Bringing a book to life

What goes into writing a book? How easy or hard is it? And what happens when you’ve finished? With my new book, Murder All Inclusive, due to be published soon, I thought I’d answer some of those questions based on my experience writing it.

What’s the big idea?

Writing a book (in my experience, anyway) usually starts with one central idea. This is my fourth book now, and each time I’ve written a novel, there’s always been a nugget of an idea, which grows and develops into the full story. For Murder All Inclusive, the thing that kicked it all off was the idea of Freddie Winters – the main character from my previous book, Killing Dylan – misbehaving and getting into trouble in a fancy holiday resort. Doesn’t sound like much, but that was where it began.

With that initial gem of an idea, I started building the story around it. Why was Freddie in the resort? What would happen to him? How would he react? The plan was to write it as a follow-up to Killing Dylan, which was a cosy crime murder mystery. That meant this book ought to be a murder mystery as well. So that meant coming up with a murder plot for Freddie to solve.

Plotting the plot

The first thing to do was figure out who the killer was? Then I had to decide who they were going to kill, and why. I also had to figure out where all this was happening, and how it was going to connect with Freddie’s holiday in the fancy resort.

One thing that I was keen to carry over from Killing Dylan was the literary theme. Freddie Winters is a crime author who uses his experience of murder mysteries to solve real crimes. In Killing Dylan, the action all takes place in the publishing world, and I wanted that to carry on. So, I decided the best reason for Freddie to be in Spain was as part of a writer’s retreat, which he was attending in order to teach and inspire amateur writers (something Freddie would hate to do, which meant it was great for comic potential). And in that surrounding, who better to kill off than some of the other authors?

Casting the characters

I set about creating a cast of quirky characters who would also be in attendance at the writers’ retreat. I needed a host of other authors, some amateur writers, a few familiar faces from Freddie’s past to stir up some trouble, plus a group of victims who could be picked off throughout the course of the book. And, of course, the killer.

Uncovering the motive

Naturally, I couldn’t just have a bunch of murders with no reason behind them. So, I had to figure out why the killer was doing it. I spent a few weeks thinking things through, making lots and lots of notes, changing the plan and the motive (and even the victims) several times. Finally, I had a good story to work with. And a duplicitous plot for Freddie to uncover.

Getting the words down

With a good sense of the story (beginning, middle and end), I set about writing it. That meant lots of trips to coffee shops. Yes, I am one of those people that likes to write in coffee shops – I like the buzz and the ambience, plus a certain amount of people watching (and the coffee, of course). It also meant lots of unsociable hours, early mornings and writing little bits here and there, whenever I got the chance. The story changed several times through the first draft alone, as I thought of new ideas, spotted the odd plot hole, and realised certain bits weren’t working as well as I would have liked. And after about a year (yes, I am a little slow) I had a good first draft.

Edit, edit, edit

Then, of course, it was time to edit the book. I tend to edit a little bit as a I write the first draft, revisiting parts, reworking sections and finessing bits here and there. So, although it was technically still a first draft, I had already edited it quite a bit. As such, I was pretty happy with the structure of the book and didn’t feel like I needed to make too many big changes.

Naturally, there were typos to correct (there always are). Bits that I knew I could improve. A little bit of character development. The odd plot hole that had somehow still snuck in. And, of course, quite a bit of cutting down. I spent a few months trimming, shaping and finessing the words, and then I had a good second draft.

Gathering feedback

I have a small group of trusted early readers who give up their valuable time to read early drafts and give me their opinions. It’s invaluable help. So, I sent the book to my chums and they came back with some thoughts and suggestions. I did another good edit and then it was time to submit to the publisher.

Thankfully, the good people at Raven Crest Books were keen to publish the book. Hooray! Then the book went to my editor, who gave me even more valuable feedback.

Doing it all again

Then it was time for another draft, based on the editor’s comments. A bit more character development, a few plot adaptations, some more finessing and it was done. Then it was back to the publisher for a proofread, formatting, getting the cover designed, and all the amazing things the publishers do behind the scenes.

Finally, the book became a thing and it will soon be ready for people to buy and read.

Murder All Inclusive will be published this December. Check back for further updates.

Read my new book before anyone else

My new book, Murder All Inclusive, is nearly here. And now I’m looking for advanced readers to join my ARC team and help spread the word.

What’s an ARC team?

It’s an exclusive group of advanced readers, who get to read my new book before it’s even published. You’ll also get access to exclusive discounts, news and updates.

What does it involve?

I’ll send you a FREE advanced readers copy (ARC) of the book, which you can read on your Kindle or e-reader. Then all you have to do is read it and hopefully love it enough to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads or wherever you usually leave book reviews.

Fancy joining?

I have 10 spaces to fill on my ARC team*. Simply add a comment in the box below saying ‘I’m in’, or something similar. First 10 names selected at random will get to join.

Sound good? Then what are you waiting for?

*Sorry but friends and family are not eligible to apply, so if you know me or are related to me, you’re out of luck.

Who is Freddie Winters?

With the release of my new book, Murder All Inclusive, just around the corner, I thought I’d give you a little intro to the story’s main protagonist. If you’ve read Killing Dylan, you’ll already be familiar with the incorrigible, curmudgeonly grump that is Freddie Winters.

Freddie Winters is a crime novelist who’s nowhere near as rich, successful or famous as he believes he deserves to be. Down on his luck, and always looking for his big break, Freddie has spent many years surviving on a pittance and dreaming of the big time. He sneaks into bookshops and sets up his own book signings, very much against the wishes of the owners. He spends his days in coffee shops, nursing cold coffees and trying to get some writing done. And he just wants something to go his way.

Sardonic, irritable, cuttingly funny and generally quite disagreeable, Freddie doesn’t like people. He doesn’t have much time for animals. He definitely doesn’t want to be anywhere near annoying children… or old people… or, well, anybody, really. And don’t even get him started on James bloody Patterson. Beneath it all, though, Freddie has a heart of gold. He has a keen mind. And when his friends need him, he’s there for them.

Having spent many years writing crime fiction, Freddie has built up a good knowledge of detective techniques. He also has a collection of dodgy acquaintances, who he can rely on to help him research criminal activities – and bend the law when necessary. So, when presented with real crimes, Freddie knows he’s uniquely placed to subvert the police and take on the investigations himself.

At the start of Murder All Inclusive, Freddie has experienced a small amount of success and the fame has naturally gone right to his head. Of course, he hasn’t learned any lessons. He’s still as grumpy as ever, despite wangling an invite to a writer’s retreat at a luxurious holiday resort in Spain. And wouldn’t you know it, there’s a murderer on the loose. Can Freddie catch the killer before it’s too late?

Murder All Inclusive will be published this December. Check back for further updates.

And if you want to familiarise yourself with Mr Winters before the new book comes out, why not check out his first adventure, Killing Dylan?

Cover reveal

Drum roll…

I’m very excited to announce that we now have a final cover for my new book, Murder All Inclusive. And I’m happy to share it with you all now.

So, here it is.

Once again, I think the designer has done a fantastic job. And I think the cover really hints at the fun, quirky, darkly comic murder mystery inside.

So, what’s the book about? Here’s the blurb from the back cover:

Sun, sea and books. It should be the perfect relaxing getaway. Until the bodies start piling up…

When crime writer Freddie Winters finds himself invited to a luxurious writers’ retreat in Spain, all he wants to do is sit by the pool, get drunk and ignore all the amateur writers he’s supposed to be teaching. But then someone starts killing off the other authors. And before he knows it, Freddie is the prime suspect.

To clear his name, and save his own life, Freddie has to put his detective skills to work once again.

Are you excited to read it? Well, the wait is almost over. Murder All Inclusive will be published this December. Check back soon for further updates.

Planning a murder

People often ask me how I come up with the ideas for books. With my new novel, Murder All Inclusive, due to be published very soon, I thought you might be interested in knowing how and where the inspiration for this story hit. It all happened one sunny day, sitting by a pool in Tenerife.

I’ve heard other authors talk about how their characters stay with them, filling up their thoughts, as if they’re real people. And I think that’s true. I often find myself wondering what adventures George Thring has been having since the end of my first novel (who knows, maybe one day I’ll wonder so much that I’ll write a new adventure for him). I often ponder whether Dave Brookman is happier with his life now, since the ending of 46% Better Than Dave. But the character I find infiltrating my brain more than any other is good old Freddie Winters, the main character from Killing Dylan.

Every now and then I’ll wonder what he’s up to, what he’s getting angry about, and who he’s upsetting. I also wonder how he’d react to certain situations I find myself in. Would he be as even tempered as me, or would he be brave enough to speak his mind and tell people exactly what he’s thinking? And so, one day, I was lazing by the pool in an all-inclusive holiday resort in Tenerife, reading a book (sorry can’t remember which one, probably a Jack Reacher) and doing a bit of people watching.

Before long, I started wondering how Freddie Winters would behave in a similar surrounding. I had clear visions of him overfilling his plate at the buffet. I could see him holding court in the bar as he drank too many cocktails. And I could imagine him arguing with people over everything from sunbeds to noisy children and… well, just about anything, knowing Freddie. The idea of him behaving badly in a holiday resort tickled me so much, I knew I had to write it.

So, the setting was locked in. But why would Freddie be there in the first place? What sort of things would he get up to? And what would the big story be?

I knew it had to be a murder mystery of some kind. So, I set to work, plotting out the narrative, imagining new characters and setting up a mystery for Freddie to solve. And then I let him loose to behave badly, cause problems, upset people and investigate the case in his own inimitable fashion.

So, can Freddie catch the killer? Just how much will he eat and drink at the free buffet? And how many people will he annoy along the way?

Find out when Murder All Inclusive is published this December. Check back for further updates.

New book coming soon

Exciting news. I’ve only gone and written another book. It’s a few years now since my last book, 46% Better Than Dave, was published. And you might be thinking I’ve been a little tardy. But then, quite a few things have happened in that time.

I went on a well-deserved holiday of a lifetime with the wife, going on an amazing roadtrip around California. The book was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. Covid hit. I became a Dad. And many more exciting, impactful, life-changing things happened too.

But through it all, I’ve been toiling away, writing another book. It’s a new adventure for Freddie Winters (the star of my previous novel, Killing Dylan). It’s called Murder All Inclusive and it’s a twisty-turny, fun, crazy whodunnit. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, it will keep you guessing and laughing to the end.

The final draft of the book has just been delivered to the publisher. There’s still more work to be done behind the scenes. But the book will be out and ready for you to read very soon.

Check back here for further updates. Follow me on Facebook. Or head back to the homepage and sign up for my newsletter.

My favourite character to write

Rude, curmudgeonly, crass and outrageous, Freddie Winters is my favourite character to write.

I love an antihero in fiction. People of questionable character, who live by a more complicated moral code. Those people brave enough to live life their own way, without apology. Not always living by society’s rules, or strictly within the law. But who still have a good heart and can be called upon to save the day – even if somewhat begrudgingly. Characters like Lisbeth Salander (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Dexter Morgan (Darkly Dreaming Dexter), Allan Karlsson (The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared) or The Bookseller with No Name (Mystery Man).

When I first had the idea for Killing Dylan, I knew what story I wanted to tell – the central plot, the key crime and the motivation for doing it. I knew what was happening to whom, and why people were doing what they were doing. The very first draft I wrote was actually written from the point of the view of the titular character. But there was something missing. The story needed an extra edge.

I thought about how other crime books worked, with a dedicated detective, armed with years of experience and success, and a burning desire to uncover the truth. Then I thought, why not spin that on its head? Maybe the central protagonist, who had to solve the crime, could be someone with no experience, very little success, no real clue of what they’re doing and who doesn’t really want to be there in the first place. The idea made me smile, and my antihero, Freddie Winters, was born.

The wrong man for the job

Freddie was partly inspired by the TV show Castle, in which a very famous, successful mystery novelist joins up with the NYPD to enthusiastically solve crimes in his spare time (itself a kind of update of Murder She Wrote).

However, instead of being a successful novelist, Freddie is not very good (although he can’t see that). He just about manages to carve out a living writing books that nobody buys, and organising his own impromptu book signings. He hates that he isn’t more successful, when all of his peers have gone on to do so much better. He can’t pay his rent. He can barely afford to eat. And he hates the world for it.

Freddie is curmudgeonly and rude – like Waldorf and Statler from the Muppets. He’s bold and outspoken. He can’t understand why people don’t see how brilliant he is. And his bad attitude often gets him into a lot of trouble.

Living life his own way

I always have a lot of fun writing Freddie Winters. He is completely incorrigible. He says things that he shouldn’t (that nobody should), and he doesn’t apologise for it. He does things his own way – even when that way offends or upsets people (or sometimes because of it), or even breaks a few laws. Despite that, his heart is firmly in the right place, and he can (almost) always be called upon to do the right thing – especially if there’s a bit of money in it for him.

I love how brave Freddie is (even though, technically, he’s a bit of a coward). He’s brash and confident. He doesn’t suffer fools and he’s not afraid to tell people what he really thinks. Most of all, he stands up for what he believes in. He stands up for his friends. And when push comes to shove, he’ll put himself in harm’s way to protect those people he loves.

A little bit of me

My wife has often said she thinks Freddie Winters is me, if I were brave enough to really say what’s on my mind. I guess there’s a little truth to that. Although the character is not autobiographical, there definitely is a little bit of me in him. Whenever you create a character, their experiences will always be based upon your own – even if you completely subvert things to create someone completely opposite to yourself. And, okay, I’ll admit some of the things Freddie moans about are the same things that get on my nerves, too.

That’s probably why I enjoy writing Freddie so much. I make him say the most outrageous things, have terrible opinions, act in a completely outlandish way and do really mean-spirited, ghastly things – the sort of things that make me gasp and laugh in equal measure. And hopefully they make other people laugh, too.

Freddie Winters is definitely my favourite character to write. So much so, in fact, that I’m currently working on his next adventure. I can’t wait to see what outrageous things he gets up to next, and book two in the Freddie Winters series should hopefully be with you soon. And in the meantime, why not check out my other books.

46% Better Than Dave shortlisted for Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize

Some very exciting news: my third novel, 46% Better Than Dave, has been shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction. To say I’m delighted is a huge understatement. To tell the truth, I’m still a little bit in shock.

The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the biggest (possibly only) award for comic fiction. It’s named after one of the funniest writers to ever live, PG Wodehouse. I’ve spent many a happy hour reading the outlandish tales of Jeeves and Wooster, so to be shortlisted for a prize named in his honour really is something else. And some really big-name writers have either won it, or been shortlisted in the past, from Irvine Welsh to Alan Bennett, Helen Fielding, Terry Pratchett and many others.

Every year, I follow the shortlisted books and winners with great interest. Some of my very favourite books have previously appeared on the list, like Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday, Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka and Life of Pi by Yann Martel. For my book to be considered in the same category as those titles is really a dream come true, and something I’ve wanted since I sat down to write my first book.

It looks like a pretty strong set of contenders this year, with a previous winner, a few newer writers like me, and the first graphic novel ever to be shortlisted (which looks to be very funny indeed). The winner will be announced on 24 June. Wish me luck.

FREE KINDLE BOOK

As we’re all locked in and feeling a little anxious, I wanted to do a little something to try and raise people’s spirits. So my novel, Killing Dylan, is now free to download on Kindle until Monday. Get it here

Hopefully it should help to raise a smile and keep you entertained for a few hours at least. And please share this post as many times as you can, to help spread the word. Thanks.
#stayhomesavelives #stayhomereadmore

Crafting words in a cupboard

From coffee shops to trains and sun loungers, my favourite places to write are possibly not quite what you’d expect.

My first novel was written in a cupboard. No seriously. At least, part of it was, anyway.

I’d already written some of the book. Maybe a quarter of the first draft. It had been my ambition to write a novel for some years. I’d tinkered with short stories. I’d started first drafts of several different books, never really getting beyond the first chapter. And then I had the idea for my first novel.

Finding a place to write

At the same time, my girlfriend (now my wife) and I, decided to move in together. We couldn’t afford to rent more than a one-bedroom flat. Certainly no budget for a big house with a purpose-built study. However, we found a flat with a strangely large cupboard. On seeing it, I remember remarking, “I reckon I could get a desk in there.” The Lettings Agent laughed. Little did she know.

So, we moved in. I managed to (just about) wedge a desk and chair in the cupboard. And with me in there too, the door only just closed.

It was dark. Airless. No windows and slightly damp. Very hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. But it was my tiny cupboard office and I spent many happy hours in there, typing away and crafting several drafts of my first book, The Unexpected Vacation of George Thring. And when I got my first publishing deal, the story of my cupboard even made the local paper. We stayed in that flat for 5 years, and during that time, I wrote much of my second book, Killing Dylan, in the cupboard, too.

More space to work

Eventually we moved out of that flat and bought a house with more rooms. So, now I have the luxury of writing in my own office (well, half of the spare bedroom). I have a new writing desk. I have a board up on the wall to pin ideas to. And I usually cover the walls, doors and any clear space with post-it notes, containing character details, plot points and a rough story structure.

The office has a lot more space. It even has a window and a radiator. It’s considerably more comfortable to work in and it’s where I wrote my third book, 46% Better Than Dave. But sometimes I still miss that cupboard.

Working on the go

While I like to have a dedicated place to work, you never quite know when the muse will strike, or a good idea will pop into your head. That’s why I tend to carry a notebook with me, so I can jot down ideas and write on the go. I’ve been known to write on the train, in the pub while waiting for people, in the hospital or doctor’s surgery, during my lunch break at work, on a sun lounger on holiday, on planes, and in many, many coffee shops.

Having a notebook in my pocket is also particularly handy when the wife insists on dragging me into town to do some shopping. I can usually leave her to it, sneak off to a coffee shop and do a bit of writing while I wait. Which leads me to…

You can’t beat a coffee shop

As I say, I’ve spent a lot of time writing in coffee shops. Either scribbling away in my notebook, or tapping away on my laptop. It’s a bit of a cliché I know (nicely observed by Family Guy). And you can barely walk into a Starbucks or Costa without seeing at least one person with a laptop. But I find it a very productive place to work. It’s good to get away from the quiet, still atmosphere of the house (and the wife who can’t help but interrupt me).

I like the buzz and energy of coffee shops. And they’re great places to people watch. I don’t go there looking for people to inspire characters, or listening in on people’s conversations. But you never know what you might see or hear that sparks a little nugget of thought that could lead to something in a book. And like Freddie Winters (the main character in Killing Dylan, who also writes in coffee shops), I like the coffee and the free WiFi.

So, when do I write?

I think any time is the right time to write. I find it’s good to have something of a routine. Setting aside a specific time each day to get my head down and craft some words, or just bash something out to increase the wordcount (both are equally as useful). For me, that time is the morning. I also have a day job, as a copywriter for a big Marketing/Advertising company. I spend all day writing something or other (from ebooks to blog posts, concepts, adverts… you name it), so I find that I’m a bit done with writing when I get home in the evening. Instead, I get up early in the morning, head into the office at home, and try to get at least an hour done before I get ready for work. Some mornings are more productive than others… depending how tired I am.

So, that’s where and when I write. If you’re a writer too, what’s your favourite place to work? Get in touch and let me know.