A few days in London - it's research. Absolutely.

I just got back from a few days in London, with an assortment of pictures on the camera, many snapped in the name of research.

Writers can poke their noses into just about anything and call it research. I had fun in London, and visited a number of locations that may or may not turn up in books, sooner or later.

Probably only a writer would take pictures of the neighbours' roofs. I found the back view of the buildings around Trafalgar Square fascinating - and maybe one day there will be a chase over those rooftops?

The ghost bus, which starts it's nightly prowls in Northumberland Avenue, where I was staying. I've not been on it but I couldn't resist the pic. And I have to say that the sight of it rumbling towards you on The Strand, as night begins to fall, is quite creepy.

The Blue Cockerel on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. The square is featuring in a future book - definitely. But I'm going to have to move the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery - delusions of grandeur? 

A matinee of Private Lives - this was just for fun, but it's still good for thinking about how dialogue should flow.  

This is for Margaret James. A blue butterfly, as on the cover of The Wedding Diary. I was on the tube when I first caught a glimpse of it and promised her a picture if I got the chance. Here it is.  

And after snapping the Museum poster - my breakfast crockery also had blue butterflies!

The William Morris Gallery - the PreRaphaelites are a passion of mine and are supposed to be contributing to a number of forthcoming books. The Gallery is more about Morris's furniture and furnishings - but I've got ideas about some books set around a particular house - and houses have to have furniture, right? 

The Millennium Bridge. It's going to be the location of a meeting between another hero and a former boss - not a Black Ops operation, but certainly on the dark grey side. If I want authenticity I'm going to have to walk the bridge early in the morning in November. The things authors do for their art! 

The Crypt Restaurant under St Martin in the Fields. Another breakfast venue. The concerts in the Church are fabulous. I got the idea for burying a hero alive while listening to a Requiem here - I think it was Mozart.

Breakfast  - with added gravestones.

So many books in my mind, so little time :)

Books - and more books.

The week before last I made my first visit to the London Book Fair.
Why?
1)I was curious.
2) My publishers, Choc Lit, would be there.
3) I knew that a number of friends would be there too.

So I treated myself to a short trip to London and spent Monday at the Fair. I enjoyed it - as I said, I was curious, and it was in the nature of a fact finding mission - I had no particular plans of what to do or see.

Overall impressions? That there are an awful lot of books out there - so many stands, each with a colourful display. It was fun to find that many of those dedicated to romance were being staffed by friends. I got used to being hailed as I wandered along, gawping. I was disappointed that I couldn't find one presenting books from Wales, as Scotland and Ireland were attractively represented. I didn't find any Welsh publishers, either, among the displays, or on the lists of exhibitors. If they were there I missed them, although Aberystwyth University had a presence and were very busy at Literature Without Frontiers. It was exciting to see best sellers from people I know featuring on the revolving photo displays on the biggest stands. Trisha Ashley's Good Husband Material  looked particularly pretty as it hove periodically into view. I picked up a small amount of swag - mostly pens. I failed to get into any of the seminars in the Authors' Lounge, which looked to be heavily over subscribed. And, of course I admired the Choc Lit presentation, especially as there were two book of mine on display. Also chocolate truffles from House of Dorchester. I had lunch with my publisher and fellow authors and chatted to all sorts of interesting people. It was fun, and I shall definitely go again. Now that I know what is on offer I'll organise myself a little more next time, to take advantage of the chance to listen to speakers and maybe imitate the real movers and shakers and arrange appointments with a few influential people - although at this stage who they might be I have no idea!

The next day it was books in a different kind of display. The British Library's small but beautifully curated and researched A to Z of crime writing. Some interesting and memory provoking choices, from the Golden Age to the Mean Streets. It seems that the idea of a celebrity penning a novel is not as new as you might think. I certainly didn't know that the footballer Pele had his name on a crime novel! I also discovered Ronald Knox's Decalogue - ten golden rules for writing crime, which were prominently displayed. I've broken at least two and a half of them.

I also managed to take a few more pictures for the location tour for Out of Sight Out of Mind. And a whole cache of research material, in and around Trafalgar Square, for the (maybe) new book. Having looked at the site, I'm going to have to re-model the perimeter of the Square quite a bit. D'you think anyone will mind?