Phil Simpkin - Author

Hey guys; I have been dipping my toes in various discussion groups and writers' workshops recently. Some are brilliant and supportive, whereas some are a little 'elite' and brimming with what I call 'book snobs'. The fact that I identify 'book snobs' is a clue to where I come from. I am a guy who likes to pick up a book, whether it's just in time for a two week relax in the sun,( in which case I will be looking for 3 or 4) or a long lazy weekend (1 or 2). What sort of books do I like to read?  They have to be fun. They have to be a good story. They have to entertain me. I like sewn in wit and astute perspectives of real life. James McGee; Ben Elton; Sebastian Faulkes; Ian Banks...all names I admire and who write books I like to read. What sort of books do I write? I hope they are books that I would pick up to read and based on my own criteria. For Fiction particularly. For reference?  Well researched and presented in a manner where

Hey guys; After a little prompting from fellow Google+ contributors, I have just done a check on 'sales' since my books went out on 25th March 2013. Jack Ketch's Puppets has been sold in paperback or downloaded 867 times ! Leicestershire Myth & Legend - in verse - 124 times . Sadly for me, many are the giveaways, so I can't retire in comfort quite just yet! I have also sold some copies through Createspace store as paperbacks but as yet am unclear on totals. I am unable to gain information as to paperback versions from FeedARead as they are produced every 6 months, and I shall have to wait until October! They say that a first time writer sells about 500 copies of their first book in total . I am therefore over the moon at what has been achieved in a little over five weeks! Thanks to those of you who have contributed to the figures!

Just had a really nice accolade from a fellow writer in the USA, Chaunce Stanton, which I share below...makes it worth while! ***** Putting the Artist in the Work Do you see the painter in the painting? I like it when an author conveys a personal voice -- even within troubling story lines like gruesome murder investigations. As a reader, I feel like I come to know the writer in some small part even as I come to the characters and the action enfolding them. Reading +Phil Simpkin's Jack Ketch's Puppets, I sometimes find myself laughing aloud or releasing intrigued "hmmmms" so that my wife, Naomi, asks me what I'm on about, and I read something to her that not only advances Phil's story but shows his sense of humor or the amount of time he spent researching and deliberating over his subject matter. One brief example that made me pause to write this post: "I'm afraid, sir, that we have the gravest of problems - the corpse has been

Use of British Newspaper Archive for Historical data... I have just been chatting on a LinkedIn writers group, with a writer who has been struggling to get specific data for certain days in their research for a new Historical Novel. Many people may not be aware of The British Newspaper Archive, which has copies of (currently) 6,787,555 newspapers from across the UK going back to circa 1800 and, as I understand, earlier when scanned. These can be viewed on purchase of credits, or for a membership, but once purchased a PDF version of each can be downloaded and used at your leisure. As much as they are a UK resource, Britain's thirst for world news meant that The Times, and London Standard, for example, carried world news, events, weather, trade, and as such there is so much data, it is a goldmine. I have copies of papers locally and Nationally for November 1854 to January 1855, for researching The Crimean war, which features heavily in my next major novel in my Borough

I have had a really interesting day today, snooping around the websites and facebook pages of some of my new 'Fans' and 'Followers' on my Facebook 'Borough Boys' page. I am just blown away by the diversity of what is being produced. There are some beautiful looking and intriguing titles and blurbs, many of which have already whetted my appetite, and will shortly appear on my 'to read' lists. Many of these are self-published. I wonder how many of these writers / authors would have been published under the old regime? Self publishing is refreshing and encompassing. It gives life to new authors, and gives the readers the chance to decide what they want to read, and not the publishing houses and agents! The king is dead, long live self-publishing!

Hey guys; I am starting to appreciate, that as a novice author, with my first books only just out in the market place, trying to identify to a reader, why, they might want to read YOUR book, is in need of a lot of extra publicity and marketing effort. A novel - seems so straight-forward - we all love a novel, especially a crime, and a murder mystery to boot! But, there are thousands on sale. So why should 'Jack Ketch's puppets' appeal to some readers more than others?  And who might want to read it, or for that matter, any of the impending 'Borough Boys' series? This series should be of interest to not just readers of Fiction, Crime and Mysteries. I have deliberately included large amounts of information about the history of the Borough of Leicester, from before 1850; through 1850, and will go on to later in the Victorian era. This includes social, economic and political change, as well as the evolution of Policing. But it is all entwined with a fast

Hey guys; It has been an interesting couple of days, and since I posted my recent first Q & A session with a local Hack, I have been asked a few questions about how I go about researching my work. I have to say, that the emergence of data on the internet has been a phenomenal bonus, and is a godsend for Historical research. However, I am also a Genealogist, and have taken my own, plus friends' family trees back to the 1400's. The Genealogy resources are a real asset for Historical Fiction. I am writing about 1850s Leicester, England. The biggest asset here is the 1841 and 1851 UK Census records, which give you names, addresses, occupations, ages, places of birth, and more. These Census records continue right through to 1911 and will be my constant companion in each yearly move in my novel timeline. Also, Historical Registers. There are many documented Registers that detail Pubs; Licensees; shops and their owners; Newspapers, etc. You want to know who was who

Q - What made you want to write ‘The Borough Boys series?’ A – Back in 1976, when I started walking the beat as a young Cop, in Leicester, I was fascinated by the history of the Town. There are some great places, full of atmosphere, with original buildings and street lamps, and that sort of prompt. I decided that I wanted to know what Leicester must have been like back then, during that early Victorian period, and that got me going. Q – Why ‘The Borough Boys?’ A – The original name was Leicester Borough Police. They covered the Town area, and in 1839 Leicestershire County Police was formed, who covered beyond the Town walls, and the old periphery. Q – Why did you start off in 1850/51? A – I wanted to take people to a period in time, where change was already occurring, and Leicester was already feeling that change. By 1850, it was already suffering the Industry and scars that would bring, and the population of the Town was an ‘interesting mix’ by then. Q – Who i

Hey Guys; This is my official thank you to you all for the support I have received over this, opening, weekend of publication of  both of my books. At its best, Jack Ketch's Puppets, reached #70 in the Kindle 'Mysteries' category, equal with 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Steigg Larrson, and ahead of Lee Childs, James Herbert, and many more names I have always looked at in wonderment! As for 'Leicestershire Myth & Legend - in verse'; at 9am today it was at #32 in Amazon Kindle 'Entertainment' category. Both books are now back at their original Kindle price of £1.01, and paperbacks as they were originally released. Those of you that have downloaded - MANY THANKS! Please would you leave me a review on Amazon Kindle and Goodreads, if you feel so inclined. EVERY REVIEW IS APPRECIATED! Thanks Phil

Read the following link, and let me know... https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Borough-Boys/368938166555376?ref=hl