(Or life, Jim, but not quite as we know it.) There’s already enough crime, violence, horror and despair in the world. Do you want me to add to it by writing grim, depressing or violent crime fiction? People are murdered and killers have to be caught, but it doesn’t have to be graphic, twisted or morbid. That doesn’t mean it’s a cosy village mystery where old ladies sleuth between baking cakes and tending their gardens. That’s enough generalising and stereotyping. I’ve nothing against either of these types of crime fiction – it’s simply not what I write or enjoy reading. My characters and series were created to entertain readers with…

Are you a reader who gets hot under the collar about tense? As a member of several crime fiction groups on Facebook, the question of tense crops up from time to time. Or should I say it cropped up from time to time? One’s immediate. It’s happening now, right before your eyes. The other happened at some point in the past. It’s a memory at best. However you phrase it, the subject of tense seems to evoke strong passions on either side, like most things on Facebook. Whether you’ve given it any thought before, it only takes someone to belittle a story you love and you come out with both…