I have recently finished my latest novel – the sixth in six years. It’s now in the hands of my highly-professional copy editor. I hope it will be published in the latter part of April/beginning of May, to be followed shortly afterwards by my first story for children between the ages of five and seven….
I was delighted to be interviewed recently by Amanda Loose for a piece in North Norfolk Living. The area is not only home, but also features heavily in my books, so has an extra special place in my heart. Amanda was very interested in my background in The Foreign Office, and the inspiration that led…
To write five novels in five years has been – for me – a remarkable journey of discovery. I’ve found a new and deeply rewarding profession that complements my other ongoing activities (diplomacy, the environment and the preservation of buildings in King’s Lynn of historical and architectural merit) and provides a new and refreshing means…
My wife and I went to Jerusalem and Palestine in November 2017 as part of a study group. In the city we saw sites familiar to many – including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Golden Gate, the Garden of Gethsemane, St George’s Cathedral, the Western Wall and Yad Vashem the Holocaust Memorial. Even…
Last year, I sat watching some grainy film footage of the Nuremburg war crimes tribunal in the building where it all happened. It was 27 years since I had left my Foreign Office posting in Berlin, during the last years of a city split by a hateful wall. Playing my part in exercising Allied right…
The final character profile from A Motif of Seasons compares two people, one with a strong sense of discretion, who hides their feelings and keeps secrets, and another with a strong and emotional openness and the rebelliousness of a new generation forged in war. Count Frederick Paul von Deppe Frederick is Count Joseph von Deppe’s…
The penultimate character profile from A Motif of Seasons contrasts a man of enterprise whose character is undermined by greed and disloyalty with a young man from a similar unorthodox background but who does not succumb to the same petty human weakness. Ernst Kiefer Kiefer is a devious fixer, chancer and thug who allows his…
Today’s character profile from A Motif of Seasons features another mother and daughter: a woman, full of suppressed rage and unfulfilled revenge, who fails to see that her daughter, despite her contrasting happiness and success, is just as vulnerable and insecure. Rebecca Bartlett Rebecca is a young English governess to Count Joseph and Countess Beatrice’s…
Continuing the series of posts introducing new readers to some of the key characters in A Motif of Seasons, here is the third pairing. Count Joseph von Deppe and his wife Countess Beatrice offer a perfect juxtaposition of Prussian-style inflexibility against a woman’s determined and clever outmanoeuvring. Count Joseph von Deppe He is head of…
Continuing the series of posts introducing new readers to some of the key characters in A Motif of Seasons, here are the second pairing. Charles Hardinge and Robert Whitfield typify the contrast between the good and dark sides of human nature and the damage the latter can cause. Charles Hardinge Victoria Elise’s English husband, he…
Over the next few days, I’d like to introduce new readers to some of the key characters in A Motif of Seasons. As an author, I’m fascinated by the different aspects of human nature, so I’ve decided to pair the characters up to compare and contrast them. Here are the first two. Exemplified by a…
People often ask me about my writing method. Of course, each writer has his or her own but here is mine (please remember I’m relatively new at the game). First, I set myself a completion deadline and stick to it. This approach probably reflects my diplomatic career in which every task – writing a brief,…