19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 29
June 9th, 1811. At sea once more, we discovered that two of our crew had deserted, preferring the fleshpots of New York to their homeland and what will certainly be a more than generous reward [more…]
Fiction
Authoritarianism
From Draft to Bookshop – A Journey
Almost two years ago this weekend my wife and I, rather nervously, drove into a small Devon village on our way to visit a family that I had only met through Going Postal but who [more…]
Fiction
Joe Malone, Part Twenty
“Is that the letter?” Lady Vanessa asked him. She had been very quiet. But suddenly sat forwards and peered at the envelope. To Sir Marmon-Herrington Bixby esq. Which was normal enough. Though the word, WANKPUPPET [more…]
Fiction
Némésis – Prologue
In this work of fiction I have used the term The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) rather than the more familiar Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The term Daesh (al-Dawlah [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 28
June 3rd, 1811. The city of New York lies in a broad river estuary whose wooded slopes give no hint of what will appear around the corner. The river is divided into several channels, forming [more…]
Fiction
Joe Malone, Part Nineteen
Sir Alan agreed with Mandelson. “Marmon has a file full of metaphorical green ink letters. All sorts of evil wished upon him.” “I didn’t see any such file in his home,” I told them. “That’s [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 27
April 24th, 1811. Our wanderings have brought us to Trinidad, the largest and almost the easternmost of the chain of islands which dot the edge of the Caribbean Sea. Skirting the western edge of the [more…]
Fiction
Joe Malone, Part Eighteen
Private Investigator is at the Reform Club. A guest of Lady Vanessa Bixby, as she meets with her diner guests. Mandelson and Stuart. So finally I stood up. Lifted the tray from the waiter’s hands [more…]
19th Century
A Bear’s Diary – Part 26
February 22nd, 1811. Late last night, as we were heading north-west in a moderate wind, a tremendous grinding crash threw the whole ship askew, and we found ourselves drifting with the sails flapping dangerously, threatening [more…]