It's about time

[Mark Roope]

I have just joined this group so I thought it was about time to briefly introduce myself.

I am English and have recently retired from the Met Police after having spent 30 years working as a detective, mainly in serious sexual crimes.

(if anyone needs any help or advice in regards to Police procedure, forensics or the courts just ask).

After retiring we sold all our possessions, bought a boat which we live on and have been sailing around the world for the last four years.

We do have a very unpolitically correct blog of our sailing adventures (www.Cygnus3.com) but my real writing passion lies in crime thrillers.

I am currently writing my first novel.

[I. J. Parker]

Welcome, Mark  I read British police procedurals a lot.  Love them. But I write crime fiction set in 11th c. Japan. Much as I'd like to pick your brain, I'm afraid I'm on my own.

[Mark Roope]

I do eat a lot of sushi if that helps!
Thank you for the welcome I.J

[J. E. Seymour]

Welcome Mark! I've seen you elsewhere. :-) I write crime fiction based in New Hampshire, USA.

http://jeseymour.com

[Mark Roope]

J.E or can I call you J,

Looking at the dates on some of the messages on here it does seem a bit underused so it would be good to get some interesting conversations going.

I have wanted to write a serious novel for so long and now I am actually writing it I have some many questions.

Writing a book sounds simple. Think of an idea and hit the keyboard a few million time until that best seller comes out at the end. Unfortunately as I have found life is never that simple.

Mark

www.Cygnus3.com

(That is another hard part. I am trying to be serious in the novel and actually find it quiet hard compared to my blog which is so different)

[J. E. Seymour]

Just please don't ask about first person POV. :-)

[Jed Power]

Why?

[I. J. Parker]

Yes, why?

[J. E. Seymour]

Mark is a member of the crime fiction group on Linked In, as am I. There was a long and heated discussion on that group about writing in first person, with one person trying to tell the rest of us that we had no idea what "real" first person POV was. :-)

[I. J. Parker]

Oh. Some people are just nuts!

[I. J. Parker]

A serious book can also be funny.  In fact, it helps. If you have a knack for it, use it.

[Jeanie Clemmens]

Ahoy (?) Mark. Best wishes on your writing. I will look at the sailing blog as I love the idea of it but don't know much about it.

[Mark Roope]

Thank you Jeanie. Me and I.J were beginning to feel a bit lonely on here. Well I was. It was a bit like being at a party with halitosis. I.J was being the perfect host but then again she has no sense of smell or taste come to that.