The proof reading did not start well. An idealistic young person, a recent graduate in English literature, took it upon herself with great charm, energy and ambition to elevate me – out of the goodness of her heart (one presumes) – from Grub Street’s...
Leaving aside those publishers who don’t respond at all to submissions (and there were surprisingly many in my case, including the smaller imprints Dark Edge Press, Hobeck Books, Muswell Press, Red Dog Press and Lume Books, to name just a few), there are also those...
For me, waiting is the worst part of the writing business. I try to get on with the next project, of course, but somehow progress is slow and uncertain because at the back of my mind is this shrill yet silent scream of fear and hope intermingled: when will the...
A highly entertaining spy thriller and, for me, as someone who tries to write spy novels, an important lesson in how to sustain tension and conflict – and the author does so largely without tradecraft, the apparatus of espionage, and for the most part, without...
The book industry is on the whole of the gentler, kinder sort. Publishers and literary agents tend to be pleasant and agreeable people in my limited experience, even as they do their best when under considerable pressure or in the face of unreasonable demands by...
