The Crime Readers' Association

Quentin Bates – Books

27th June 2014

The curse of the TBR pile   It’s an affliction, but not necessarily a bad one. There are others that are so much worse. They’re everywhere, sneaking into corners and taking up residence, lying qu...

Quentin Bates – Ideas?

20th June 2014

There are questions a writer will groan inwardly at hearing, while hopefully maintaining an outward smile, however glassy. Do you make any money from these books, then? That’s a good one. Then there a...

Quentin Bates – Sex

13th June 2014

I thought that might grab your attention. What’s there to say about sex? To start with, I’m given to understand there’s a lot of it about. We humans (men, anyway) are supposedly hardwired to think abo...

Quentin Bates – Living With A Stranger

6th June 2014

It’s almost like being married all over again. Let me clarify… I’ve been married for a long time, and only the once. But a few years ago another woman turned up and has been living with me ever since....

Leigh RussellPreparing Submissions by Leigh Russell

30th May 2014

Recently there has been a lot of controversy in the publishing industry. Should we read physical books or e-books? Is traditional publishing better than self-publishing? Contrary to what a lot of writ...

Leigh RussellThe Appeal of Crime Fiction by Leigh Russell

18th May 2014

On the face of it, the appeal of crime fiction is a strange phenomenon. Readers who appear to be perfectly ordinary, if not downright pleasant, often tell me they ‘love a good murder’. Boo...

Leigh and Lee childWriting Series by Leigh Russell

16th May 2014

In the second of her blog posts as CRA Featured Author for May Leigh Russell looks at Writing Series. As readers, many of us are fans of series. There is comfort in returning to a familiar character....

How I Started Writing by Leigh Russell

9th May 2014

I started writing relatively late in life, and it has literally changed my  life. I’m not talking about the outward trappings of being a bestselling author: earning my living from writing fictio...

Amy Bird Yours Is MineCriminal London – why the capital still thrills us

18th April 2014

London may no longer be a place of opium dens, vile alleys and gin holes, as it was in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s day, but it is still an attractive proposition for a crime writer. From Robert Wil...

The Scourge of Self-Doubt A.J Waines

28th March 2014

In my work as a Psychotherapist, many creative people have come to me with self-doubt about their chosen craft. They tell me that they have stopped producing, because what they are going to create mig...

A J Waines – The Importance of Settings

21st March 2014

In the third of her Featured Author posts A.J. Waines looks at the importance of  settings.  One of the major appeals for UK readers of Nordic Noir and Scandi Crime novels has to be the settings. In S...

The Importance of Book Titles – A. J. Waines

14th March 2014

In the second of her Featured Author posts A.J. Waines looks at the importance of book titles.   The title of a book is undoubtedly the first thing we see about it, backed up by the image on the...

Getting Past Writers Block – A J Waines

7th March 2014

As a Psychotherapist, I’ve often worked with creative people and come across many writers, artists, actors and composers who’ve got ‘stuck’. They feel paralysed, inert and lost – then as a resul...

Death Lies BeneathCRA Giveaway: Death Lies Beneath (DI Horton Series)

1st March 2014

The eighth marine mystery crime novel featuring DI Andy Horton When ex con, Daryl Woodley is found dead on the marshes bordering Langstone Harbour the Intelligence Directorate believe his murder is li...

Developing Characters – Pauline Rowson

28th February 2014

Creating a likeable, interesting and complex main character, one the reader can have empathy with, one they want to trust, to feel his/her pain and disappointments, root for throughout the story is a...

Join the CRA

Joining the CRA is FREE. There are no lengthy forms to fill out and we need nothing but your email. You will receive a regular newsletter but no spam.