On the loose

I came across this photograph on my computer this morning and it immediately took me back to June 2020 when I was deeply immersed in writing the first part of the novel. New Zealand had been in lockdown and I was due to return to the UK but COVID was making international travel little difficult. So writing the novel became a big part of my daily routine. Nearly two years later and the book is published. Thanks for the generous and positive feedback received thus far, mostly it must be said from friends and family. I look at this picture and sometimes wonder what was going on in my head at that time? Lots of research, so many threads to follow and a lot of determination to drag it all together into a story. The book finally emerged from a long term ambition to see if I could do it - could I write a novel that I would like to read? I was enjoying myself!  Of  that I am now sure and my thoughts have already begun to stray towards a sequel. Only time ( and reviews posted, preferably on Ama

I t's a nervous time for me! Quite a few copies of my first novel "The Bell That Never Rang" have beens old and I imagine the readers avidly turning pages - or nodding off, as the book slips onto the floor! The book is based on the life of my Great Uncle Jim Bowen who served for many years on the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand. The vessel, which was purchased by the New Zealand government and commissioned in 1912, had a relatively short but illustrious naval career. The picture above shows the medal and medal card that was issued to commemorate her visit to New Zealand in 1913.Three years later she was in the thick of it at the battle of Jutland. I spent many hours  researching  the history of HMS New Zealand so that I could make the storyline of the novel authentic. It was therefore a trifle ironic to learn, as I was on my final edit, that the NZ historian Matthew Wright, had just published a book on her history!  'The Battlecruiser New Zealand' is a really good r

Ever since I was a child, it has been an ambition of mine to write a novel. I was always writing stories in those days, and then laboriously stitching them into little books with lengths of wool stolen from my mother's knitting bag. The busy veterinary years, found me busily scratching way at something, usually technical articles or newsletters but sometimes I allowed myself the luxury of some less focused writing, the occasional poem or the beginnings of my next best seller. When lockdown arrived in New Zealand and the prospect of many weeks of my own company loomed, I no longer had any excuses; there was no longer any shortage of time. As I began to assemble the various scraps and notebooks together, I began to realise three things: I really enjoy the researching and writing.  It is very easy to get sucked into the detail. It takes a very long time to produce something like this. But slowly I pulled it together. On a few occasions I probably spent too much time down web wormholes