writing

Yes, that is a noose, and that is the River Thames. And yes, the gallows’ crossbeam is indeed aimed at the financial centre, Canary Wharf. The gallows is part of the Prospect of Whitby, one [...]

At a quarter to ten on the morning of May 19, 1811, bells began to sound throughout the neighbourhood of New York around Chatham Street and the City Hall. It being a Sunday, not many people paid [...]

When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783 and the King’s soldiers departed for England, the King’s laws went with them. Good riddance, most people said. British rule had been oppressive, [...]

“As far as I can tell, the first murder in New England was committed in 1630 with a gun.” Thomas McDade, The Annals of Murder. John Billington was probably not the first man to commit [...]

On a summer’s day in 1799, a group of men were driving cattle from Kentucky to Virginia, along a road known as Boone’s Trace, when the cows suddenly quit the road and rushed into the woods. Once [...]

I’m going to be speaking to Sisters in Crime in April about book marketing, and my journey through the dizzying world of how to place and sell your book. So let’s start with the basic question: [...]

I got the great news this week that The Devil’s Half Mile has been nominated for an Audie Award, for best male narrator. The book was narrated by Euan Morton, who, if you don’t know, [...]

The Bookseller’s Indie Bookshop Christmas Trading Survey reports independent bookshops in the U.K. and Ireland “enjoyed a bumper end to 2018, with ‘excellent’ Christmas [...]

One of the most absorbing parts of writing historical fiction is the deep dive you make into the small stuff. What did people eat? What kinds of houses did they live in? What did they wear? The [...]

I’m writing historical novels, so I use old maps a lot in my research. Over the last few years, more and more map owners have put their maps on the web, so it’s become increasingly [...]