Local MP Engulfed in Crime

Beverley and Holderness MP, Graham Stuart, out shopping for a birthday present for a friend was taken unawares when he found himself surrounded by crime writers in WHS Books in Beverley, East Yorkshire this morning.

Award-winning crime writer, Penny Grubb, was there signing a copy of her latest novel The Jawbone Gang for another local award-winner, ValWood, whose historical sagas regularly hit the best-seller lists.  Before long the shop was crowded, and unluckily for Mr Stuart, the crowd was awash with local writers: Linda Acaster (paranormal romance); Stuart Aken, prolific writer and prize-winner in several genres; Madeleine Macdonald, novelist and regular columnist in the Yorkshire Post; Avril Field-Taylor (more crime); Karen Wolfe (comic fantasy); SylviaEdwards, Sylvia Broady and I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone.

This was not good news for an MP out shopping for a birthday present because writers are facing a lot of threats at the moment and have strong views on the importance of libraries and of valuing the creative industries, but to be fair to Graham Stuart he seemed happy to stay and talk on the various issues. 

And he left with a copy of The Jawbone Gang which I feel showed perfect judgement in respect of birthday present selection.  Although honesty compels me to note that from one or two things he let slip, I suspect our local MP’s friend would have chosen a book more directly concerned with the finer technical aspects of the internal combustion engine.  Let’s hope they both become converts to local crime.

L-R: Liz Smith and Yvonne Needham, senior academics from Hull University; Stuart Aken, Penny Grubb, Linda Acaster, Madeleine Macdonald.  Photo: Valerie Allison

Book signing event in the historic market town of Beverley

Saturday 18 Sept 11 am to 12 pm. WH Smith Books, Toll Gavel, Beverley. Meet the author of the award-winning crime novel, the Doll Makers.

Beverley is a great setting for any event and well worth a visit. If you're in the area, please call in and say hello.  Click here for more detail.

After the signing, we’re going off to the King's Head Hotel (Saturday Market, Beverley).

Like False Money in the writers’ area at ALCS

I am supposed to blog about my own events, but fellow authors, Jan Jones and Sue Knight have done such a good job between them that there’s not much to add, except to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along.
Great to see Sr Rachel after all this time and Jeannette and Katja from CHIME. There wasn’t time to talk and catch up properly. We’ll repair that sometime soon.
The big question for Julie and Fred – was Roger serious that Fred would be the romantic hero in Gill Sanderson’s next steamy romance? I for one can’t wait.
I’ve now done three readings of this book and I’ve self-censored every one of them. When I get the time, I’m going to blog about how that came to happen.