On Snowdon

I rather like the well-publicised recent story of the librarian who celebrated her 60th birthday with a list of 'things to do' that were not too dramatic, but potentially very pleasurable. You won't catch me abseiling or skydiving, but indolent as I am, rather more modest targets appeal to me.

And last week, to celebrate my birthday, I achieved one long-held ambition, to go to the summit of Snowdon, the tallest peak in England and Wales and at the heart of one of my favourite areas. No, I didn't go scaling up any cliff-face. The train journey - which, through a delay, turned into a three hour round trip - was good enough for me. Mind you, scrambling up to the top from the train terminus was quite an experience, given the gale that was blowing. Luckily, I didn't fall off, and before long the mist cleared and the sun shone through.

Several crime novels have been set on mountains - Glyn Carr wrote a number, though I haven't read any of his work. I don't know anything about climbing, but I must admit I was tempted by the idea of a short story set on Snowdon, and mused on a possible plot during the journey back to Llanberis.

Getting out and about to inspiring places is good for a writer, I think, and I only wish I had more time to do more of it. But perhaps one of these days, this will be possible. In the meantime, though, the short story has to be put on hold. At present the priority is to work out the story-line for the next Lake District Mystery!

Crippen to be cleared? and other news

I’ve been intrigued by recent news reports suggestion that Dr Crippen’s name may finally be ‘cleared’ almost a century after his execution for the murder of his wife. Here’s a link to one of the articles:

Crippen Cleared?

The quality of Crippen’s legal representation during the course of his trial is one of the key elements of Dancing for the Hangman. I’m intrigued to see that Mr Di Stefano, now engaged in this matter, numbers Saddam Hussein among his former clients.

How far this particular campaign to exonerate Crippen will get, who knows? I suspect that issues about the validity of the ‘DNA evidence’ said to prove his innocence may be more complex than the news reports suggest.

Changing the subject, I was really pleased to hear from my German publisher this week that Kein Einsames Grab (aka The Arsenic Labyrinth) is being reprinted already. A German mate emailed me the other day to say that all three of the Lake District Mysteries are prominently featured in bookshops he’s visited lately, and for any mid-list writer, this has to be morale-boosting news.

Dancing again

Dancing for the Hangman is due to be published in the United States towards the end of this year. I’ve just received this preview of the front cover, which seems good to me The publishers are Five Star, who have also published two of my Harry Devlin novels in the States (the Lake District Mysteries are published by Poisoned Pen Press.)

Dancing took quite a while to bring out, but I’m really pleased with the reaction to it in the UK. I’ve just received the latest issue of CADS – a magazine I’ll talk more about before long, because this issue is crammed with fascinating things, as usual – and although the main focus is on books of the past, there’s a nice review of Dancing for the Hangman. All the more pleasing because the reviewer, magazine Geoff Bradley, is someone whose opinion I value, because he never heaps praise on books he has doubts about.

Here’s part of what Geoff said:

‘I’m not really one for true crime and I know very little of the Crippen case, but I did find this novel fascinating. The author manages to get inside Crippen in such a way as to make his personality, inadequacies and motivations clear…I must confess I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book, but enjoy it I did. – very much so. Using the real story with the fictionalised insights into Crippen’s own mind make for a winning combination and a book which I highly commend.’

Pausing for breath

I began my current work-in-progress, the fourth Lake District Mystery, on New Year’s Day, 2008. It seemed like pretty good timing, since the story of The Serpent Pool opens on New Year’s Eve. And late last night, Easter Sunday, I finally reached the end of the first draft.

So, nearly sixteen months to produce a first draft. Rather longer than I usually take, but it’s been a hectic year, with a variety of ups and downs. Pressures of different kinds have slowed my progress, but I’m truly grateful for the many good things that have happened since 1 January last year, and especially indebted to those wonderful friends who have supported and encouraged me in many much-needed ways – certainly too many to mention right now.

It’s been a demanding book to write, because I have tried to come up with a really interesting and unusual story. A book in a series does not have to be written to a formula – in fact, it’s better if it isn’t. But it has felt like a long haul, and it’s no coincidence that I started and finished the first draft on public holidays – when working full-time, writing hours are at a premium during a normal week.

I don’t have a clue how people will react to the book, and soon I will submit it to the questioning eye of agents and editors. There may be a need for re-writing, and the book won’t appear on the shelves any time soon. Publication at some point in 2010 is what I’m aiming for.

But right now, I just fancy pausing for breath!