One of my ongoing research projects is an attempt to identify Mary Jane Kelly, victim of Jack the Ripper. She told her last boyfriend of a birth in Limerick, childhood in Wales, possibly Carmarthenshire or Caernarvonshire, where her father was a foreman in an ironworks. At the age of 16 she married a collier, possibly […]
This week saw the release of The Demon Barber, my 64th published story and first contribution to the Doctor Who project. In 1998 members of the Telefantasy Appreciation Society of Canada began planning their own version of Doctor Who, releasing their first story in January the following year. Around the same time, I read a […]
Today sees the release of Murder & Machinery, an anthology of speculative fiction from Black Beacon books which contains my story, Fargan’s Termination. The publisher’s blog contains a short interview with me and the other contributors. It’s great to work with such a talented group, who have each interpreted the theme of the book in […]
Sometimes there is an overlap between my main career and my writing. In paid roles I have written business cases, government policy on privacy, and responses to serious complaints, using the same skills that I apply to writing non-fiction. You need to research the facts then understand and target the right audience and get the […]
For the last month or so I have researching two murders that occurred in the vicinity of Pype Hayes Park, close to where I lived as a child in Erdington, Birmingham. Both victims were women, aged 20. Both were killed on or around 27 May, which marked the end of the Whitsun weekend after attending […]
I have missed a few editions of my weekly blog due to commuting between Cairns and Brisbane and a lack of interesting things to say. When stuck for inspiration, I sometimes look at historical events on the current date. On 12 March 1985, The Times published a short article saying that a handwriting expert believed […]
Today the sixth edition of the history and politics journal, garrison, contains a feature on 17 Jack the Ripper suspects. I contributed a piece on James Kelly and am looking forward to reading what the other writers have to say on their chosen suspect, not least because any new arguments will need to be incorporated […]
Coming Through in Waves, an anthology of crime fiction inspired by Pink Floyd is now available for preorder. It concludes with “Waiting for the Worms,” my 62nd published story. There are not many bands that could inspire a collection of short fiction and fewer that might inspire writers to contribute. Rolling Stone once described Pink […]
I’m pleased to announce that I will be participating in a Facebook live event on Saturday 6 February, to discuss my contribution to the anthology The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns with the editor Mitzi Szereto. “The Doctor, the Dentist and the Dairyman’s Daughter,” is a true account of the Carmarthen Mystery of […]
