Oct 2026 – End Of A Chapter, Start Of A New One…

This week saw the end of a significant chapter in my writing journey with the long awaited publication of my co-authored novel ‘Sylvia’s Seven’. The novel has been around 12 years in the making, and I have discussed the process and history of it in previous blogs.

For those new to this site, the novel has been published under the pseudonym of Alexander Simpson, the partnership of myself and writing brother, Brodie Simpson. We wrote alternating chapters, often without discussing where each of us was taking the story. It started off with a premise and the creating of 3 main characters each and it was only once we had completed around 75% of the book, that we came together to discuss how it would end. It was such a fun project to be part of and only a mixture of changing jobs, moving country (in Brodie’s case) and personal life situations to deal with prevented it coming out sooner. All great things, some may say…

The story surrounds six estranged friends who return to Edinburgh to attend the funeral of their old English professor. Events transpire which throws them all together again, working to solve a mystery that could lead to the discovery of a secret that they had been holding for 30 years and, if revealed, could ruin their lives. The story references the life and work of Sylvia Plath, hence the title.

Brodie and I will take time to enjoy the book being made public for the first time and look forward to hearing what readers think of it. It certainly has a different feel to the books I’ve published myself, but I believe that our writing styles certainly complemented each other and makes for a good story. If you do read the book, please be sure to leave a review to let us know your thoughts.

Having finally finished the not so straight-forward process of editing a book, written by 2 separate writers, with differing formats and hitting a little over 100,000 words, my attention turned onto my new writing project, that I have been building towards over the last couple of years. When I reached the age of 50, I promised myself that I would take my writing more seriously and look to get an agent. Nearly 2 years later, I have finally started writing a new series that will be queried upon completion, hopefully early next year.

It may be a bit of a risk going for a police procedural series, as recent trends appear to be moving towards the thriller genre, often as standalone novels. I’ve did this with my debut novel ‘Alive’, but have had more fun writing and developing the characters in the DI Joanne Christie series. It was a little daunting coming up with a whole cast of new characters, though I know already that I will enjoy writing their journeys over the series. Obviously, my aim will be to secure an agent and traditional publishing deal, however, if this does not transpire, I will continue to write them and publish them myself. I feel the dynamics of the main characters of the series is too good to keep hidden.

For those who have read and enjoyed my DI Christie series, don’t worry as I already have plans for the sixth book in the series. If my writing goes to plan, and I don’t get too sidetracked with short story competitions, I should have this written and published by the end of next year and I believe it will be well worth the wait.

All great things, right enough!

Thanks again for reading this blog. A link to Sylvia’s Seven will appear in the Books tab of this website and more information about Alexander Simpson will also appear in its own dedicated tab shortly.

Sep 2026 – Brilliant Bloody Scotland and Writing Update

As I discussed in my last blog, I headed up to Bloody Scotland on the Sunday to attend four different events. It’s perhaps unsurprising to confirm that it was an amazing day spent with likeminded people and in the company of some Scottish Crime writing royalty. The only downside was choosing only to attend on one day, a mistake I am determined to rectify by attending the whole weekend next year.

The opening event was held at the Central Library, where author Sheila Averbuch shared some tips from her book ‘Pitch Your Book – Write the letter that hooks an agent on your novel’. It was a fascinating insight from her research with agents on the things to do, and avoid, when querying. I’ll certainly be taking on some of her tips when I begin my own journey in that regard next year. The event actually got off to a lovely start when, after taking my seat, a fellow author recognised me from my Bloody Scotland short story placement and came to congratulate me. I’ll be keeping an eye on his journey, in hope that there may be a publishing deal available to both of us in the future.

The second event was the fantastic Ardal O’Hanlon who has written his third book and first crime novel. I was a big fan of My Hero when it aired in the early 2000s and, of course, love Death in Paradise. It was great to witness that he was equally as charming and funny as he is on screen. His novel also sounds great, so another book to be added to the ever growing TBR pile.

The third event was the simply, captivating Professor David Wilson, someone who I’ve enjoyed and admired watching on television for many years. His delivery pulls you in and you find yourself being completely absorbed in the story that he is sharing. It was a very quick hour and both my wife and I could have happily sat there for a few more hours listening to him. I also had the pleasure of briefly meeting journalist Fiona Walker afterwards, who had appeared on many of the David Wilson’s Crime Files episodes.

Finally, we got to enjoy the aforementioned crime writing royalty in event programmer, Denise Mina and (exclusively revealed) event programmer for next year, Val McDermid. The event was joyous, very typical of the relaxed nature of Bloody Scotland in that you felt that you were witnessing two pals, having a laugh over a few drinks. Chair Jenny Brown did a fabulous job of interjecting with some questions, before sitting back and enjoying the interaction with the rest of us. The event concluded with a signing session, which allowed me to meet Denise, Val and Jo Sharp. Although our interaction was brief, it was very memorable and was the perfect conclusion to a perfect festival day.

One of the main takeaways from the day, was the inspiration to continue writing and I think it gave me the motivation to get on with my current writing projects. I am often guilty of pausing a particular project to take part in a short story competition and I again found myself sucked into one. The story was a 3,000 word limit challenge, within the locked room element of the crime writing genre. Those who know me, know how much I love a locked room mystery and a previous locked room mystery short story I had written was used as the basis for my latest DI Christie novel, I Am Mine. I recently completed and submitted this new story, meaning I can get back to my other projects.

The long running co-authored novel is nearing its editing completion, with a little over 100 pages to go. I know that my co-author, Brodie, has been waiting patiently and I promised to have it done this year. My other project relates to a new crime series, one that will be sent to agents for consideration. I’ve been thinking about the main character for a while and my, hopefully, unique hook to the series. I’ve started to flesh out the notes of the main plot and started work on the first chapter. It will certainly be a balancing act between the two projects, but I think I will enjoy the variety of doing both in tandem.

I just need to stop finding short story competitions to get in the way of my progress…

Thanks again for reading this blog. I Am Mine is available to purchase, along with all my novels, in the Books section of this website.

Aug 2026 – Bloody Scotland and Charity Book Update

I am a little late with this post due to a well earned break in Angus and Fife. There is less than 2 weeks until the most important festival for Scottish Crime writers, so I thought I would discuss this somewhat on this month’s blog.

Bloody Scotland began in 2012, the brainchild of leading Scottish Crime Writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray. They were later joined by Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown and the festival has grown year on year to become a real main stage of the festival circuit. Based in the beautiful city of Stirling, the festival is held over a weekend in September and attracts some of the biggest names in the genre.

The thing I like most about Bloody Scotland, is the general feel and mood within the surroundings. It does not have the pretentiousness of other literary festivals that I have attended and it seems that this helps the writers relax within the environment. I remember one of the first times I visited the festival, making my way to The Golden Lion and spotting Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham casually hanging around outside. Shyness prevented me from approaching, but I have no doubt they would have been most accommodating if I had been brave enough to strike up a conversation with them.

This year, I will be heading up on the Sunday to attend a few events and I am really excited to see some of my most admired writers, as well as arguably our leading criminologist, in the flesh. I also hope to get the chance to meet other authors, readers, book influencers and generally anyone who loves Scottish crime fiction. Achieving recognition in this year’s short story competition may help break some ice, but I’ll be happy to just attend and soak up the atmosphere on the day. Feel free to say hello if you see me passing.

I’m a few months into the release of my charity book, ‘Going to Firhill is Murder and Other Stories’, and so far I’ve managed to raise over £160. It’s always difficult to gauge interest in the story and number of copies one may be able to sell, but I’ve been very flattered by the feedback that the readers have given thus far. I remember one of my favourite Scottish singer songwriters (James Grant) once commenting on the sales of one of his albums as ‘Critically Acclaimed, Commercially Disastrous’. I’m not sure the book quite reaches that comment, but it would be nice to get some more funds raised for such a good cause.

Thank you if you have already bought the book and please share with others that you think may enjoy it.

Thanks again for reading this month’s blog. Going to Firhill is Murder and Other Stories is available via the options in its own tab on this website. More information on Jags for Good can be found on their socials @jagsforgood . You can also make a direct donation via my Just Giving page – https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/goingtofirhillismurder

Jul 2026 – Bloody Recognition and 1001 Songs to Albums

I was at the dentist this week, which is never the most pleasant of experiences for anyone I am sure, thought I did have a very interesting conversation as I was waiting for my treatment to begin. I’ve been going to the same dentist for around 20 years now and I’ve never discussed my creative side with her before, but she casually asked me if I had been doing some writing of late. As my author name is a slight variation on my birth name (Ross Alexander being my first two names), people that know of me do not always associate me as a writer, so I was intrigued as to how she had worked this out.

It turns out that she subscribes to the Bloody Scotland newsletter and the most recent edition had my photo on it (under Val McDermit and Denise Mina of all people) and she worked out via my first name, photo and my East Lothian base, that her patient had won runner up at this year’s short story competition. I sometimes get shy about my writing for some strange reason, but it was humbling that she noticed me, read the story and said how much she enjoyed it. It certainly made the rest of the appointment that little more bearable.

I wrote previously that I was undertaking a challenge this year to listen to the complete 1001 Songs to Listen to Before You Die and I managed to achieve this last month. It was a really interesting experience, listening to songs that I was familiar with, songs I had never heard before and songs that I hadn’t heard for years. I listened to the list in chronological order and came to the conclusion that the quality dropped off from the mid 1990’s (in my opinion anyway).

I decided to move on to the longer term goal of listening to the 1001 Albums list. Unlike the songs, I am just picking albums at random to listen to. I do enjoy listening to an album in its entirety, in the track order as it was released. It is too easy nowadays to just listen to the songs you like, shuffle the album or skip certain tracks, but I think there is a certain charm in taking the time to listen to the full work as it was intended.

I know that it will be a few years before I get to the end of this particular challenge, but I’m sure that I will enjoy the process…

Thanks again for reading my blog. You can read ‘Life Wasted’ by clicking on the Bloody Scotland icon in the Books tab of this website (the link to the story is at the bottom of the article). You can also still buy Going To Firhill Is Murder & Other Stories, my football related, crime novella (and 4 other short stories) via the links on that tab. Funds raised by the sale of this book will be going to the Jags for Good charity (more details on that tab).

Jun 2026 – Awarding-Winning Crime Writer and a Charity Book Release

It’s been a busy month for me, with another book launch and receiving perhaps the most exciting news in my crime-writing journey to date.

My charity book was launched earlier this month, which contains a crime novella set at Firhill Stadium in Glasgow, home to Partick Thistle Football Club. I wrote the novella a couple of years back, and only now got round to doing a formal release. Funds from the sale of the book will be donated to Jags for Good, an independent fans group supporting social justice and good causes in the local community. The book also contains 4 short stories, including the previously unpublished ‘Parting Ways’.

It’s been encouraging seeing the book sell in the early weeks, and hopefully with the start of season coming quickly off the back of the World Cup, I’ll be able to shift some more copies in support of this great cause. I always get excited around the launch of a book, and the anticipation of the feedback readers give me, but little prepared me for what would happen shortly afterwards.

The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing festival takes place in Stirling every September, and has grown year on year since its inception back in 2012. Founded by Scottish Crime Writers, Alex Gray and Lin Anderson, it has always been an ambition of mine to get connected in some way to it. Taking my writing more seriously in recent times, I decided to enter the annual short story competition for the first time. Sponsored by Glencairn Whisky Glasses, I sent off my story ‘Life Wasted’, more for the experience rather than in expectation.

I was contacted by Glencairn to confirm that I had won the runner up prize, but was sworn to secrecy until the formal announcement was made. To say I was overblown is an understatement and I don’t think I will forget that moment for a long time. To be recognised by judges made up of crime book bloggers, writers and aficionados made the award that more special.

I’ll be heading to Stirling in September to hopefully meet and get to know more like-minded people and having this award to celebrate will make the time that little bit more magical.

Thanks again for reading my blog. You can find out more and purchase the charity book but clicking on the ‘Going To Firhill Is Murder’ page of this website. You can also read ‘Life Wasted’ by clicking on the Bloody Scotland logo above or in the ‘Books’ page of this website. This will take you to the formal announcement, with the story being downloadable at the bottom of the article.

May 2026 – An Inspiring Story

Many authors discuss the book or books that inspired them to take up writing, or perhaps shape they way in which they choose to write their own novels. Often it was a book they discovered at school that has lived with them for their whole life and one that is re-read often.

Although I enjoyed elements of my English classes when I was at school, I didn’t ever have that moment of euphoria reading a book or novel. Often I struggled to get through the books I was made to study and, with the exception of one or two, they didn’t really stay with me. It was, however, a short story that affected me, and influenced my writing, to this day. I discussed my love of the shorter format stories in a recent blog, the link to which is noted below.

Feb 2026 – For The Love of the Short Format

It will not come as a surprise that the short story in question was a crime/mystery one. What may come as a surprise, especially for those only aware of one element of his writing, is the author. The story is called Lamb to the Slaughter, written by Roald Dahl, who is better known for his children’s novels.

The story was written in 1953, and actually rejected initially which I personally find astounding. If you are not aware of the story, I would recommend seeking it out. I won’t place any spoilers here, but I found the story shocking, fascinating and brilliantly written when I first read it as a teenager in the late 1980s. I re-read the story again today, for the purpose of this blog, and it still holds up.

The story has also been dramatised twice, once in 1958 for Alfred Hitchcock presents and again in 1979 for Dahl’s own TV series, Tales of the Unexpected. I have seen the latter, which includes the wonderful Brian Blessed.

The idea for the story was actually given to Dahl by his friend, and James Bond creator, Ian Fleming, during a meal together. The story is only around 10 pages long, but I find it a perfect template to a short crime/mystery story. The story packs a punch and I was reminded of it when I received some positive feedback on one of the first short stories I ever had published.

‘In Hiding’ was included in the Dark Scotland anthology, which is sadly now out of print. I had the idea for the story when watching an episode of Poirot, which I actually reference in the story. It was a throwaway comment that is made by one of the characters that got me thinking about a particular twist in the story. I received great feedback from two authors, one stating that ending came like a knockout and another who said that they wanted to immediately re-read the story upon the reveal at the end.

So proud of this story as I am, I have decided to re-publish it for others to enjoy. In the coming month, I will be publishing a new, standalone, novella to raise money for charity. I have decided to include In Hiding as well as some other short stories that have been previously published, as well as a further unpublished short story. More information on this will be released in the coming weeks, so please keep an eye on my socials and subscribe to these blogs, if you have not already done so, to ensure you don’t miss out.

Hopefully you may enjoy some of these stories as much as I enjoyed Lamb to the Slaughter when I first came across it all those years ago…

Thanks again for reading this blog. I am hopeful that this will be a busy publishing period, with the charity book being published soon and my collaboration novel due out in the coming months also. Remember you can check out my current work within the Books tab of this website, or read a selection of short stories at that tab in the meantime.

Apr 2026 – Fantasy Writer’s Dinner Party

There is a famous bookish podcast that asks a question to the authors appearing on each episode; which three writers they would invite, living or dead, to a fantasy dinner party. I thought I would steal that idea for this month’s blog, but greedily choose four.

1 – Dame Agatha Christie

I don’t this will come as a surprise to anyone, given I named the main character in my crime series after her. She famously enjoyed drinking cream at the dinner table, but I’m sure that if she was to share how she came up with so many clever plots, this can be excused. I would be intrigued to discover how she planned her novels and what her writing routine was like.

2 – William Boyd

Many people are surprised that my favourite living author is not actually a crime writer, although he has dipped his toe in thriller type novels, including his excellent James Bond novel, Solo. I’ve heard him speak often about his approach to writing and his number one tip is to know how a novel will end before you begin to write it. What I would most like to learn from him over the meal, is how he develops his characters. The characterisation of his novels is astounding, and I doubt there are many better at this than him.

3 – Anthony Horowitz

I feel that I could learn so much about the craft from Anthony, including how I could develop into screenwriting. In my opinion, Foyle’s War is one for the greatest crime TV series ever created. Add to that, his screenplays for the early Midsomer Murders, the numerous Poirot episodes he developed, and his record speaks for itself. As for his novels, I loved his three James Bond books, his Magpie Murder trilogy, but I would love to talk to him about the exceptional Hawthorn series that he continues to write. His ‘breadcrumbs’ (which is what I call the little clues a crime writer leaves for the reader to let them try and work out the solution for themselves) in the series are so clever. I may need a big notebook for a conversation with him.

4 – Sir Billy Connolly

Yes, I know this is a bit of a cheat, however, he has written a number of books and any excuse to have Billy Connolly, in his prime, at a dinner party could not be resisted. I think he would be the spark that would bring everyone in attendance out of their shell. From a writing point of view, I think he could help me develop the humour in my books. I tend to use DS Mike Lyle for this within the Christie series and I love when an idea pops into my head about something funny for him to say, so it would be good to hear how the best in the business does this. If there was ever a lull in the conversation, I’m sure Billy would be able to share some of his brilliant stories with us…

Thanks again for reading my blog. Don’t forget to subscribe to these blogs to get notified when one gets posted. I would like to do some subscriber exclusive posts in the future, once the number reaches a certain level. In the meantime, check out the Books tab in the menu to see what I’ve released so far.

Mar 2026 – A Novel like a Richard Linklater Movie – Coming Soon…

As I have mentioned before, I am currently undertaking the final edit of a novel that I co-wrote with my long time writing brother Craig ‘Brodie’ Simpson. I remember writing a blog previously about this novel, however, I was shocked to realise that I wrote that over 5 years ago. If you want to read it, I’ve left a link to it below –

Introducing ‘Alexander Simpson’

As the blog discussed, Craig and I came up with a rough idea for a plot and created three main characters each. We would then take it in turns to write a chapter, introducing our characters and creating the narrative of the plot. I can’t remember exactly when we started writing, but I would guess it would be round about 2014. Move on 12 years later, I am now completing the final edit and the book will be finally getting published in the coming months under the pseudonym of ‘Alexander Simpson’.

Throughout our friendship, Craig has introduced me to many books and authors, and his other passion is cinema. As such, we would also occasionally head out to see a film together and one such outing happening in 2014, around the time we had started to write the book, when we went to see ‘Boyhood’, the Richard Linklater movie starring Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. It’s not lost on me that that movie took around 12 years to create, the same approximate time that this book has taken from concept to publication.

When I wrote that blog 5 years ago, I expected the book to be published soon afterwards. A mixture of other projects, changes in our lives which would see me start a new job, move home and Craig move overseas, meant that it was once more placed on the back burner. We have maintained regular contact and discussed it often, but finally made a solid commitment last year to prioritise it for a 2026 release.

I don’t want to give too much away at this stage, however, the story begins at the funeral of a Professor of English from the University of Edinburgh. The event reunites 6 students who have not been in contact for over 20 years. As the six old friends start to get reacquainted, an event happens that shakes up all their lives. It was great fun to write and every time I go back to it, I get to appreciate the writing journey that we have both travelled over the years.

A journey I am sure that we will continue to enjoy, wherever that particular path leads us…

Thanks again for reading this short blog. The novel should be available in the coming months and you can keep up to date by subscribing to my monthly blog or following me on the socials. In the meantime, you can check out my current collection of short stories, novellas and novels and the tabs at the top of this website.

Feb 2026 – For The Love of the Short Format

I’ve often spoken of my love for short stories, both writing and reading them. As I have continued on my writing journey, I’ve discovered a love for writing novellas and short books also. It is a love of these formats that have shaped the start of my year.

As discussed in my last blog, I published a novella called This is Not the Athens Train, a spy thriller type story that I had a lot of fun writing. What started as a bit of a fun project, will develop into something grander as the initial feedback that I have received has taken me aback. I certainly had fun writing it and I thought the characters were appealing, but the overall sense from the early readers is that there needs to be more.

One of the advantages of writing it in the novella format is that I could maintain the tension throughout the story. I’ll admit that I questioned if I would be able to do this in a full novel length story, hence I decided early on that it would be a novella. The outcome is that I will definitely write more stories with these characters and I think it would make a good series of novellas, for the reason I have stated.

There are times when short story competitions pop up on my social media timeline and I manage to resist many of them. Having failed to resist the challenge of writing a crime story with a cat it (and the added warmth of raising some money for a cat charity), I succummed once more to temptation of submitting another. To be fair, there was a very good reason for dropping my current writing plans, as this is connected to the best crime writing festival in my country, so I felt I had to at least put myself in the mix. I’m happy with the end result, and my test reader also gave it the thumbs up, so it’s been submitted for consideration. As with other stories I have submitted, I will find a way of sharing it, if it is not chosen.

Another reason why I have been thinking a lot about the shorter format is because of the editing process I am currently undertaking. The much mentioned co-authored novel is now going through a final edit before publication later this year. This book has been around ten years in the making and comes in at around 100,000 words. Unless a massive chunk is cut out (unlikely), it will be the longest book that I have published. I hope, however, that it will be worth both the wait and commitment to read it.

As well as the short stories and novellas that I have written, there has also been a reduction in the length of the Christie novels. The early ones came in at around 70,000 words, whereas the last two have been closer to 50,000. There are a couple of reasons for this, firstly (like the aforementioned novella) it allows me to keep the story going and maintain the tension throughout. I am not one to pad out a story or add unnecessary fluff as this is something I neither enjoy writing or reading. Secondly, it allows me to publish quicker which helps maintain an interest in the stories. As I am not fortunate enough to do this as a full time job, a shorter novel will help me to publish more regularly and (hopefully) keep my readership happy.

I understand why the publishing world focuses on novels and stories of a certain length and size, although I wish that we could celebrate the joy of the shorter format more. I for one, will continue to share my love of it and write stories in these wonderful packages…

Thanks again for reading my blog. ‘This is Not the Athens Train’ is available now in eBook and paperback novella. Some of my short stories are available on this website to read for free. The Alexander Simpson novel will be published later this year, so please subscribe to this blog if you want to keep up to date with what’s happening and when.

Jan 2026 – Year Ahead, Athens Train and 1001 Songs

I’m not planning on setting many in the way of writing goals this year, having seen previous attempts falling by the wayside too often. I do, however, have a number of projects being worked on, including a novella that has just been published, which I will discuss in a moment. Beyond the novella, I have just finished writing a short crime story (that involves a cat) for a competition and to raise money for charity, then I have to do a final edit on my collaboration novel for publication later in the year.

After that, I will be working on the first in a new crime series which will be sent to agents and publishers initially rather than self-publishing like the Christie novels. I will also be looking to publish a football related crime novella (again for charity), which may include some additional stories with the publication. If time permits, I will re-visit DI Christie at the end of the year, either for a short story, novella or to work on book 6.

As I said, I have just published a novella called ‘This is Not the Athens Train’, a spy-thriller type story set in Greece. The title comes from a family joke when we were visiting friends/family in Thessaloniki and getting a train back to Athens to fly home. When a heavily graffitied train pulled up to the station, I assumed that it was a local train. I said the now immortal words and they have stuck ever since. I even received a Penguin Books print of the words, so I had to write the story.

The genre is a little different to my usual crime thriller style, but I enjoyed writing this and it is something I may come back to in the future. I certainly had fun creating the characters and their back story, so I know there are more stories to be shared with these people. Growing up watching the James Bond films, I suppose the novella is a love letter to both that style of drama as well as Northern Greece which I have visited many times to see our Greek family.

A while back, I came across the book 1001 Songs to Listen to Before You Die. It’s one is a series that also includes subjects like books, films and albums. I think the songs version is the most achievable and I have a list from c2015 (they tend to update the list from time to time). I decided at the start of the year to start this challenge, by listening to all 1001 songs this year (even ones I have heard before). Breaking it down to 3 songs a day makes it more achievable and I am doing the list in chronological order. I’m currently well ahead of schedule (165 at time of writing), so I’m confident that I can keep this up. It has been relatively easy so far, as most songs from the early period of recordings were between 2 and 3 minutes long.

Thanks again for reading my blog. This is Not the Athens Train (or TINTAT for short) is available to buy in eBook and Paperback format (link in the Books tab of this website). Please let me know what you think and if you would like me to revisit these characters in the future.