Like many writers, I have been a keen reader all of my life. I remember one particular day as a nine-year-old during the long summer holiday, when I visited my local library in Bristol four times in one day because a child’s ticket only allowed one book out at a time!
I still live in the west-country, in the beautiful cathedral city of Salisbury, although I set my novels in the neighbouring county of Dorset. We own a lovely flat in the small Dorset coastal town of Swanage, and spend a lot of time there, walking the famous Jurassic Coast world heritage site. The early novels in the series are based there, on the Isle of Purbeck, one of the UK’s most beautiful coastal regions. But the rest of the county of Dorset does get a look in, and there are scenes set in other locations in the central south of England.
I write because I constantly create scenes, people, imaginary conversations and unusual situations in my head. I have always done so, ever since I was a child. I take great pride in my writing, constantly reshaping and polishing until it’s as good as I can make it, though the editorial team at Joffe Books always manage to improve it further.
Please remember that, like most novelists, I write what I like and what seems interesting to me. I don’t like all-action, gun-toting crime novels and I don’t write in that style. Nor do I wish to write about moody, maverick cops who go it alone, break the rules yet still manage to solve the crimes. Modern policing involves teams!
I include some social themes in my novels. I support minority groups and dislike prejudice in all its ugly forms. Please don’t complain to me about the fact that I sometimes include topics that lift the lid on social injustice. If you don’t like this, there’s an easy solution: don’t read my novels. I support Black Lives Matter, Women’s issues, Equalities initiatives, Trans Rights, full LGBTQ+ integration. I distrust zealots, whether religious, political or social. I think too many of them have closed minds and fixated views. Many have hidden prejudices, despite their claims to the contrary. Their beliefs seem to be formed by adherence to ideologies rather than the lived experiences of real people. They seem to expect people’s natures to fit to these ideological principles rather than those governing principles being based upon people’s natures and lived experiences.
I think it important that readers are aware of my own gender variance. I don’t include a small number of LGBT issues in my novels just to be politically correct. I do so because I am a member of the UK LGBTQ+ community and proud to be so. Many trans people have made extremely positive comments about the way I portray Rae Gregson, a trans detective introduced in Secret Crimes, my third novel, and an important member of the team in all later books.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail if you have questions about any of my novels. michael@michaelhambling.co.uk
You can read more about me on my Amazon Author Page.