Meeting other writers
I haven’t done a post about the writing life for a while and I know some people like that sort of thing. (Hey, I don’t judge: I just go with things that people respond to.) So, for any would-be writers wondering how to meet other writers (or even if they want to...
And now for something (almost) completely different.
The trouble with being known for one series of books is that it can be tricky to take people with you when you publish something slightly different. In my case, I have a following – unspectacular but much appreciated – for my James Burke books, but that following is...
James Brooke in fiction (besides my book)
I’ve just had a lovely review of The White Rajahthat said “There are echoes of Conrad’s Lord Jim in this wonderful book.” There’s a reason for that. The White Rajah is based (quite closely) on the life of James Brooke, the first White Rajah of Sarawak in Borneo....
An alternative to reading James Burke
It will be a few months (probably) before the next James Burke book. Given that you've read all five (yes, really!) out already, you might be looking for an alternative. A series about another dashing military spy whose activities start in the late 18th century,...
New research on James Burke
I've been talking a lot about Cawnpore lately because I've just republished the book and I'd like you all to have a chance to read it, but this week I'm writing about James Burke and an incident from the very first of my books about him: Burke in the Land of Silver. A...
Autres temps, autres mots.
The publication of Cawnpore has generated the tiniest ripple on Twitter (okay, just a couple of tweets). The reason for the irritation was my reference to the Indian Mutiny. I use the term ‘Indian Mutiny’ because the stories are written in the first person and that’s what a 19th-century Englishman would have called it. What it should be called today is far from straightforward and politically quite controversial. Given that the subject has come up, I’m blogging about it here.
‘Cawnpore’ is available from today. Here’s why you should read it.
Cawnpore is being republished today, ten years after it first came out. Why am I doing this and why should you be reading it now, assuming that you haven’t read it already?
John Williamson’s time to shine
Why am I republishing all three of the John Williamson Papers years after they first came out? I think (hope) that these are books whose time has come. There has been a lot of talk in the media (mainstream media and social media) about how we need to look more critically at our colonial past or, alternatively, how we need to celebrate the days of Empire.
‘The White Rajah’: a book whose time has come (and it’s on special offer!)
The White Rajah is on special offer from Saturday 28 August. Here’s why you should buy it.
The John Williamson Papers
I’ve now got a draft of the next Burke book in a fit condition for it to get its first beta read. That’s always my wife and she can be harsh, so if it survives that it will go out to a couple more beta readers and then we’ll start the move towards publication. One of...