Author Archives: thornemoore

NEW BOOK: Consequential Short Stories

I’ve always been a reader, the longer the book the better. I like disappearing into vast tomes or, better still, series. If I’d been asked, as a child, if I’d like a collection of short stories, my answer would have been an emphatic no. It would never have occurred to me to read something thatContinue reading “NEW BOOK: Consequential Short Stories”

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. III

We had thief catchers, and Bow Street Runners. Then, finally, in 1829, Bobbies, or Peelers, came along, when Sir Robert Peel established the Metropolitan Police Service with Commissioners, Superintendents, Inspectors, Sergeants and 895 Constables.  If you are writing crime fiction, even for TV, it’s important to get the ranks right. How did Christopher Foyle manageContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. III”

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. II

Kings made laws and they wanted to see them enforced by more than wishful thinking. Someone had to do it. In England, the Normans preserved the Saxon role of Shire Reeve, or Sheriff, an appointed protector of the King’s interests in every county, with soldiers at his command. They could be hard-hearted extortionists, like RobinContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. II”

Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. I

It’s an odd thing that real crime, stalking in our own vicinity, terrifies us, but in fiction, and at a distance, we love it. There’s an obvious reason for that. It’s fiction. It’s not true. It allows us to enjoy all the thrill, the suspense, the exploration of our darker sides, without any danger ofContinue reading “Policing the Historical Facts and Fictions. I”

The Publishing Road Less Travelled

Or less traveled, if you’re American. Writers in their yellow wood of composition come to their own diverging roads at last, and have to decide which path to send their completed book down – the conventional route via agent and publisher, or the other, self-publishing. Is the latter still the one less travelled? Possibly not,Continue reading “The Publishing Road Less Travelled”