2016. The location for the opening chapter took some finding. Although I had a plot in my head, how to kick start it was the problem. Local knowledge of the area was invaluable, and Windy Nook village in the Metropolitan borough of Gateshead seemed the perfect location. No stranger to serial killers, Mary Elizabeth Wilson also known as the Merry Widow of Windy Nook was the last woman to be sentenced to death in Durham. Convicted of murdering two of her four husbands with beetle poison in 1956 and 1957, the remains of her earlier two husbands , John Knowles and John Russell, were later exhumed to reveal high levels of phosphorous in their bodies – I hope you’re getting my drift?
On a steep gradient known locally as “Heart attack hill,” lies Coldwell Lane. On a clear day the views from the top are spectacular, but on a cold winter’s night in the middle of January things can be somewhat different. It was the steepness of the incline that finally inspired me to draft the opening few lines, but it is at the bottom of the lane where all the action takes place. Until my next post, I’ll leave you to figure out the rest.
Coldwell Lane
