B is for Birnham. Hayley Birnham saved Foul and Fair. The original version of the story, which went through several drafts and got as far as me sending it out (unsuccessfully) on submission, featured James but no Hayley. The whole novel was told with him as the lead character, with no digressions fr...

Five weekends, plenty of conversations and lots of football to watch. My Foul and Fair pre-launch book tour of football tournaments came to an end on Saturday at the 72-team MAN v FAT National tournament in Telford. This was the only part of the tour that involved a significant distance to travel, b...

A is for Arrested. Foul and Fair opens with a flash-forward. The main character, James, is in a prison cell and musing on what has brought him to that point. Of course, the reader doesn’t know at this stage what has brought him there, but when the action shifts back to a deliberately vague &ls...

Today, 7th July, is Ringo Starr’s birthday. Ringo makes a brief appearance in Dead Man Singing, when Dave is discussing his drumming with one of the other characters, who repeats the common misapprehension that John Lennon said Ringo wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.

‘He...