Today is the official publication date of the paperback version of Edgar Allan Poe and the Jewel of Peru by Point Blank Books, the crime imprint of Oneworld Publications. (The Australian publication date for the paperback is in November...) I've created a little animation to celebrate-- my first iMovie attempt, so forgive the annoying imperfections. I've used some images in it that inspired the story (although not all those images...) and my trusty Edgar Allan Poe action fig

The advance copies of the paperback version of Edgar Allan Poe and the Jewel of Peru have just been delivered to my publisher in London: Point Blank Books, an imprint of Oneworld Publications. Can't wait to get my hands on them in a few weeks-- they are a beautiful follow-up to the elegant hardback published by Pegasus Books (USA) in May. Very happy. The emerald of 'Jewel of Peru' is also a lovely progression from the ruby of 'London Monster'... Not that the books have to b

A short post to commemorate the death on this day (27 January) of ornithologist and artist John James Audubon (1785 – 1851). Audubon was born in Haiti, spent much of his childhood in France, and emigrated to America, initially to run his father's 284 acre farm in Mill Grove, about 20 miles from Philadelphia. Audubon had been fascinated by birds since childhood and he began his study of them in earnest at Mill Grove. He also met his wife, Lucy Bakewell, there. Audubon had the