Thrillers




Fiction with an edge




Monday 13 October 2014

Robert Shove ... RIP

My dear friend and author, Robert Shove, who had been battling Parkinsons for two years sadly passed away yesterday in Epsom.

A truly inspirational and charismatic man, his wonderful stories included many from his life in the military (not the secret service element!), and running businesses both here and abroad. His enthusiasm for the Plymouth based writing group, Portal, and the wonderful lunches that he and partner Sue hosted for members at their house on Plymouth Hoe will never be forgotten. 

It was Robert who, in 2006, came up with the original idea for my thriller, The Messenger. His time in the Military especially his service in Korea had a profound effect upon him, his outlook on life and his attitude to war, even more so in his later years. Robert's concept of a soldier, plagued  by visions of war dead, fighting for peace was one that fascinated me and, as Robert felt that he could not write fiction - his stories (Tales from a Kitbag and Tales from a Briefcase) being factually based on his life experiences, he gave me the idea to play with.  It was then that I created the story of Special Forces soldier Jack Chandler and over the next five years wrote The Messenger - the first in a trilogy of Jack Chandler novels.

RIP old friend - at peace at last.  

Friday 10 October 2014

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Effectively the UK is a company and we are the shareholders, but have you ever seen a balance sheet for it? We're told it's making (or losing) X amount, but where's the proof - where's the P&L account, the capital account, the auditor's stamp? If you were a shareholder of a company and the MD said "Well, chaps, I'm not going to show you the figures, but we're losing money so there's no dividend - and we're going to demand each of you make up the shortfall." What would be your reaction?