Have you always dreamed of having your name immortalised in a book?  Well now’s your chance.  The children’s cancer charity, CLIC Sargent is holding an on-line auction and the winner will have a character in my next Wesley Peterson novel named after them.  Other authors are also taking part and I think it’s a fantastic way of raising much needed funds for a really good cause.  If you want to take part and support CLIC Sargent go to http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/getincharacter  Good luck!

February’s been a busy month.  I’ve been working on my next Wesley Peterson novel, THE DEATH SEASON as well as organizing various events for later in the year.  I’m very excited that my murder mystery Death at the Dig is due to be performed in three libraries – it’s my tribute to the so called ‘golden age of crime writing’ in the 1920s and 30s and is great fun (and played strictly for laughs).  I feel it’s important to support our libraries at this uncertain time of closures and cuts.  I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that libraries are a sign of civilization and we lose them at our peril.  If it wasn’t for visiting my local library in Liverpool (Allerton) from an early age, I’d never have become an avid reader - and, as a consequence, I doubt if I’d ever have become a writer.  There must be an awful lot of people in this country with good reason to be grateful to libraries and we really must support them.

When I haven’t been writing, I’ve been digging.  Last year I had a great time helping with the excavation of Agatha Christie’s sister’s garden.  There’s a possibility that I might have the opportunity to return there later this year, but in the meantime, I’ve taken part in a dig on our village green, once the location of a grand house.  The archaeology group (The South Manchester Archaeological Research Team, commonly known as SMART) excavated the hall itself a couple of years ago so this time we were concentrating on the outhouses.  It was a fruitful dig, uncovering some interesting floor surfaces, and, fortunately, the weather was kind to us…and in a Manchester February that’s something of a miracle.  Can’t wait to get back there in a couple of weeks.

Findigs

Better get back to work as I’ve left one of my characters in considerable peril!  Don’t forget about CLIC Sargent.