Round the Herne

 A discussion with a friend on social media prompted this philosophical musing about the vast popularity of murder as a form of entertainment - films, TV shows, novels (my own included) etc. Along the meandering way there is consideration of Christian theology (well, more soteriology really), the psychological craving for order in the face of chaos, Kantian ethics, and a few other asides.

The autumn equinox is almost upon us, which has significance for several pagan traditions - though strangely very few ancient myths directly associated with it. From a secular viewpoint, it was the date on which the French abolished their monarchy and became a republic in 1792. I am not a republican myself (world politics is not currently enthusing me as to the joys of following such a political route), but do know of one pagan myth - or legend, at least (inasmuch as it depicts a purportedly historical event with no reference to magical or mystical goings on) - about how a much older civilisation became a republic. This is the tragic tale of Lucretia, a Roman matron subjected to horrible treatment by the lecherous son of King Tarquin. I rarely tell historical tales, so this is not particularly well told. The events accounted for the Roman historians do not take place at the equinox, so the only tenuous connection to this time of year is republicanism. The response she takes to the ...

Watching the unfurling horrors in Manchester and London, I am as bewildered as anyone else by the level of hatred and malevolence on display. I was born in London and still have family and friends there, so yesterday's incident is particularly close to the bone. London is a city rich in mythology and legend (I'm sure Manchester is too, but I know very little about its stories) and the incident brought to mind both a favourite song - I am an admirer of the Golden Age of music from the 20s, 30s and 40s, including the Noel Coward number below, which I heard delivered to great effect by Kitt Hesketh-Harvey and Dillie Keane some years back. The song in turn brought to mind a semi-prophetic folk story from London's wide raging traditions. My spin on the story is included below - I hope it does not feel "too soon" to tell it. London Pride Karim’s lungs burnt as he raced through the city in hot pursuit of his friend, his once-friend, friend...

Two days ago the sad news was announced that British character actor Geoffrey Bayldon had died at the grand age of 93. Younger readers may not recognise the name, he having been retired for a while, but those old enough to remember Worzel Gummidge and Catweazle certainly will know him as the both the Crowman whose magic brought scarecrows to life, as well as the ancient time travelling wizard who landed in 1970s Britain to discover the perverse magic of electrickery and telling bones. He also appeared in a long old list of TV shows and films. His magical characters inspired me with the visual image of Doctor Winter, a real life Cunning Man who lived in the 1700s and early 1800s in Ipswich. When writing fiction I find it helps if I can put a face to my characters, so often draw on both celebrities, people I know, and random strangers I see whose faces interest me. I wanted to restore Winter to life as the sleuth in a short story called 'A Doctor Calls' (part of the crime anth...

This is my version of a story about the cunning man of Ipswich, a genuine 18th century figure known as Old Winter or sometimes Doctor Winter. He appears in my crime anthology, A Dangerous Place. The story in the book is one of my own invention, whilst the recorded story here is a traditional folk tale mentioned in a number of sources. To my imagination Old Winter is the spitting image of British character actor Geoffrey Bayldon, but I'll leave you to dream up your own face for him.

Advance copies of the third book arrived yesterday, and I have to say I like what they've done with the cover. It's rather thicker than I had realised when writing it! Must have got rather carried away. I shall take a few copies down to the Grey Mare Camp in the New Forest this weekend and see if it takes anyone's fancy. The book contains ten short crime stories all set in the same part of Ipswich, but spread out over different historical eras. All the stories draw on themes of paganism, magic, mysticism and superstition. I have seen a few reviews already, and so far they have been appreciative. It will be useful to hear which if the characters interest readers the most, particularly with a view to writing full-length novels featuring the popular sleuths in further adventures. If anyone wants to order themselves a copy, you can do so through pretty much any bookshop (support your independent stores!). The ISBN is 9871782792116 and it sells for £10.99, published by Mo...

The cover of my next book has just been made up by the designer ~ I am sooo pleased! If anyone feels like pre-ordering then you can do so through any bookshop. The ISBN is 978-1-78279-211-6. It will also available as an eBook  but I am clueless as to how people can go about getting copies of that. If you missed the earlier post, this one is a collection of short stories, all historical murder mysteries set in different periods starting with the ancient druids and working into the present day. All the stories are united by themes of paganism, magic, faith and the supernatural. You can even get smatterings of philosophy, Ipswich history and spiritual meanderings amidst the whodunits. When it comes out I want to get some feedback as to which sleuths are the more popular with readers, so I can focus future fictional writing accordingly. Some characters are intended as one-offs with no intention of being revisited, but others I hope will interest people enough to get support fo...

Moon Books have given me a contract for my next book, 'A Dangerous Place', which will be my first foray into fiction (well, of the paying sort). It is an anthology of murder mysteries all set in Ipswich but spread over several thousand years, each one looking at a different era of local history. Each of the stories has a strong occult/mystical theme underpinning the crime that has taken place. More details of the release date and the cover art (I love it when the designs arrives from the publishers) will be posted here as soon as I hear.