A holiday from Hell - in every possible way

I’ll be talking a little bit more about that a couple of paras down. In addition, we’ll mention two more titles of mine that are due out later in 2025: THE DEVIL’S KNIGHT from Canelo Books, and TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, from Telos Publishing.

Before any of that, I’m afraid, I have more sad news.

I also owe an apology for the length of time it’s taken me to get this blog together.

2025 has been a strange kind of year, for all sorts of reasons. Some of you reading this column will be aware that my mother, Margaret, passed away in March. That gave us all a very difficult first quarter. But more recently, would you believe, my beloved dog, Buddy, also passed on to heavenly pastures new, though at least he got to rejoin his brother, Buck, who went ahead of him in 2023. 

Believe it or not, this isn’t just a personal thing, it’s actually relevant to this column. I called Buck and Buddy (pictured right, being very restrained) my co-writers because I always dictate my first drafts, and I used to do it while I was walking that pair of rascals around the streets of my hometown of Wigan. Quite a few people seem to have become familiar with the sight, because since the pair of them departed, and I now walk and dictate alone, I’ve been stopped several times and asked where the pooches are.

It’s tough, to be frank. I mean, it’s not really an excuse for being slow off the mark with blog updates, but when your mind is elsewhere and you've also got lots of work to do, luxuries like pumping your innermost thoughts and fears out to the rest of the world tend to become a low priority. It’s also been busy in this neighbourhood of late, which allows me to segue neatly into the subject of m next publication...

It won’t have gone unnoticed by the eagle-eyed among you that my last two Heck novels, ROGUE and NO QUARTER, were published by an outfit called Brentwood Press, which some will probably have guessed is my own publishing company. I formed it a few years ago with my wife and business partner, Cathy, initially to reprint collections of short stories and novellas from my rather extensive back-catalogue. However, it’s now home to a fictional character I now consider to be my most enduring hero: Detective Sergeant Mark Heckenburg of the National Crime Group.

It’s fairly well known now that that my Heck series of novels hit the buffers during the Covid crisis. The fact that this coincided with a change of publisher didn’t help the situation at all, and when we finally emerged from the chaos, I found that my former employers had largely lost interest in bringing back a character whom they considered had had his day. I thus moved Heck to Brentwood, where he isn’t so much enjoying an Indian summer as running around like a spring chicken, with hopefully many more adventures ahead of him.

Deepest thanks to all those of you who kept the faith that Heck would return and who bought into the continuation of the series when it reappeared. Sales for both ROGUE and NO QUARTER are very good, which proves to me at least that there’s still an appetite out there for tough action and hardboiled grit. The fact that both titles have also been acquired for Audible publication (more info on that when I get it) only adds to my conviction that we were right to keep Heck going.

In the meantime though, my new mass-market publisher, Thomas & Mercer, have been very keen to get their hands on some original free-standing crime novels, and so I’ve happily obliged.

The first one of these will be THE ISLAND, and it’s out on September 1, but you can pre-order it now if you're up for that.

So, what can I say about THE ISLAND so far in advance of publication?

Well, you’ve seen the intro to this column, and that’s about a much as I want to give away of the plot, because I don’t want to drop too many spoilers your way. Suffice to say that previous freestanding crime thrillers of mine have been investigative procedurals. 

In ONE EYE OPEN for example, a lady traffic-cop looks into a seemingly routine road collision only to find herself embroiled in a vicious contest between rival underworld factions, neither side prepared to take prisoners. Likewise, in NEVER SEEN AGAIN, a bloodhound journalist goes looking for a kidnapped heiress and ends up putting both himself and his friends in the most terrible danger. 

I love both of those books. They were proper contemporary Noirs, but now that I’ve arrived at Thomas & Mercer, the time is right to try something slightly different.

I’ve been particularly interested recently in the works of crime authors like Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware and Lucy Clarke. It’s not so much the locked room mystery that fascinates me, but I’ve long loved the idea of everyday people - not cops, not secret agents, not former spec op guys - finding themselves marooned in some particularly lonesome spot, and at the mercy of an unknown killer, who they are forced to track down themselves if for no other reason than to save their own lives.

Now, I should point out straight away that this is not quite what THE ISLAND is about, but I can’t pretend that its overall vibe hasn’t been inspired by those kinds of ‘struggle to survive’ crime novels. In addition to all that, because it’s me, I’ve pumped it full of raw action and added some sprinklings of terror. You know, just in case living in the real world at present doesn’t scare you enough.

So, there you have it. THE ISLAND is published on September 1. If there isn’t enough here to whet your appetite, worry not. There is plenty more to come before then. Watch this space or feel free to check out my ramblings on Facebook or X.

It will be a bit of a right-hand turn on Heck, but then, what isn’t?

Even more of a right-hand turn are my late autumn publications, which I tauntingly alluded to near the start of today's column.

THE DEVIL’S KNIGHT, the first instalment in the forthcoming Wildblood Saga, is out on October 9 (but already available for pre-order), and will obviously be completely different from my crime writing, as you’ll see from the cover. For anyone who enjoyed my Norman Conquest series, USURPER and BATTLE LORD, I’m reasonably confident that you’ll be up for this one.

Here’s the official blurb:

On the subject of my final publication of 2025, TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, I ought to mention that I’ll be making a few public appearances during the course of this year. So, if anyone wants to get a book signed or just say hello, you’re free to pop along and do so.

The next of these will be at Leigh Library (Greater Manchester) on June 5 (6pm) for BOOKFEST, where I’ll be in attendance with numerous other authors from the Northwest, sitting at my own stall, selling and signing books, and generally chatting to anyone who comes along.

After that, I’ll be appearing as a guest at the SYKEHOUSE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL at the Owston Hall Hotel, Doncaster, on June 27 and 28.

The next one after that will be at the annual THEAKSTON’S OLD PECULIAR CRIME-WRITING FESTIVAL at the famous Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate (July 17-20), where I’ll be around the outdoor bar area for most of the Friday and Saturday.

We then round things off (at least thus far, though new dates may yet be added), at the WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton from October 30 to November 2. Look for me there at the Telos table, where we’ll be launching the latest in the TERROR TALES series, a special World Fantasy bumper volume, TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, in which a wide range of top quality horror authors will tackle a wide range of horrific monsters.

Alas, I’ve no artwork of TOC for that last one. Not yet, though we will have very soon. So again, keep watching this space.

All good?

Excellent.

Speak to you all again soon.