Meet Lady Stark-Raven

I’ve been tinkering with A.I again. Just for fun, you understand, I’m not planning on allowing it to take over my life or anything. It’s just that after having successfully created a near spot on image of Joe Wilkie with Google Gemini I fancied having another go at creating Lady Stark-Raven as the last attempt made her look like a bizarre hybrid between one of the female gladiators and Pete Burns.

I wasn’t at all happy with it but I was determined to give it one more try and I do believe I’ve been far more accurate in her description this time.

When I began to write Ah Boy! – Joe’s first adventure, I wanted to create a human monster in Lady Stark-Raven. My rationale being that the scariest and most believable monsters in literary and cinematic history have always been human in their origins. Hannibal Lecter, Frankenstein’s creation, Count Dracula, Professor Moriarty, Mr Hyde, Darth Vader, The T-1000 and so on. There are a great many more when you think about it.

And so, with that in mind I set about creating my monster.

There was a subtle difference, however, with my monster in that while Lady Stark-Raven is indeed monstrous in her beliefs and ideals, she is in fact usually on the side of good rather than evil. She’s more Hulk than she is Thanos.

My initial plan for her never really changed. I’ve always depicted her of being tall for a woman, heavily built in a muscular way, short haired, permanently angry and violent of temper, and rather fond of waving shotguns and riding crops around whenever the chance arises. Some people have compared her to Miss Trunchbull in Roald Dahls’ Matilda but I disagree. Yes, there are some similarities between Miss Trunchbull and Lady Stark-Raven but there are huge differences too and the main one being that Her Ladyship, now and then, shows a bit of heart. Yes, she’s a towering ogre of a woman, but from time to time there appears a small chink in her armour, reminding us that she is actually human.

And, as I mentioned earlier, she is generally on the side of good. Also, lets not forget her love of horses, dogs, literature and gardening. And she has a soft spot for Marguerite in an almost maternal way, as she sees something of herself in that young Ukrainian woman.

Anyway, without further ado, here she is in the flesh.

I give you…

Lady Stark-Raven of Blessham Hall.

Damn but that A.I is accurate. That’s pretty much how I’ve always seen her in my mind’s eye. Maybe a little bulkier perhaps but I don’t want to mess around with it too much. Maybe this is a slightly younger version of Her Ladyship.

One thing is for certain though, you can see why Joe lives in mortal fear of the woman.

Whose image should I try to create next?

Meet Joe Wilkie

Just a short one today because I am agonisingly close to having Beastie ready for publication. Exciting times indeed and a feeling I’ve not had for a few years. Believe me, when you get that email confirmation that your book is live on KDP its one of the best feelings in the world.

So what I thought I’d do today is introduce you to the man himself – Joe Wilkie – the hero of the (soon to be 5) Blessham books.

Now, I’ve always been rather vocal about my disdain for A.I and I do honestly believe that it’s going to cause a lot of problems for mankind at a future date. I don‘t mean that in an apocalyptic way, although that’s a possibility, but more in a way that the time will come that we won’t know what’s real and what is A.I. Come to think of it, we’re almost there now.

However, a good friend of mine was tinkering around with Chat GPT or whatever its called the other day; he was taking photos of us all and then turning us into superheroes, and it seemed like a bit of harmless fun. So, I had a little go on Google Gemini and after a few false starts I managed to create an A.I generated image of Joe.

I wasn’t expecting much to be honest but I have to say that, after making a few tweaks here and there, what I ended up with is startlingly similar to how I view the little guy in my mind’s eye. And I think that anyone who has read any or all of the Blessham books will surely agree that I’ve pretty much captured our Mr Wilkie.

The books aren’t too descriptive of how he looks but the clues are there. He’s five feet seven inches tall, he has mousey, unkempt hair, he has a somewhat vacant (dare I say gormless) expression, and he’s not the tidiest bloke when it comes to appearance.

That’s pretty much the brief that I gave to Gemini.

And here, is what it came up with.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you (drum roll) Joe Wilkie!

Now, I don’t care what anyone else says because I have been writing the character’s life story for a lot of years now and to me that is him in a nutshell. Let me know what you think of it, please do.

I did have a go at doing a Lady Stark-Raven image but she ended up looking like some gentrified dominatrix. I shall try again, though, and maybe do one or two other characters from Blessham. I don’t want to get too carried away because as I mentioned earlier, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of A.I. I can see that it does have its uses, although writing literature shouldn’t be one of them, but I don’t want to get so involved with it beyond making images of my characters.

Don’t get me wrong, I am fairly I.T savvy, but I’m also a somewhat old-fashioned kind of chap and believe that some things, such as writing books, should be left to human beings.

Cover Reveal!

So this week I commence the final proofread of my new novel. It feels like a lifetime since I started writing it but in reality has only been about a year or so. Therefore, publication is imminent and it’s about time I showed you the cover and title, also the back cover blurb, to whet your appetites.

Well, the new novel is called…

Drum roll…

BEASTIE

It’s a fab and funny Joe Wilkie adventure that fans of the little chap are going to love. Once again he finds himself up to his neck in it but Joe being Joe, he faces it with his usual optimistic outlook on life.

But before the cover reveal, lets have a read of the back cover blurb.

Here it is:

Blummin’ ‘eck, it’s all kicking off again for Joe Wilkie. There’s something sinister lurking in Blessham Woods and it’s got the whole village in an uproar. And by uproar, I mean they can’t make money out of it fast enough. As for poor old Joe, he’s never been so scared in his whole life.

Join Joe in his fifth adventure, where he has problems with an old legend, holy water, teenage vandals, ants in his pants, a broken window, buckshot, a hospital visit, the police (again) and hordes of rampaging townies. Not to mention the responsibility of being a Godfather; all whilst trying to avoid being mauled by the dreaded Beastie!

Will Joe escape being savaged? Will Lady Stark-Raven’s aim (and temper) improve? And what about the pretty new stable girl that’s caught Joe’s eye – Paige Turner?

All will be revealed in…

BEASTIE!

Ok, how does that grab you?

Right then, here’s the cover:

You’ve got to admit that it’s the best cover yet of any of my books and it was rendered by our fabulous granddaughter – Erin.

Beastie will be available to buy very soon for £2.99 for the Kindle download version and £9.99 for the paperback version.

Watch this space.

Language Barrier

I don’t half make life complicated for myself at times. I’ve just given myself a mammoth task thanks to the ongoing development of Joe Wilkie.

I’ll explain.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed (you may not but I certainly have) that Joe Wilkie’s vocabulary has been progressively changing over the course of the 4 novels he features in so far and even more so in his fifth outing that I hope to release soon. I know he’s always had that sort of countryside twang that lies somewhere between Dorset, Norfolk and Yorkshire and that’s the main reason that I’ve never revealed the geographical location of Blessham. Only I know which county of England it is set in.

But I have become acutely aware of just how much his vocabulary has altered since his first introduction in Ah Boy! The changes have been fairly subtle but I’m now seeing them myself as large as life and if you were to read all 5 novels in one non-stop sitting you would notice it very quickly I think. You’d probably need a stiff drink as well.

Here’s the thing though, in the novel I’m working on I’ve just about got Joe where I want him regarding the peculiarities of his speech. We know that he’s a slow learner and has always stumbled around complex words, although I never intended him to be mocked for that but seen as a have-a-go-hero instead. In the new novel though I’ve expanded his vocabulary to be even more disjointed, if that makes sense.

For example:

In Ah Boy! Joe would use the word ‘before’ whereas now it has morphed in to ‘afore.’ Similarly, where he once would have said ‘them’ he now says ‘they’ or ‘they’s’ a lot more. There are loads more examples but I’d rather you read the books yourself and see how Joe has evolved over the series.

Which brings me to the mammoth task I mentioned at the start.

Do I now go back and revise all the other Blessham Books to keep Joe’s vocabulary uniform throughout the series? And believe me that is a mammoth task, albeit an easy one from a time perspective because I’m independently published and therefore can do as I jolly well please with Joe or any of my characters. Let me tell you I’m giving it a lot of due consideration. It’s a project that could take maybe six months or more to complete but I feel that in the name of continuity it needs doing.

Talking of giving myself a bigger workload, I’ve started a Blessham database using Microsoft Access. Oh, how I wish I had done this sooner. I’ve got a database for all the characters, one for locations – buildings, towns and villages, one for Joe’s own descriptors e.g. ‘hoppy-onion’ for opinion, and one for future characters that I’m hoping to introduce or just to have in reserve.

Once the database is complete I’ll be able to iron out a few little foibles with the books that have been niggling away at me. The main one being continuity with names. For example, I have used the name Perton several times but with three different surnames – Ardbuns, Shayply and (most recently) Curvey. Now, Perton is not a common name and it would be highly unlikely to find 3 individuals with that name in a medium sized English village and the fact of the matter is that all the Pertons in the books are one and the same person (or one and the same Perton – see what I did there?) And I have come to the decision that Perton Curvey works best, ergo I now have to edit all other references to his name in the other novels to make that all important continuity work.

Like all genuine novelists, I want my work to be authentic and believable, even though it is fictional, and having the same character with three different surnames or the main character constantly changing the way he speaks is an issue that I need to address.

Nearer and Nearer

It’s coming, bear with me, it’s definitely getting nearer and nearer. So close I can almost feel it. No, not Christmas, I mean my next novel.

So, here’s how the land lies. I’ve finished the second read through and edit and am now plunged well into the third. There’ll be a fourth and then a final spelling and grammar check and one last proofread but then it shall be ready to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Ok, a bit dramatic perhaps, but I felt like that because there is a lot of suspenseful drama in this one alongside all the calamitous comedy escapades that Joe Wilkie has become synonymous with over the last few years.

I’ve mentioned before that the fabulous cover is finished, thanks to my wonderful granddaughter, Erin, so really it’s just a case of getting the text done and dusted and we’re good to go.

As for the drama that I mentioned, I think it wouldn’t be fair of me to whet your whistle like that without going into just a teensy bit more detail. This is Joe’s horror story and also, perhaps, something of a detective fiction as well. It’s not supernatural horror; I don’t do that kind of stuff; it’s a farcical, knockabout comedy horror – think Carry on Screaming or What a Carve Up! and you’ll be in the right ballpark.

During the second edit I often found myself having to stop reading due to being incapacitated by uncontrollable laughter. I think some of the scenes and dialogue in this one are amongst the very best that I’ve written for Joe yet. I know that self-praise is no recommendation but if the writer finds it arse-clenchingly funny then that can’t be a bad thing, can it? I figure that if it makes me laugh then hopefully it will make you laugh too.

All your favourite characters are present in this one including Lady Stark-Raven (and her erstwhile staff) who finds herself embroiled in the thrill of the chase. There are local ne’er-do-wells and perhaps the strangest antagonist Joe has ever had to face.

The police are involved and the whole village is financially on the make. Sex sells they say, but then again, so does horror and the Blesshamites take full advantage of the situation. There’s a couple of new female additions to the village one of which has Joe going “gaa gaa, goo goo” whenever he sees her and another female that just sends him completely ga-ga whenever he sees her! Intriguing, isn’t it?

Joe is in deep in this one, in many ways, but, thanks to his ever-optimistic outlook and his wonderfully refreshing naivety, he wins the day (of course he does).

So that’s what I’ve been up to since the last blog post two weeks ago. I’ve reached that stage that all writers reach where you just want it finished and out there to be read. And I sincerely hope this one will be widely read and possibly give my novels the shot in the arm (or kick up the arse) that they need. If it rekindles interest in my work then it will be a job well done. And as far as plot lines go I think there’s only The Pheasants Revolt that comes close to this one.

I do believe in this little book. I’ve really poured my heart and soul into it and I hope that will show in the end product. It’s been a long time coming and I’m looking forward to that wonderful feeling of receiving the email that says, “Congratulations, your book is published.”

I’ll post further updates as and when.

Dog Days, Afternoons and Nights

As we enter the final week of that most heinous of months – the foul abomination that is January, I can see that there has been something of a theme for Ange and I. Namely, dogs. It’s been a dog-filled time like never before.

The year got off to a furry four-legged start when Becky and Paul went to Spain on January 2^nd and we stayed on the boat to look after Noel, Becky’s dog, and Snowy, Becky’s cat. We’re both boaters of old so we weren’t phased by the prospect but by gum I’ll tell you one thing, it was freezing on there.

I had planned to do Dry January again but unfortunately, when we got on to the boat the first thing I did was light a fire (which almost wrecked my knees in the process) and the second thing I did was to open a bottle of wine. The situation was desperate. Noel isn’t a particularly robust dog and it was important to keep him warm as well as ourselves.

And thus began a week of walks, feeding, fussing and poo-bagging.

Noel is a lovely dog but he’s incredibly needy and didn’t have the best start in life when he was a pup. Becky rescued him when he was about six months old and he came with a host of anxiety issues. He’s a loud barker as well and will sound off at the merest hint of a noise. On a boat that can echo and reverberate like having your head in the bass bins during a heavy metal gig.

For most of our week on board the canal was frozen solid but we were pleased with our own efforts at keeping the fire lit overnight. That is quite a skill actually. Not everyone knows how to do that.

We tried to enjoy our time on the boat but the minus degrees temperatures made it difficult and we were glad to get home again on the 10^th. But our canine duties were far from over.

One of our neighbours, Linda, had an accident on the ice whilst we were away and broke her arm. That’s bad enough but take into consideration the fact that she has a healthy and active spaniel and another problem becomes apparent. The spaniel is called Eric and he’s immensely strong, ergo Linda was unable to walk him.

The good news is that the community rallied round and a rota was drawn up for volunteers to walk Eric. He has four walks a day and this made the logistics a bit complicated but Ange put her name down for the early evening walks for the week. She enjoyed it but by the end of the week she was ready for a day or two off. Like I say, he’s a strong and powerful young dog and as awful as it sounds, I don’t think I have the physical strength anymore to walk such a vibrant hound.

The rota is ongoing and Ange is going to put her name down again. I might accompany her on some of the shorter walks, as sometimes that’s all he needs, but if they go for a proper trudge then I doubt my legs will keep up for very long.

During the week that Ange walked Eric we had something of a doggy drama. Becky rang very early on the Thursday morning to say that something was very wrong with Noel. Ange hastened to Skipton to pick them both up and take the poor lad to the vets. The diagnosis was severe arthritis. Now, I’m not a vet, although I wanted to be one when I was at school, but I couldn’t help- feeling there was more to it than that.

Noel is getting on a bit in labrador terms and arthritis is common in that breed but he stayed with us that Thursday night and I have never before in my life seen a dog look so poorly. It was heartbreaking to see. He couldn’t settle and he kept putting his head behind Ange’s back while she sat on the couch. His face had visibly dropped and to be honest I began to fear the worst.

The next morning a decision was made to take him back to the vet for a second opinion. He’d been given some medicine the day before which didn’t seem to have much of an effect and I began to suspect that he had some form of doggy virus because here’s the thing – he was back to his old self over the weekend. We hear about 24 or 48 hour bugs in humans so why can’t the same apply to man’s best friend? That’s the way I view the situation.

The next dog adventure we had was with adorable Bella who belongs to our friend and neighbour Val. Bella is a Jack Russell/Lhasa Apso cross and she is just about the cutest little thing you ever saw.

Val was in the process of moving to a new flat on the ground floor and needed somewhere for Bella to hang out for a few days. We jumped at the chance. Bella is the easiest dog to look after that you could imagine. Really, she is so placid and calm and gentle but also a little comedian as well.

Val asked if Bella could stay with us a couple of nights and we readily agreed. We love a bit of fur therapy and Bella is superb at providing it. It’s comical to see her take herself to bed (ours) at ten o’clock even though we’re still watching TV. She’s also got a rather effective bladder because she isn’t an early riser that needs to do her business at 05:00 a.m. but will happily wait until daylight arrives before doing her ablutions.

It’s win win!

So, there you go, a doggy start to the year. I must say that, as I write, this January has been a vast improvement on the previous three. So far, neither of us have had a life-threatening illness and nobody near or dear to us has died. There’s still six days to go but we’re keeping our heads down and are determined to get through it unscathed.

In between all these animal antics I have been writing as and when I can and I have edited 6 chapters of the upcoming new novel. I’m wondering whether to do a cover reveal yet as I’m as excited as can be about this one. Maybe just a little while longer.

Anyway, it’s Sunday today and Val and Bella are coming to see us later which we’re looking forward to. You’ve never seen a dog smile like Bella when she first sees you. It’s a joyous thing.

All of this leads us to ask the question of ourselves, will we get a dog (or cat) of our own? I believe we will one day, when the time is right. For now, we’re living on borrowed fur and we’re loving it.

What Alan Did

Hallelujah!!!

I think that after all this time of searching, moaning and bleating I have finally found an equilibrium in my writing. Hard to believe I know. How many times have I come on here whinging and whining about my health complications or the next idea to improve my output? Hmmm?

Plenty, that’s how many.

And before you think to yourselves, “Oh no, here he goes again,” let me tell you that I am finally going to use this blog for it’s intended purpose and nothing more.

Blog! It’s a funny word isn’t it, as it doesn’t readily roll of the tongue as easily as “bollocks,” which, in case you didn’t know is the word in English that can be shouted louder than any other word. I’m not expecting you to nip out into the garden to find out, especially those of you who live in affluent neighbourhoods. Those who live in effluent neighbourhoods might get away with it though.

But enough about bollocks, I want to talk about blogging (it’s so easy to get distracted these days) and how I intend to go about it from here on in.

Blog is basically an amalgamated abbreviation of the words WEB and LOG. You probably knew that anyway so apologies if it sounds like I’m trying to teach Granny to suck eggs. Although why anyone, elderly or otherwise, should want to suck an egg is none of my business. But yes, you take the B from WEB and add it to LOG and you get BLOG.

A log, apart from being a piece of unprocessed timber or euphemism for a turd, is basically a record of events or actions. Such as the Captain’s Log from Star Trek for example. A diary or journal if you will.

I often read the blogs of other independent authors and that seems to be the way they play the thing. They use that platform to keep their readers up to date with what is happening on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. Julia Blake is especially good at this – CLICK HERE to check her blog out.

I have noticed, and can admit the awkward truth, that I have used mine for the aforementioned whinging and whining and at times even railing against the system and the stupidity of my fellow man. And that is not what I intended at all when this blog began way back in… 2020 I think it was.

So for the future, that is what I foresee for the blog. I’ll keep you posted about little old me. A sort of What Alan Did kind of thing.

Substack, on the other hand, has already had the kick in the arse it desperately needed.

My Substack site was suffering from a touch of bloated pomposity and politicization at times and, again, that was never my intention at the start. I wanted to write humorous short stories and make people laugh and have a brighter day. I’m pleased to say that so far, in 2026, that has been the case. I have written 3 absolute corkers which can be enjoyed HERE.

All good so far then.

“Ah!” I hear you collectively cry. “What about all your health issues that you constantly moan about? Well, I’m glad you asked. I’ve finally started my fibromyalgia blog, entitled – The Adventures of Fibroman, which can be found RIGHT HERE. It’s only in its fledgling state at the moment so be kind and patient with it please. It needs work and time management has never been my strong point so bear with me. All I ask is that if fibromyalgia has affected you or anyone you know then do please get in touch through that channel.

That just leaves us with the novels.

Number 8 is written as a first draft and there will be a couple of months of editing the blessed thing. I’m making no more promises about times and dates; I’ve been hoist by my own petard too often in doing so. I’m just going to get on with getting it finished and let you know when it will be published and do the old cover reveal and all that kind of stuff. I can’t wait to show you the cover.

Phew! Glad I’ve gotten all that lot off my chest. I feel a lot lighter for doing so.

One big change I do want to implement however, is to increase the regularity of the blog. Last year I think I wrote something like 20 blog posts compared to about 100 Substacks and I have neglected the poor, dear old blog as a result. Something I need to work on. Call that my resolution for 2026.

Righto, I’m off to Blessham now to start knocking Joe Wilkie’s latest adventure into shape.

Last Roll of the Dice

It grieves me to have to write something so depressing at this time of year when the rest of the world is pissing it up and celebrating an imaginary old guy with a white beard and natty red suit when they should be remembering the birth of Christ. But Hey Ho, that’s the way humanity rolls these days.

I’ll cut quickly to the chase.

My 8^th novel is completed, well, first draft anyway. The problem is that I am tired and in pain and feeling utterly dejected as a writer. I made the classic mistake, when I first self-published of thinking that my work would sell in great numbers; how foolish and naïve I was.

Let me tell you the God’s honest truth – If anyone ever tells you it’s easy being a writer or an author they are clearly lying and they themselves are neither of those things. It’s a bloody hard slog to write a 90,000+ word book, a harder one to edit and perfect it and an even harder one still to try and sell the damn thing. And I just don’t have the wherewithal to carry on banging my head against the wall for no return.

So, here’s the deal.

Over the next couple of months, I’m going to finish editing and preparing that 8^th one for publication. It’s a cracking story and the cover, as I’ve mentioned before, is unfeasibly fantastic. I’ll then do my best to promote it for six months and if I still find myself in the situation where I am now, vis-à-vis not selling any books, then I’m knocking it all on the head. I can’t kid myself any longer and I don’t have the physical capability to do so either.

This book is the last roll of the dice.

Sorry to be such a killjoy at Christmas but I’m on my last legs here.

I Want to Shout it from the Rooftops!!!

Just a quick blog post today. I had a minor hospital procedure yesterday and I still feel a bit sluggish from the sedative (Fentanyl) so please forgive the shortness of this post.

But here we go!

I’ve never hidden the fact that my granddaughter, Erin, is utterly fabulous. You may think it’s an obvious thing for a grandad to say and you’d be right of course. But today she has once again showed her fabulousness, and how.

You may recall me saying that I’d asked Erin to create the cover art for the next novel as she is the most accomplished teenage artist you ever came across. Well, today she presented me with the artwork and I am completely bowled over by it.

I knew she’d do a great job but it’s even better than I could have ever hoped for. It is without doubt the best cover of one of my books yet. I’m not just blowing smoke when I say that; I believe it from my heart.

I feel as if I want to show it to everyone and shout from the rooftops (as the title of this post suggests) about how brilliant it is and honestly, you’d be the same. But to reveal it now would spoil the surprise. I haven’t quite finished the first draft yet and I don’t like giving too much away too soon.

But take it from me it is utterly wonderful and you’re going to love it. It’s a bit of a departure from the usual Blessham covers and I’m giving serious thought to asking Erin if she will help me redesign them all, with the exception of The Pheasants Revolt, which Erin’s mum created and which I love. But the others could certainly do with looking at from a fresh perspective and I don’t think there is anyone else but Erin who I would give the task to.

Erin gets me you see. We have always had such a laugh together and I consider her to be not only my granddaughter but also one of my very best friends. I always knew she had talent as she was always doodling away at an early age. One of my proudest possessions is a scribbly but lovingly done drawing in biro on a sheet of pink paper that she presented to me on my birthday when she was only five years old. Yes, I still have it and would never part with it.

Since those early forays into drawing she has progressed into a gifted illustrator and is now employed as a tattoo artist. That’s a job that takes a lot of skill and even more bottle to do. I’ve said before that I’d never have a tattoo but that if I ever change my mind then Erin gets the job without a qualm.

I gave Erin only the briefest outline of what I wanted for this book cover and she has produced something that any self-respecting author would be proud to have on the front of one of their tomes.

Damn it I wish I could show you it. But the time just isn’t right yet.

The Ingleby Problem

I’ve been scratching my head for some time now as to what to do about Ingleby, the fictitious town where 3 of my novels are based. Those novels, of course, being:

The Ghost of Lenton Wattingham

Mutch Wants Moor

Vole

If you haven’t read them yet then I would urge you to do so at the earliest possible convenience. They’re all full of dark humour and are thumping good reads that take an introspective look at the seedier side of life.

So why have I been scratching my head?

In short, I think the Ingleby novels have run out of steam. Or is it me that’s run out of steam for the Ingleby novels? May I beg a few moments of your time whilst I elaborate? Thank you.

When I independently published my first novel – Ah Boy! – in 2019 I had already got the plan for a full series of books starring the central character, Joe Wilkie. But at the time, I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself and just write in one particular style and felt it best to branch out into other literary worlds. That’s when the idea for Ingleby came about.

I saw my writing career going as thus – A Blessham/Joe Wilkie novel followed by an Ingleby novel and repeat the cycle.

The thing is, as time has progressed and with my development as a writer, I’m just not “feeling” the Ingleby thing anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as proud as a peacock with those three books and many people have told me how they think Mutch Wants Moor is the best book I’ve written to date and I’m somewhat inclined to agree.

However, I had begun work on another Ingleby novel over two years ago. It was the follow up to Mutch Wants Moor featuring the adorable Archie and Aggie Stone and their canal boat Orca. I had actually got 15 chapters into it and for some reason, which I can’t fully explain, I just stalled. Came to an abrupt halt. I didn’t know where to go with it. I’d driven it down a literary cul-de-sac and couldn’t turn around.

Here’s what I think happened.

Over the last 6 years of being an independent author, I’ve come to realise that Joe Wilkie and the village of Blessham is where I’m happiest writing about. I think Joe has really developed into such a well-rounded character and those stories are so much fun to write. To be honest with you, I wasn’t having very much fun with that abandoned Ingleby novel.

I’m firmly entrenched in that particular camp that says if you don’t enjoy writing then you shouldn’t really be doing it in the first place. And I wasn’t enjoying writing that one. It just didn’t have the same flair, pace and joie de vivre that its predecessor had and I was finding it hard to recapture all that.

Henceforth, I shelved it and turned my focus back onto Blessham. Note the word “shelved” in that sentence; I’m a firm believer in the phrase “Never say never.” It may come to fruition at some point in the future. But for now, it remains unfinished.

I’m now a mere 4 chapters from finishing the first draft of the new Blessham novel and I am having a mountain of fun in doing so. I swear I haven’t enjoyed writing this much since The Pheasants Revolt, back in 2020/21. My imagination is running more riotous than a large group of poll tax protesters and ideas are just tumbling out of me like last nights kebab. I’m having a blast.

Also, and I’m sorry if this sounds like bragging, but I’ve been gifted a new computer by my amazing and generous in-laws the Morgan Family. It’s an absolute beast of a machine which was formerly used for gaming so you can probably guess how powerful and fast it is. I love my old laptop and it served me well for 11 years but it’s starting to show it’s age a little (like all of us) and running rather slow and I think it’s time to retire the old girl.

This new machine though is so fast and efficient that I can write around 1300 words an hour or more. Something I couldn’t do on Propane Elaine (my laptop’s name, don’t ask).

So, here’s where I’m now at. The Ingleby novels will henceforth become the Ingleby Trilogy until such times as I return to them in the dim and distant future. I’m going to focus the bulk of my attention on getting some more Wilkie books written so that there is a lengthy series for readers to immerse themselves in and I desperately need to be so much more proactive and creative with the marketing of my books as well. I don’t invest anywhere near enough time in doing that.

And I think my books are well worth promoting.

I also have a couple of other irons in the fire, one of which is an anthology of my non-novel scribblings from this blog and Substack etc and there’s a new character I’ve been playing about with in my head which I’m slowly developing for when I eventually do need to take a break from Blessham, which is bound to happen at some point.

So sincere apologies if you prefer my Ingleby books. Like I said, I most likely will return to that townful of reprobates at some point in the future, but for my own career’s sake I need to focus on Mr Wilkie and Co for now.