1. I’ve learned to think in multiple plot strands since I started writing crime fiction. In the period that I think of as my apprentice years, I had my sights set on becoming a successful children’s writer. I penned several middle grade manuscripts and a YA historical… Read More

Whether writing about fictional villains or recounting the tales of real-life criminals, inspiration for Crime books has to come from somewhere. Crime novelist Marnie Riches and True Crime writer Julie Shaw discuss how real crime stories have influenced their writing…   On Born Bad – Marnie Riches… Read More

by Angela Clarke, the author of Follow Me All hail our internet overlords: social media: slayer of boredom, font of friendships, route of Repetitive Strain Injury. Can you get through the day without tweeting, checking Facebook, or Instagraming a sunset? No? Then you’re my kind of person. Join me in… Read More

I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers, in particular when they have a domestic feel – the ‘this could happen to me’ element – and I wanted to write a novel in that vein. Something gripping, but which felt real. For a while I’d had a few different ideas,… Read More

Elizabeth Day’s latest novel, The Party, is a gripping story of obsession and betrayal, privilege and hypocrisy, set in the unassailable heart of the British establishment. In this guest post we learn what Elizabeth’s inspirations were for this novel, as well her fascinating research, and the most important parts of… Read More

Your name – Mary and Gerry Mayfield, blogging as Maryom and The Mole Your blog’s name – Our Book Reviews Online Blog’s URL – http://ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.co.uk/ Which types of books do you review?  Anything and everything from children’s picture books through chick lit and literary fiction to Nordic Noir What… Read More

Direct from Simon Toyne’s upcoming thiller, The Boy Who Saw, we have this incredible sneak peek extract to share with you:   ‘Three may keep a secret, If two of them are dead.’ Benjamin Franklin… Read More

We are VERY excited to share that a brand new, fully-authorised Poirot novel will be published worldwide in September 2014! Find out lots more information in the press release below… Fully-authorised Poirot novel to be published worldwide in September 2014 The international bestselling crime writer, Sophie Hannah, is to… Read More

Seeing as Alex Barclay’s new Ren Bryce thriller Blood Loss has just been released in the UK, we decided to ask her the questions you’re all dying to know the answers to. So here’s the first of what I hope will be many a Q&A session with our brilliant authors. Keep reading to find out how a working day in the life of Alex plays out, where she gets her ideas from and what she loves to read and watch…   What sparked your interest in crime writing specifically? It was more that I was struck with an idea for an opening scene: a surveillance operation in New York and what, at first, appears to be the successful resolution of a child abduction. It was so vivid to me, it still is, and I just felt compelled to write it. I thought it would be a screenplay, but once I had written it, I knew it would be a novel. I’ve been reading crime ever since I was fourteen, so it was no surprise that I would have criminal intent… Read More

You must of heard of James Smythe by now. What? You haven't?! Even though we've been banging on and on and on about him? Well, in that case, let us refresh your memory. James Smythe is a fantastic new addition to our brood, and his incredible apocalyptic thriller, The Testimony, is one of our top picks for this year.  And obviously you will have heard of Stephen King - in fact, in our 'All the books you shouldn't read home alone' article, his name came up again and again.  Why are we telling you all this? We'll let James explain...   "My name's James, and I'm a writer. (I feel a bit like I'm in a self-help group when I tell people that...) I've just had a novel called THE TESTIMONY published by Blue Door - it's an apocalyptic story about the world hearing what they perceive to be the voice of God, told through the testimonies of 26 different characters from every walk of life. Each character brings something different to the table, be they priests, murderers or businessmen, and it's through their eyes that the reader watches the repercussions of hearing the voice of the deity. And next year, there's two novels: one from HarperVoyager, called THE EXPLORER (about death and astronauts) and another tentatively titled THE MACHINE from Blue Door again (about post-traumatic stress disorder and memories). Read More

The Easy Road to Writing Success   As with most things in life it's the details that count. My first novel, a thriller titled, The Istanbul Puzzle, is coming out January 19. And I'm as excited as a puppy with his first friend.   I recommend the feeling to any aspiring writer. Or to anyone in fact. It's the recognition you've always wanted and the dream you never told anyone about. Ok, I hear you think, how did he get here? Was it really that easy?   The answer is yes, depending on how you view the small matter of time. My journey went like this:   In 1998 I bought a book on screenwriting. It advised writing a book first. I started writing a novel in the middle of 2000. I've written almost every day from then until now. I reckon I'm a slow learner. You'll probably pick it up a lot faster. I mean who takes that long to learn how to write?   I finished my first book in 2005 and started on The Istanbul Puzzle. My first book has never been published. That's for the best. I sent it to a paid for editor in 2006 for a review. I had to sit down as I read it. I couldn't write for a week after. Maybe it was because I could only afford her cheapest review service, but she certainly didn't spare the knives. Though why she went on for so many pages I still don't know. A perverse generosity, I suppose.   But from 2005-2010 I took every point she'd made and started to work on my writing. I read about 50 books on the craft of writing, attended conferences (Winchester do a great one) and night courses. Then I started getting up at 3-4AM to write. I've been doing that ever since. Don't even ask what that does to your life.   Then I joined Authonomy to see what Harper Collins were doing online, but I couldn't submit anything as I'd already sent The Istanbul Puzzle to agents and it didn't feel right having it on Authonmy at the same time. But I read everything on the site and on every other writer's site I could find. Eventually my wife wanted to get me an addiction counsellor. But she never gave up on me. Read More