Dark & Stormy

The idea of reading PENNY BLACK’s introduction came from participating in TiF ( Top in Fiction )’s 2026 Summit. TiF organized dozens of Substack writers to read from their works live over the weekend of January 17-19. Thanks to TiF mastermind Erica Drayton for organizing this event! PENNY BLACK will begin serializing in February 2026. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wit...

I made this video in 2016. I was living in Paris and participated in a writer’s group. It was open to all, and met in a book-lined corner upstairs at Shakespeare & Co. every Sunday late afternoon. Large groups are often unwieldy but this one operated smoothly, thanks to a few community leaders and the auspices of the bookshop, as finding a free and quiet place to gather for a few hours is difficul...

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy podcast, in which I speak – writer to writer – with authors of crime fiction, thrillers, and sci-fi. And westerns! Why not? Frank Kidd is author of MEDICINE WOMAN and it has the pace, action, and attitude of a thriller. It’s definitely “dark & stormy” material and a whole lot of fun. Frank talks about why he loves writing westerns – although he’s also got a contemporar...

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy podcast, in which I speak – writer to writer – with authors of crime fiction, thrillers, and sci-fi. My guest is Hanna Delaney, author of THE SPIDER, first in a budding series of spooky supernatural mysteries set in Liverpool, 1892, featuring her uncanny detective, Muldoon. Hanna is a Scouse whose love and fascination with her home city and its often dramatic history i...

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy Podcast. I speak about the challenges of writing a novel in a foreign setting, in this case, Japan. My novel GAIJIN COWGIRL is partly set here. The soul of the book is rooted in the post-war arrangements between Japan and the US, with many aspects of that history coming out in the course of the story. I begin the novel in a hostess club, a social environment that is un...

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy podcast, in which I speak – writer to writer – with authors of crime fiction, thrillers and sci-fi. This is a monthly podcast aimed at fans and readers. Each episode concludes with the guest recommending another writer. My guest is Tony Knighton, author of A NIGHT AT THE SHORE, third in a series of thrillers featuring a nameless thief ( buy it from Amazon ). Tony is fr...

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy podcast, in which I speak – writer to writer – with authors of crime fiction, thrillers and sci-fi. This is a monthly podcast aimed at fans and readers. Each episode concludes with the guest recommending another writer. My guest is Andrew Nette, author of ORPHAN ROAD, the second in an emerging series about Gary Chance, ex-Army truck driver turned petty criminal. Andrew...

My guest is Jake Needham, author of the Samuel Tay and Jack Shepherd series, and of The Big Mango , all of which are set in East Asia. Jake spoke with me from his home in Bangkok. Timecodes * 0:00 - Intro to Jake Needham * 02:02 - How I discovered Jake’s work * 04:01 - Writing screenplays and The Big Mango * 6:29 - Jim Gandolfini and a movie deal * 8:13 - What a writer needs to bring to the table...

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy podcast, in which I speak – writer to writer – with authors of crime fiction, thrillers and sci-fi. This is a monthly podcast aimed at fans and readers. Each episode concludes with the guest recommending another writer. My inaugural guest is Alex Shaw, author of the Aiden Snow and Jake Tate series, both international thrillers featuring SAS-trained operators. Alex is f...