Okay, fictional murder and mayhem, anyway.

I’m delighted to invite all budding crime fiction authors in Sydney to join me at my first ever combined detective fiction and thriller writing weekend course at The Australian Writers’ Centre in McMahons Point on 11 and 12 October.

The top ten living crime fiction authors have sold 450 million books and the figure just keeps rising. Even J.K. Rowling is now writing crime fiction. Do you love gritty detectives, troubled PIs and cool FBI agents, and want to write your own story? Or are you a fan of fast-paced, high stakes thrillers with a hero plunged into danger and on a seemingly impossible mission? Do you aspire to be a Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Stieg Larsson, David Baldacci, John Le Carre, John Grisham or Michael Robotham? These authors inspired me, and I hope to inspire you.

By the end of the course you will have (or else I have failed miserably!):

• notes on the different types of crime fiction and thrillers

• an understanding of the core ‘ingredients’ of a detective story and a classic thriller

• techniques to discover your story

• thought about researching your story

• worked on creating intriguing and well-rounded central characters

• learnt plotting techniques

• written an opening paragraph to your novel, hooking your reader

• done an exercise to create a sense of place in your story

• tips on writing action scenes

• tips on managing pace and building suspense

• done an exercise to discover your story’s climax

• an awareness of the publishing options available, and the market for crime fiction and thrillers today

• the opportunity to ask questions about your particular writing concerns.

• hand-outs and notes to build your confidence as an author.

Hope to see you in October!