Hi. Thanks for coming. This is what male crime writers often look like – upturned collar, the stare across the shoulder, the ‘would-you-trust-this-man-as-far-as-you-could-throw-him’ expression on the face. Well, that’s the way we have to look. The sort of things we do to our characters don’t go with cheesy smiles or concern for other people. Except that they do. Most crime writing’s about people – their fears, frustrations, excesses, their tragedies and needs. And, of course, their motives for doing the unspeakable things they do.

I was born in Plymouth, England a long time ago but I’ve lived most of my life in Scotland. I’ve written stage and radio plays, songs and sketches for revues, short stories and crime novels. I’ve been a university lecturer, actor, director, TV presenter (that’s another thing about male crime writers – they never seem to be able to hold down a job). I’ve also spent a few years as a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow in universities in Aberdeen, Dundee and St Andrews.
I love writing. I love the power of even the simplest words. I love the intimacy that’s established between writer and reader as, together, we turn a fiction into a reality.