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The official website of Crime Writer and BBC Crime Correspondent Simon Hall
Simon Hall is the BBC's Crime Correspondent for the South West of England and the author of The TV Detective novels, in which a television reporter and a detective work together to solve a series of extraordinary crimes.
His books have been warmly praised as a fresh, distinctive and highly entertaining approach to crime writing. Simon's most recent novel, The Balance of Guilt, is the story of a shocking terrorist attack in a sacred place, the murky world of spies and the secret service, and an intricate conspiracy. It's the first of the novels to be based outside of Plymouth, and has been lauded by the critics.
Its forerunner, The Judgement Book, was named by Eurocrime as one of the top reads of last year. Some reviews -
On its predecessor, Evil Valley -
And on his previous novel, The Death Pictures -
There are more details of all Simon's novels on the Books page. Ebooks of the series are also being produced.
A prequel has been released, about how Dan, the TV reporter, and Adam, the Chief Inspector, met. The TV Detective is based on Simon's first attempt at writing a novel, A Popular Murder, and has been rewritten and published due to public demand in finding out how the pair began working together. It's the story of the bizarre murder of a notorious businessman and has been applauded by readers as a highly enjoyable way of filling in the gaps in the characters' story.
"This is a terrific book. This is an exciting book. This is a witty and amusing book. This is a very very very good book." Random Jottings
The popularity of Simon's work is growing quickly. He's been invited to give talks at a series of prestigious events, including the British Crime Writers' Association Annual Conference, the Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, Appledore, Poole and Reading Crime festivals. He also holds workshops on the art of novel writing, something Simon admits often teaches him more than the audience. He's proud to have been invited to the Swanwick Writers Summer School as.the specialist crime writing tutor.
Simon's work combines modern, complex and cunning mysteries with a behind the scenes taste of the life of a TV News reporter. There are jealous newsroom rows and precious egos to navigate, chaotic live broadcasts to present, and angry and emotional interviewees to placate.
The books also provide a fascinating insight into how the power of television can be used to help catch criminals, something which is much more common than many people realise.
Despite being far from a child of the internet age, those who know about the brave new world have persuaded Simon to begin writing a blog, something he has now confessed to actually enjoying. The latest is featured below, with previous entries on the blog page. There, you can also sign up for a feed of the latest blog. It'll keep you up to date with Simon's writing, events, and occasional whimsical musings on any topic which happens to be entertaining him. He's even begun Tweeting. You can follow him @thetvdetective.
At the request of a dramatics company, Simon has adapted a tvdetective mystery for the stage. As part of his commitment to raise money for good causes, he's made the play available for free on the condition that any money raised goes to a local charity. If other dramatics groups are interested in putting on the play, they can get in touch with Simon via the contact page.
The TV Detective site will take you on a tour of Simon's work, tell you about his latest events, give you an opportunity to get in touch, receive regular updates from his publishers, and even post your photos from his events, along with suggestions for people, places and plots for forthcoming books, via the yourtvdetective page.
Simon Hall welcomes you to his website.
Where do you start with writing a book?
I haven't answered a reader's question for quite a while - apologies - but just that inquiry came in a couple of weeks ago, and it chimes with me at the moment, so let's give it a go.
The problem is that there's no easy answer. I suppose the way I think of it is that it all starts with the idea. And that can be anything; a place (as with Evil Valley), a character (as with Dan for the whole of the tvdetective series), or a plot (as with The Judgement Book and The Death Pictures).
Then you get into a whole period of agonising as to whether the idea is good enough, interesting enough, has sufficient about it to sustain it for a whole book. My view on that one is simple, if strange.
Treat your idea like a relationship. Give it time. Don't go thinking this is the one, just because you've only recently met and it's all new and exciting. Spend some time together, and if the attraction keeps growing, if you're still in love with it, go for it.
Well, almost! The temptation at that point is to start writing, but maybe that's not such a good idea, however understandable. These book things take some writing - they average more than 100,000 words - and require months to do. If you just run at it, you'll probably end up with a great waffling lump of words which has missed some of the key points you need to get in.
I hate to sound like the teachers of our old schooldays, but you need a plan. And that usually takes me months in itself - to make sure the characters and backdrops are convincing and that the plot goes where it should, with plenty of red herrings and sub plot going on to keep the poor reader guessing.
When you've done all that, it's time to get writing. You'll know if it's working out because you'll look forward to every sentence you write, and the characters will follow you around, even when you're not actually writing. And keep going, and then...
Comes the real hard work, I'm afraid. The re-writing. And more re-writing, and then even more. I usually do about seven re-writes of the tvdetective books. Some lucky authors do fewer, others do more.
And don't worry about how the book starts. I was only thinking this week about how scary a simple blank sheet can be. Just get going is my advice. The opening usually changes with the re-writing, or at least it does for me. Not one of my books has been published with the same opening lines that I started it with, and some have changed perhaps even a dozen times.
But the key thing in all this - enjoy it. Writing is a hobby, a job, but also an addiction. I struggle to think of a time before I was writing, how I filled my days, and more importantly - how I ever felt fulfilled.
So go for it, and good luck! You never know where the journey will take you. If you'd told me, five years ago that I'd now have five books published, have written a play which is currently in rehearsal, and be invited to teach writing at so many wonderful places I'd have laughed myself silly.
It's a new world - and a wonderful one - and I'm so glad and grateful to have found it. I'd thoroughly recommend joining it.
Don't forget, if you want to ask a question about the tvdetective books, or any area of my writing or teaching work, or even the play, you can get in touch via the contact page of the site - www.thetvdetective.com/contact.html
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