FAQs

I want to read your books in order – where should I start?

Several of them are standalones so there’s no particular order for those, but this is the publication order:

Cut Throat

Blindfold (Gideon Blake #1)

Deadfall

Outside Chance (Ben Copperfield #1)

Six to One Against aka Time to Pay in PB (Gideon Blake #2)

Murder in Mind

No Going Back (Daniel & Taz #1)

No Holds Barred (Daniel & Taz #2)

Nothing But Lies (Daniel & Taz #3)

No Second Chances (Daniel & Taz #4)

Bad Blood (Ben Copperfield #2)

Did you always want to be a writer?

I really did. I was an avid reader as a child and started writing my own little stories about horses, aged seven or eight, illustrating them as well. I’ve gone on writing ever since. My first full-length novel was a sword and sorcery tale set in medieval England, which has never been published and probably shouldn’t be! Being introduced to the novels of The Master – Dick Francis, at age eighteen, set me on the path I’ve followed ever since.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

This is a very common question – and the answer is always, anywhere and everywhere. News stories, overheard snippets of conversation, books I have read, films I have seen, things that have happened to me – life!

I love the Daniel Whelan series with his faithful partner, the German shepherd dog, Taz – are you planning any more adventures for them?

I am. Daniel will definitely cross swords with his old enemy, DCI Paxton again. He has unfinished business and will no doubt be relying on his furry partner to have his back again as they go into battle.

Will we see Gideon or Ben in another book?

I think Gideon deserves to have a quiet life, now, or as quiet as it can be living with Pippa. However, as an investigative journalist, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ben didn’t find himself embroiled in more trouble. He does find it difficult to resist getting involved when he sees injustice being done, much to Lisa’s despair!

How do you know so much about horse training and riding?

I was brought up around horses and my first job when I left school was working with horses. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I’m not able to have my own horse at the moment, but I still love and admire them and love to watch horse sports. 

Are the locations in your books real places?

There’s no one answer to this – some are and some aren’t. Some of them are based on real places but I will nearly always change the names so that if I need to employ a degree of artistic license I won’t upset anyone. Sometimes I will make up names using a combination of two existing village names and the result sounds so much as though it must be a real place – even I forget whether it is or not! I always make up the names of police forces as, in my books, they often fall short of being completely efficient or honest; I’ve no wish to cast aspersions on His Majesty’s finest!

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a writer?

Write! What are you waiting for? Sure, there’s no guarantee what you write will ever be published, but it certainly won’t if you don’t write it. I think most of the best writers start writing because they love it and if they’re sufficiently talented they may actually end up making money from it, but many won’t, so it’s really only something you should do if you enjoy it. Get words on that page/screen – who knows where it might take you?

Are the dogs in your books based on real animals?

Yes, some are. Mouse, Ben Copperfield’s timid little lurcher (Outside Chance & Bad Blood) is based on a dear little chap called Teazle, owned by my mother and myself, and ???? one of the dogs in Murder in Mind, was based on a friend’s dog as a memorial. My breed is the German shepherd, as you might have guessed, and Daniel Whelan’s faithful partner, Taz (No Going Back etc), combines the qualities of a couple of my own dogs. I’m also working on another book strongly featuring a German shepherd that bears more than a passing resemblance to a wonderful dog I shared my life with until recently.

Do you have a Facebook page?

Yes, I do. Please look me up and come and chat. I love hearing from readers and try to reply to all messages, though it might not be right away. 

Do you have a favourite book of the ones you have written?

Not really. It’s a bit like asking someone which of their children they like best. To be honest, my favourite at any one time is usually the one I’m working on, unless you ask me at a moment when it’s not going well!