When I started writing Closer to Home it wasn’t really intended to be the first in a series. It was simply a way of telling a story that had been kicking around in my head for a few years. However, I discovered that Kate Fletcher and Dan Hollis had got under my skin and I wanted to develop their characters and their relationship. Before I’d finished Closer to Home I could see a way to develop the characters’ journey using another idea that I’d been working on in various for

‘Closer to Home’, my last novel, is set in a mining town in South Yorkshire very much like the one in which I grew up. In fact, much of Thorpe is based on Conisbrough although I don’t use the town’s most famous feature – the castle – as I thought that might be too much of a giveaway. I recently decided that I’d ask if Conisbrough Library might like a copy of the book as a local ‘curiosity’ and contacted one of the library assistants. He was delighted to accept my donation.