July 2025

Hello all,

As I’m sure you will all be aware, it’s been a very long time since I posted anything on this website, and even longer since my last novel, DEATH ON THE QUEEN MARY was published. November 2021 to be exact. I can only apologise for the lack of updates.

DEATH UPON THE LONESOME WILD is almost ready. It should hopefully be out this autumn, but I’ve made too many promises already, so I’m not going to guarantee it. Once I have a concrete publication date, I will post it here.

A lot has been going on in my life over the past few years. The last 3 in particular have been especially horrendous.

Around the time of my kidney stone incident in January 2023, my brother suffered a stroke. He suffered frequent falls and another suspected stroke during that year, which culminated in a diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease in the November.

We’d only lost our mother to cancer in 2019, and our father to heart disease in 2014, so my brother’s diagnosis, coming as it did out of the blue, knocked us for six. I totally lost my enthusiasm for everything. It was a struggle to go in to work at my day to day job during that time. I was able to reduce my hours and relinquish my managerial position in an attempt to combat the stress and anxiety. I tried to get back to my writing in an effort to take my mind off things, but sadly the enthusiasm still evaded me.

Throughout 2024, my brother’s condition deteriorated quite rapidly, necessitating a number of brief spells in hospital and finally resulting in a lengthy stay in hospital following a particularly horrific fall at home. He never regained his mobility after that fall, becoming totally bed-bound. He was transferred to a local Nursing Home in the November, but sadly the speed of his deterioration increased. He had to be fed by tube, he gradually lost much of his ability to speak, and finally in May of this year he lost his brave battle against MND.

Later this year, I will be taking part in the MND Association fundraising challenge by walking 15000 steps every day during August. Details can be found on my Facebook page for anyone who would like to make a donation.

I have now taken an early retirement from my day to day job, which will finally give me all the free time needed to get back to my writing, and hopefully my enthusiasm for writing will also now return and allow me to polish DEATH UPON THE LONESOME WILD in time for an Autumn launch.

Onca again, Autumn 2025 is still provisional, but I’m hoping to make it.

In the meantime, please once again accept my apologies for the lack of updates, and I would like to wish everyone a pleasant summer (or winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere).