Once again thank you to Paul and Mike at e-thriller for their support. Why not see what else they recommend and if you want to follow them on Twitter you can do so here. https://twitter.com/ethriller

Described as “riveting”, it’s fair to say I’m very chuffed about this! Thanks to Mike and Paul at e-thriller.com for their support. If you’re an indie author, why not submit your book to them for consideration? I’m glad I did!

Peter Carroll

Thanks for hosting me Lisette!

In the late 1970’s I lived in an area of Edinburgh called Redhall; an unremarkable collection of housing perched on a steep hill, on the western side of the city. The highlight of my week was the visit of the mobile library. This converted bus would park at the foot of the hill and draw the nine year old me to it like I was wearing an iron filing suit and it was a giant magnet. I would hurtle downhill, clutching the books I’d devoured in the previous six days, desperate to get aboard and check out whether or not they had what I was looking for next. Two series of books gripped me in those days: Franklin W Dixon’s Hardy Boys Mystery Series and Willard Price’s Adventure Series. I was determined to finish all of the books from both.

I loved that library. It took my imagination on trips all over the world, sharpened my wits as I tried to solve mysteries, taught me things I didn’t know, and kept me entertained for countless hours

I’m very pleased to say that from a very early age, my own daughter has loved all things written word. Once again, I am living at the top of a steep hill but, this time, the local library is a permanent fixture in the town centre. The whole family have used it extensively and, in my humble opinion, it is a crucial local amenity.

This week, my wife went in to order a couple of books for herself and there, on a ‘New Books’ fixture, was my novel In Many Ways. She took a picture and shared it via social media (as did I). I was immensely proud. That nine year old lad who charged downhill to the mobile library could never have imagined that one day, a book he wrote, would be rubbing metaphorical shoulders with Willard’s and Franklin’s (even though it turns out he was actually a series of writers using the pen name). Of course, I’m not inspiring a new generation of readers in the way they did – my book is very much an adult affair – but it’s the principle that matters. Well, to me anyway.

That may well have been a great moment, but this morning an even better one came along. I visited the library with my wife and daughter, for my wife to pick up her books, and to have a look at my book in situ, only to discover that someone had borrowed it! I don’t mind admitting I was a bit emotional. I still consider libraries special places and this is possibly as big an achievement in my mind as writing a novel in the first place.

I would love to hear other people’s memories of libraries and what books inspired them to read as kids. If you’re a writer, have you had your own library moment?

And, in case you were wondering; I never did finish either series. My tastes changed and my reading matured before I could get through them all. In my defence, there were a lot of them and, from what I remember, I had a really good go!

Peter Carroll

This week, two small scenes gleaned from my own personal archive have taken on a new resonance with the passing of the people involved. Both characters were a big part of my formative years in different ways. This is not a gushing obituary, merely a few remarks made in the passing.

Gerry Anderson created a host of TV shows in the 60’s and 70’s. The two that most enamoured me were Thunderbirds and Space 1999. They were not just at the cutting edge of TV for their time; they were at the vanguard of merchandising. My abiding memories of both series, other than the title sequences, were the die-cast models of the spaceships I received as a child. Space 1999 stays with me in particular as, due to fiscal restrictions, I was required to create a moonscape and landing stage for my Eagle Transporter from paper-mache and old shoe boxes. I spent many happy hours re-enacting episodes and creating my own. I noticed that these models (the one pictured above is identical to the one I had) are now selling on eBay and the like for up to £60 a time – wish I’d taken more care of mine now!

As far as Thunderbirds go, one of my characters in my first novel is described as having a ‘head bobbing like a Gerry Anderson puppet’, thanks to his copious intake of alcohol. A small homage to the characters I so adored.

In the late 70′s and early 80′s Jack Klugman played a character called Quincy ME: a pathologist who fancied himself as a detective, helping to solve mysteries surrounding the cadavers he dissected. In my very early teens, I was inspired to become a pathologist by this curmudgeonly, clever, interesting character. I never did become one – for various reasons - and my latest novel features a character upon whom I have projected this little bit of my history. Of course, whether I became a curmudgeon, clever or interesting can be decided upon by others!

Both men led long and fruitful lives, doing things most people only dream of. They will be remembered by way of a body of work to be immensely proud of. Good on them and RIP both.

Thing is, I’m a bit worried now about who else I might have jinxed through my random reminiscences!

Peter Carroll

I hope you enjoy the story. If you do, then a review, a tag ticked, or a Like would be much appreciated.

Peter Carroll

Just remember it’s not for suitable for children!

Peter Carroll

I am over the moon to announce the imminent arrival of my new novel ‘Stark Contrasts’.

With a following wind and a bit of nifty footwork, well, fingerwork more likely, it should be published in the next couple of weeks. As a taster, I have posted a sample of the first chapter here.

It’s a crime thriller and marks the start of a series that will feature a new cop – Detective Inspector Adam Stark, a Scotsman, working in London for the Met’s Murder Investigation Team.

Stark and his partner DC Lara Katz have to unravel a bizarre case involving someone who has decided to exact terrible revenge on people for committing what appear to be trivial misdemeanours. Spitting out chewing gum, listening to music too loudly on a train, tailgating, and barging onto a Tube carriage all have terrible consequences for the culprits.

As the punishments escalate in severity, Stark is led a merry dance. This is a vigilante-serial-killer with a difference: a sociopath with a social conscience. Question is, can Stark get to the bottom of what’s going on before anyone else is killed or maimed?

On another note, this post features a couple of prototype covers. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback! Which one would you go with?

Thanks and hope you enjoy the sample!

Peter Carroll

I’ve written a wee guest post for fellow Scottish author Sinclair Macleod about ten lyrics that I really admire. Why not take a look and see if any of my choices grab you too?

Cheers for letting me loose on your blog Sinclair!

Words and Music

In the process of writing, you learn constantly – from yourself and others. There are lots of great blogs and books out there helping you to improve your grammar, sentence structure, plot, character development and anything else you can imagine pertaining to writing. If you intend to write, you should pay heed to the good advice of others.

So, here’s a little observation from me that I hope you find useful.

I had been editing and re-drafting my second novel when it struck me that I had used the word had far too often. I had gone back over the manuscript and had discovered literally hundreds of occurrences. I had also started to notice when reading other writer’s work that they had overused the word as well. It had really started to bug me!

It’s funny, when you notice a written ‘tick’ like this, it can be very annoying. However, it can also be very useful. In this case, it made me think about how I might structure my sentences better to convey past tense – without inserting ‘had’ over and over again.

For example, the second paragraph could easily be re-written thus:

While editing and re-drafting my second novel, it struck me that I consistently overused the word had. I reviewed the manuscript and discovered literally hundreds of occurrences. As I read other writer’s work, I noticed that they too were overusing this word. It really started to bug me!

I don’t know about you, but for me, the second version scans much better. None of the sense of time or place is lost nor is the tense affected. It is also a much leaner 48 words versus 63 in the original.

I now try to use ‘had’ as sparingly as possible; thinking harder about how to replace it and improve the sentence structure as a result. Obviously, there were and are times I had to use it!

I’m sure lots of you have similar examples and I’d love you to share them with me.

Peter Carroll