January 16th 2005


The Examiner ran the article on the 13th.

Go here to chuckle at my mugshot.


January 6th 2005


Happy New Year. The Bucks Examiner didn't run anything on the 9th Dec. after all. "Authors are not so time-critical as other local matters." Basically, I got bumped for a panto. C'est la vie. I'm pencilled in for an article on the 13th this month, so fingers crossed. The signing, despite enormous trepidation on my part, went better than I could have dreamed and I managed to shift 19 copies that evening. That may not sound like much, but it was far more than I expected, and the majority of them, I'm pleased to say, were sold to people I didn't know. Perhaps my sales skills are improving slightly.

For those few of you who were wondering, yes, there is a second book in the offing, but it's going to be quite a while away yet. Working at a printer's and writing a book is effectively two jobs. Now I have three, what with trying to sell Cold Ghost and writing the next, whose name has to remain a secret for the time being. There is, in fact, even a sketched outline for a third, and hopefully the ideas will keep coming 'til my toes turn up. That'd be a nice dream to live, wouldn't it?



Corbett's Bookshop in Amersham High Street


That's my own little poster


And this is Debbie, who came to give me a little moral support. She was also one of the first proofreaders, and got a namecheck in the book for her efforts, in lieu of payment. I'm such a pauper.


December 2004


Well, it's been a hectic couple of months. Cold Ghost started in Books Etc. in Heathrow, Terminal 4, and has now migrated to Terminal 3 and also Stansted. The local bookshop, in Amersham, has been selling reasonably well, and they want me to do a signing there on the 9th Dec (late night shopping). Also, The Bucks Examiner has a piece on me coming out that same day. Together with a shed-load of flyers I might get a reasonable turnout. I'll let you know.


September 2004


Took delivery of 1000 paperbacks on the 1st, which was the best birthday pressie I've ever had. Started on the legwork. Cold-calling at bookshops etc. I've never been comfortable with the salesman aspect of this thing, but it's a necessary evil, and I'll get used to it given enough time.


June 2004


Right, that's enough. Unless you're a politician, pornstar, or celebrity chef, they're not going to take you seriously. Had a word with my boss, and got a quote at cost price for an initial print run of 1000. Set about designing the cover and discovering how to become a publisher. It's actually not that difficult, believe it or not. At some point, I'll try and include a "how-to" section for other aspiring writers and would-be publishers. I've made enough mistakes that I wouldn't like to see anyone else copy.


March 2002


Finished "Cold Ghost". Spent the next eighteen months sending off sample chapters to agents (for some reason I'd convinced myself that this would be a better approach than trying to contact a publisher directly - but then what do I know?).


November 2000


Landed a job at a local printer. Had to resort to scribbling away in my lunch breaks and what little other spare time I could manage.


June 2000


This was the real turning point in my life. In one fell swoop I lost my car, my job, and declared myself bankrupt. Debt had been building up for some ten years, following a divorce which left me with slightly less than nothing. All to the good in the end, as I took that summer off, signed on, and, between half-hearted job-hunting, decided to write the book I'd always promised myself.