It’s Publication Day!
PRIMED IS OUT TODAY! Gary Lawlor broke the day his sons were murdered in a car bomb meant for him. He failed to find the killer, and drank himself into a hole of self-recrimination and shame. [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, books, crime, Design, Education, Explainer, fiction, history, Interviews, Murder, Non-fiction, Notes, research, Uncategorized, writing, Writing
Posted 10 ways to keep (or dig) your way out of a research rabbit hole
I love research. Most writers do. We love finding out how our characters can do stuff that we don’t know how to do, like throw pots, or field-dress deer, or cut throats without getting any [...]
By Paddy
Posted The creator of Slow Horses was a Slow Horse himself…
…for a while there, at least. From the Wall Street Journal (paywall): Mick Herron was dumped by his publisher. Then he became the world’s best spy novelist—slowly. I have been a fan [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, books, Branding, Business, Economy, Education, Explainer, fiction, Marketing, research, Writing
Posted The arguments against self publishing
From 2016, which seems like another world now, but a lot of this rings true for someone considering self publishing. If you self-publish your book, you are not going to be writing for a living. [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, Audio, books, crime, Education, Explainer, fiction, Health, journalism, mental health, mental health, movies, Murder, psychology, research, writing, Writing
Posted Palumbo on writing
So many amazing nuggets for creatives in Episode 99 of the Scriptnotes podcast, in which Craig Mazin and John August have a conversation with screenwriter-turned-psychotherapist and best-selling [...]
The Prospect of Whitby and the Hanging Judge
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 [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, books, Business, Case Study, crime, history, non fiction, Non-fiction, writing, Writing
Posted The murders that made the NYPD
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, [...]
By Paddy
Posted America’s First Murderer
“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 [...]
By Paddy
In Articles, books, Case Study, Education, history, Murder, Non-fiction, Uncategorized, writing, Writing
Posted The First American Psychos?
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 [...]
Murder in the first degree – a history
I had always thought of ‘murder in the first degree’ as something dating back to mediaeval times in England. It certainly has that ring to it. But it turns out, it’s not an [...]
