I began writing novels around 1985. The first one was called Lord and Master and was
utter rubbish. I didn’t know that at the time; if you have an ugly baby, it’s still beautiful to you.
And I only know it now simply because I’ve read so much more since then, have written
much more too. It’s so bad that I keep it in a dusty box because it’s offensive to the eye –
even mine, and I’m its father. I wrote Lord and Master long hand and then stole my sister’s
Olivetti to make it look like a real pro job – Fail.
Flushed with the success of actually finishing a novel, I wrote Charlotte’s Lodge, a story about an evil old woman with ferocious powers who takes a distinct dislike to her grandson and his poor mother.
Imperial 66
I wrote Charlotte’s Lodge around 1987 on an old Imperial 66 typewriter that my father got for me. I seem to recall it had a missing letter – though if truth be told, that could have been something I made up one day and now believe to be true. This is about the time when I discovered two things: I enjoyed writing stories very much, and I still wasn’t very good at it.
Next, around 1991, I wrote Knavesmire, a story split between medieval and present day England. I wrote this long hand, getting about 700 words on one side of an A4 page (I’m one of those people who hates turning over!). By now I’d saved up and bought a word processor. It was a Brother and had something like a 2kB memory – wow! It had a small LCD screen that could hold one line of text… you had to scroll along to read the damned thing. You could squeeze about three pages of text into the tiny memory. I’d type in the story from the longhand notes, then print the three pages and delete them so I could type in some more. I remember being not at all happy to later find typos on the page.
In 1996 something life-changing happened. I was offered a job by West Yorkshire Police working as a Scenes of Crime Officer. And so crime thrillers was the only way to go and naturally I wrote about a SOCO.
His name was Roger Conniston.
A Long Time Dead was the first in a series of three novels featuring the tribulations of our hero. Stealing Elgar swiftly followed and then the final episode, No More Tears (named after an Ozzy song).
I enjoyed writing them, and recall how Tears practically wrote itself. But suddenly I found myself without a story.
I’d been speaking to a colleague in the office, marvelling how a burglar who had hundreds of convictions was still at large. He said that people like that were of no use to society and should be put down, that we could afford to be picky these days since we didn’t suffer from a shortage of people.
This conversation gave birth to The Third Rule. This was my most ambitious project to date, but it needed a new vehicle, a new hero, someone who was more aggressive than Roger Conniston ever was. His name was Eddie Collins. I should explain that for the most part, the characters I write are loosely based on myself, and by now I’d been working for the police about ten years and had developed a rather cutting cynicism which I flavoured with a hearty dose of sarcasm. Eddie Collins was me, except stronger, more a caricature who expressed his cynicism and his anger much more fiercely than I ever dare.
I began writing The Third Rule sometime around 2003. It was set in 2015, where a newer, harsher breed of government came to power advocating a return to the death penalty for those people who could not stop breaking the law. They were given two chances, the third time they broke the law, they were put to death. ‘Justice’ was dealt out in a production-line fashion, with convictions ill-conceived and flawed. It was a radical novel, not least because I invented the Justice Ministry, something which actually later happened.
A year or so after I began this book, I started work on some television scripts with a colleague. This went on for six or seven years, before the hankering to finish The Third Rule became too strong to ignore anymore. In a hair-pulling flurry that spanned months, I finished all 260,000 words of it. And it’s had some stunningly wonderful reviews.
The previous work (published 2013) is a continuation of Eddie Collins’s incredible story. He’s moved from SOCO to the Major Crime Unit where his irascible nature takes him into battle with a notorious Leeds gang and a close call with a gun pointing at his head. This novel is entitled Black by Rose.
Eddie’s story doesn’t end there. To show how Eddie reacts to certain situations, I published The Lift – it’s a very short story, but it packs a punch, so beware.
Sword of Damocles  came next in August 2015. This time he’s dealing with a corpse in a burnt-out car. It looks like a suicide, but it doesn’t take Eddie long to realise it’s much more than that. This story is entangled with the main plot that reaches back thirty years and it stretches Eddie in more ways than one. You’d also expect there to be other things happening in Eddie’s life, and you’d be right there too.
One thing that stands out for me more than all the other comments, is how people are really shocked by the ending. I hope you will be too.
Two more stories came along in early 2017. The first was a novella called The Note is a short story (not as short as The Lift), and has at its heart a death threat that Eddie receives. I know what getting one of those feels like; you feel victimised just for doing your job. And it’s damned scary but you can’t admit that because we’re men, and we laugh in face of death. Pfft. Like all my Eddie novellas, it’s written in first person so you can get right inside Eddie’s mind and see things the way he does for a while.
The second story was Ledston Luck. I can’t tell you how much I loved writing this book. Actually I can, and you can find more here. But it gave me a buzz the likes of which I’ve seldom encountered before. It launched very well indeed, and has earned Best Seller status with Amazon, and scored some wonderful reviews.Â
Mid-2017 saw me hook up with Bloodhound Books for a rather exciting project. Initially entitled Dancing at the Devil’s Door, I was asked to write a stand-alone thriller for them. I did, and it also launched well because, I think, it’s a book that’ll take you to rather harrowing places, and it will shock you – I hope. You might know this book better as The End of Lies.
A year later, Bloodhound and I went our separate ways. They were kind enough to give back the rights to all my work, and I’ve since gone on to republish them all again under my own brand – The Ink Foundry. I added The Death of Jessica Ripley and This Side of Death to Eddie’s catalogue, and I’m thoroughly delighted to say that people have really connected with him.
I added another couple of novellas, too: The Lock and The Crew. Writing these novellas gives me a fresh canvass to begin a new Eddie Collins story with. There is no messy background to deal with, no family ties (or woes), and generally only one plot line. These stories are tremendously invigorating for me to write because they are fast-paced, no extraneous words or story to clog up the machinery; and it’s a thrill to write as Eddie.
It hasn’t all been strawberries and cream, however. I’d decided that The Third Rule was the odd one out. Sales for the series were disappointing, you see, and I knew the reason for that was The Third Rule. It might have some great reviews, but the majority of crime thriller readers didn’t go for books that had a political slant to them – something The Third Rule has, and so, because of this miss-match of genres (or categories, if you will), I took the huge decision to pull the book and write another, wholly different, series opener. The Pain of Strangers was born, and you can read more about it and the process that resulted in its existence, here.
I managed to find a talented cover artist in Emmy Ellis, who agreed to produce new covers for all six books.
What might the future hold? Well, more books, hopefully. I’m writing CSI Eddie Collins #7 right now (no title yet) and hope to publish boxsets of Eddie’s novels and novellas. Just writing this series has given me ideas for a couple of spin-offs – but more on those if and when they materialise.
I would love to read your books. I enjoy Charlie Gallagher books he is a police officer so he as first hand experience of detective thrillers.
Hi Jane, great to hear from you. You can easily get a couple of my books for free, so you can try my style and characters without any risk. Use the signup form on the front page and we’ll organise a couple of books for you automatically. I hope you’re keeping well, Andy
Hi Andy
I loved Long Time Dead and I’ve just read lift, I live in Bradford West Yorkshire so it was nice to a read a book with familiar places. Keep up the good work and working for CSI makes your books so real and interesting. I love Rogers character very much.
Thanks, Linda! So glad you enjoyed A Long Time Dead, have a look at Roger’s next in the series, Stealing Elgar (my favourite of his books). I might be working on a new Roger book sometime toward the back end of this year.
Hi Andy,
I finally made it to your website. I am downloading books in order as well as I can because I don’t want to spoil anything for myself. I have so much catching up to do 🙂 So – A Long Time Dead is up first. I found you just recently when I downloaded The Lift and then The Note…loved them both as you know. How I have never heard of you before now amazes me but I am making up for lost time now. I have sent your name to my sister as promised so I hope to hear from her soon. I have your website bookmarked so I will be in here often.
Bye for now
Sylvia (the expat)
Hi Sylvia, it’s great to see you here! I’m delighted that you enjoyed reading The Lift and The Note enough to go ahead and download all the other books – I really hope you enjoy those also, and it would be great to hear how you get along with them. Getting your name out to all readers is the biggest hurdle an author faces, so I’ve very grateful to you for letting your sister know about me, that’s very kind. I hope she goes on to enjoy the books too. Pop in frequently, Sylvia, I hope to keep the site fresh. Take care, Andy
Hi Andrew I would love to be considered as part of your ARC team. I love reading, English and copy reading. If there is a typo I will spot it! must be my Arian or anal tendencies. I have to straighten picture frames etc, nightmare. Appreciate your consideration. Best wishes with your latest best seller.
Hi Annie, you’re already in the ART group, so no need to worry. I have the same level of OCD so you’re in good company. I really hope you enjoy The End of Lies, please do let me know your thoughts; I’d love it to be a best-seller. Take good care, Andy.
long time dead was a compelling read unable to put it down 5+ star rating . the lift was a very good short story 5 star
Hi Steve, thanks for dropping by and leaving your comment. It’s always wonderful to hear that someone has enjoyed A Long Time Dead and The Lift. I hope you go on to read the rest of series too. If you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Take care, Andy.
Hi Andy,
I have just read your book “the lift” . I just wanted to say I really enjoyed it. Didn’t see the ending coming : ) I can’t wait to read another o your books : )
Davina
Hi Davina! I’m really happy to hear that you enjoyed The Lift, and in particular the ending. If you’re looking for another short story in a similar style, try the newly released The Note, I’m sure you’ll enjoy that one too – it has some wonderful reviews. If you do, I’d love to know what you think of it.
Well the day has finally arrived, I really don’t know what I’m going to do! I have just finished reading Ledston Luck. It was amazing. I came across your books last year and have had one on the go ever since. I absolutely got lost in each story as I read it, thinking the next one won’t be as good as the last and was surprised when in fact it was. My quandary now is that I only have The notebook left to read. Should I devour it a.s.a.p or save it and savour it? Andrew please send me the good news of a new release soon. And thank you!
Hi Diane. How wonderful to hear that you’ve read and enjoyed all the books. Of course, you should go ahead and devour The Note! You know you want to 😉 I promise that I’m hard at work on the next Eddie novel, and also on something completely different. I look forward to sharing news of them both with you soon.
Hi Andrew
I have just finished A Long Time Dead, I enjoyed it so much I bought and downloaded from Amazon, Stealing Edgar (Roger Conniston book 2) I also bought The Note which I have also finished and enjoyed a great deal! I very much enjoy a series of books as you get to know the characters. I have written a review on Amazon.
Kind regards
Lynne
Hi Lynne,
Many thanks for getting in touch. It’s always a great pleasure to learn that someone has enjoyed a book or two of mine. I really hope you go on to enjoy Stealing Elgar – it’s my favourite of Roger’s trilogy. Your review for The Note was splendid, thank you!
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Just downloaded Ledston Luck from Amazon and looking forward to reading it as I only live a short walk from Ledston Luck in KIPPAX. I saw you in the local magazine ” Kippax Matters” so thought I would give you a try as I am always looking for new crime writers and it’s good to find some one who writes in an area you are familiar with. I used to like Stuart Pawsons books he lives at Fairburn.
Hi Jacky,
Someone I know from the village sent me a picture of that bio from Kippax Matters. I’m really flattered by it. It’s a constant surprise to me how many people who live near Ledston Luck have got in touch with me; and it’s a great feeling! It’s amazing to see how many books Stuart Pawson has out, isn’t it? And also amazing is how many authors live in this neck of the woods!
I really hope you enjoy Ledston Luck, and if you have the time, I’d love to hear how you get along with it. If you’d like to see what the earlier books are like, why not sign up to my Reader’s Club and get yourself A Long Time Dead, The Third Rule, and a CSI Eddie Collins short story, The Lift, for free? Just fill out the short form on the front page of the site, and I’ll see you on the other side.
Take care,
Andy
Hey Andrew,
I just finished “A Long Time Dead”. I enjoyed it very much, was really surprised at the end, did not expect that ending. I also left a comment on Amazon.
Thanks much!!!
Barb
Hi Barb,
It’s great to see you over here – thank you for popping in.
I’m delighted by your review, and very pleased you didn’t see that ending coming. A Long Time Dead is 20 years old; it was the first crime book I ever wrote. I might have to devise a birthday present for the ‘old gal’ soon.
Don’t be a stranger, pop on here agian soon.
Take care,
Andy