With the publication of the latest novel in the Janie Juke series – A Notable Omission – we find Janie in the spring of 1970 exploring her new-found skills as an amateur sleuth. Once again she has local reporter, Libby Frobisher, by her side. Here’s a reminder of the story… Spring 1970. Sussex University isContinue reading “Janie joins the seventies!”
Category Archives: social history
A chance to be heard
As I try to unpick the relationship between the people and the politicians in post-war Britain I’m reflecting on some of the key events when the populace had a chance to express their opinion. Labour Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, had enjoyed five years of leading a majority government, following Labour’s landslide victory just two monthsContinue reading “A chance to be heard”
From top down to bottom up…
To help me get into the mindset of my fictional characters I have spent the last few years researching recent history. Those of you who are familiar with my novels will know they are all set during the iconic decade of the 1960s, a time when Britain experienced a significant cultural shift. To explore theContinue reading “From top down to bottom up…”
Dreaming of the ‘mother country’
Originally posted on Outset Publishing:
In June 1948 the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury Docks bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean who were hoping for a new life in Britain. During the Second World War, thousands of Caribbean men and women had been recruited to serve in the armed forces. Some had been to…
Writing a trilogy
Firstly, thank you to Isabella for inviting me over to her blog during my ‘Chindi Author of the Week’ which happens to coincide with publication of my second novel, The Coal Miner’s Son. Why write a trilogy? Well, there are a couple of reasons really. As a writer I don’t want to say goodbye toContinue reading “Writing a trilogy”
Agatha Christie and Janie Juke!
In 1969 there was a young librarian who discovered that all the Agatha Christie novels she had read throughout her childhood could now be put to good use. Read on to find out more… Who is Janie Juke? Janie Juke is a young librarian, living in the fictional Sussex seaside town of Tamarisk Bay inContinue reading “Agatha Christie and Janie Juke!”
Agatha Christie and Isabella Muir
I read my first Agatha Christie novel when I was thirteen years old. I don’t remember which one it was, but I do remember that it led me to read another and another. Like most authors I am a voracious reader. Having worked my way through Agatha Christie’s crime fiction I moved on through otherContinue reading “Agatha Christie and Isabella Muir”
…when I’m 64
‘When I get older, losing my hair Many years from now’ Who remembers hearing these Beatles lyrics for the first time, back in 1967. Maybe we thought that by the time we reached 64 we would be ‘old’. It seems laughable now, when 64-year-olds choose to go trekking in their holidays and spend their weekendsContinue reading “…when I’m 64”
Choosing a life of crime
When Agatha Christie’s first crime novel was published in 1920 she was thirty years old. She was a loved and loving daughter and is described as living in an ‘upper middle-class family’. When Jane Austen’s first novel was published in 1811 she was thirty-six years old. She too was a loved and loving daughter. HerContinue reading “Choosing a life of crime”
Isabella Muir 