The inspiration for Death Surge came like all the other novels in the series featuring the flawed and rugged detective DI Andy Horton from the location. It is locations that inspire me and with the Horton series,set…

I'm often asked how I research my crime novels and in particular the police procedure and crime scene investigation side of things. I'm not married to a police officer or a former police officer (although I am married to a former fire-fighter) so I don't have inside knowledge except when it comes to fires, burnt bodies and serious road and other incidents which fire fighters attend, and they can all be incorporated into a crime novel, which indeed I have done.

So where do I…

On Thursday 13 March I was welcomed by a very lively group of writers at the Chiltern Writers Group, Wendover, UK, where I was pleased to be able to pass on some tips and techniques on writing a novel.

My talk was on the perfect system for planning, researching, plotting and writing a novel. I covered from concept to completion using mind maps, plot lines; developing and keeping track of characters, and factoring in research.…

At Monks Brook U3A on 8 January I was delighted to talk to the audience about my DI Andy Horton crime novels, how I draw my inspiration from the area in which the novels are set (the Solent area on the South Coast of England) and my method for developing plot lines and creating…

All... on behalf of the Australian Crime Writers Association, we've got a member looking for William Leonard Marshall (author of the Yellowstreet novels set in Hong Kong) and W. Glenn Duncan (author of the Rafferty novels set in Texas) who may now be living in Australia (or not).

If anybody can help would you mind dropping a line to us via an …

Here is a  round up of the highlights of 2013, videos and photo slide show to come in following blogs.

My thanks to all my readers, my publishers, to the libraries and organisations who have hosted my talks, to the audiences who came to listen to me, to the press, radio presenters and their listeners, bloggers and their readers and to my family, friends and everyone who has supported me throughout 2013 and an special thanks to the hunky DI Andy Horton!

Wishing you all a very…

A visit to the newly refurbished Sandhurst Library in Bracknell Forest on 4 December was the perfect way to finish a busy year of talks and public appearances in 2013. Not only were the audience lovely and packed with some die hard DI Andy Horton fans but after my talk about murder, crime and bodies there was a gorgeous English tea complete with cucumber sandwiches, scones with jam and cream,…

A Killing Coast, the seventh in the DI Andy Horton series has been published in paperback and as an unabridged audio book. Already available in hardcover and as an e book, published by Severn House, it has been released as an unabridged audio book by Isis publishing, read by Gordon Griffin who also reads the others in the DI Horton series. Published in the UK, Commonwealth and America,…

The second day of my mini book tour of South Wales on 3 October 2013 on the publication in the UK of the tenth in the DI Andy Horton crime series, Death Surge, started with a coffee and a lovely walk along the delightful seafront in Porthcawl (town by the sea) where I picked up some amusing and interesting ideas for characters and…

I'll be taking part at CrimeFest 2013 this weekend where I'll be on a panel on Friday 31 May and will also be talking to the audience about The Perfect System for Writing a Crime Novel.

My panel appearance is entitled: Evening All: A Policeman Calls. It takes place between 10:10 - 11:00am on Friday 31 May when I'll be appearing with fellow crime authors Ann Cleeves, Kate Ellis, J.C. Martin and Kerry Wilkinson.

I'll also be conducting an In The Spotlight session…

Indianapolis is a middle American city.  Until I lived there, I never took it seriously.  The bad news was that I was very prejudiced against it.  The good news was that, being an Easterner, I knew that I was prejudiced against everything between Pennsylvania and the Pacific Coast states, with possible - but not definite, exception made for the city of Boulder, Colorado where some enlightened souls [yes, that means Hippies] had taken up residence during a spreading of the population of the…

The October issue of Writers' Tricks of the Trade E-Zine is now available for download. Filled with interesting articles from contributing authors, a review by Martha Cheves, writer's conference listings, handy tips and techniques and helpful links to blogs and websites plus much mo

re, it is rapidly becoming the E-Zine that writers (and readers, too) love to read and contribute to. Share it with your writer friends and writer's groups. You can find the link to the current issue and…

My story Bullets for Angel is up over at Thrillers,Killers 'n Chillers.  Thanks to Col Bury over there.  A great site.

http://thrillskillsnchills.blogspot.com/

Dale Brown is the well-known author many aviation techno-thriller novels, including a widely popular series centered around the retired Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan. He has thirteen New York Times best sellers under his belt and…

Starting today for a very brief time, my 2007 debut novel, HEAD GAMES, is available for free download exclusively for your Kindle right here.

This is the novel that introduced crime novelist Hector Lassiter, “the man who lives what he…

Vanessa Michael Munroe is an assassin who has nightmares about her past.  He understands her killing capability and when her best friend, Logan, asks for help, she can't refuse.

Logan explains that eight years ago, his friend, Charity's daughter, Hannah, was abducted from her school and carried over the border to Mexico to a religious cult known as The…

The action begins in the Four Corners section of Chicago, a place that is gang dominated. Two brothers, Bobby and Ruben Vargas join the Chicago PD.

Coleen Brennan was Bobby's childhood girlfriend but was murdered when she was age thirteen. Now "The Chicago Herald" is about to run an expose stating that Bobby and Rubin were the two boys who murdered…

WHAT GRINDS MY GEARS

You know…

Tips for giving interviews

Every author will be faced with getting and giving interviews at sometime in their career. It comes with the territory and is quite important. Do you want to seem dynamic or ho-hum?

MORGAN ST. JAMES

www.morganstjames-author.com…