On 27 September 1888 the Central News Agency received a letter signed by Jack the Ripper. Addressed Dear Boss and dated two days earlier it was not the first letter to claim responsibility for the series of murders in the East End but was the first to give the unidentified killer the name by which […]

Writing is the easy part. Finding a home for your work is more difficult. That’s why I, like many other writers of short fiction, are indebted to those who find and list the markets for those. There are three sources that I frequently use. The first is Submission Grinder. As of today, it has details […]

Recently I narrated a podcast for the first time in Rippercast’s Cast of Thousands series.  In the first of two parts I expand on my article about Doctor John Morgan Hopkins and his son-in-law John Rees. In 1888 whilst his wife, the illegitimate daughter of Dr. Hopkins was awaiting trial for murder, Rees claimed that […]

This week I was shocked and saddened to hear that Terrance Dicks had died at the age of 84 . Terrance was a beyond prolific writer, best known for his work on Doctor Who. He contributed scripts between 1969 and 1983, was script-editor through the Jon Pertwee era, adapted over sixty stories into books, and […]

This week I had another minor victory in my research into the identity of Jack the Ripper’s final victim, who called herself Mary Jane Kelly. Over several years I have compiled a list of over 663 possible candidates from historical records. Gradually I am trying to trace each individual after 1888, the year that Mary […]

This week I found a good idea on facebook. A writer posted his intention to submit a short story to a magazine every day for a month. Simple and effective. Most writers have folders full of unpublished stories. Some were rejected, others not yet perfected, and a few waiting to find the right home. We put […]

This week I am pleased to help sponsor an annual race event at my local BMX club. The intention was to help a family friend and support the good work done by this and similar organisations in the community. I belatedly realised that it was an opportunity to promote myself and my writing to a […]

This week I borrowed a book from my local library. I refused to buy The Five by Hallie Rubenhold, because of concerns about the way it was marketed. The unique selling point, an untenable suggestion that the canonical five victims of Jack the Ripper were not prostitutes, was presented as a fact and those with […]

This week I submitted my tax return. Each year I always check what expenses I can or cannot claim against my writing income in case there have been changes. The following summary only applies to those based in Australia. If you live elsewhere check with your own tax authority or authorised tax agent. To claim […]