R.N. Morris's Blog, page 3
May 19, 2023
Extract from The Crimson Child
Spring. 1880. It was General Krolikov’s name day, the day he celebrated being Timofei son of Timofei. He chose to spend it in Tavrichesky Garden, St Petersburg, as he did every year, weather permitting. As usual, his daughter Vera had arranged a party. Most of those in the group were strangers to him. He assumed …
April 29, 2023
The Crimson Child.
For those of you who were wondering when and if I was ever going to write or publish another book, I have some news. A new historical mystery featuring investigating Pavel Pavovich Virginsky, with a cameo appearance from Porfiry Petrovich. It’s the second book in my Empire of Shadows series, but can be read as …
February 18, 2023
Russia reimagined. Again.
A writer’s journey takes place largely in the imagination. When I first pitched the idea of writing a detective novel set in 19th century St Petersburg, I had never been to Russia. I’d read some Russian novels in translation. One of those was Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. I picked it up from my school library, …
February 2, 2023
What’s this? A bloody blog post?
First of all, an apology. I’m sorry it’s been so long since I blogged. And second of all, another apology. I’m sorry I’ve started blogging again. But I do have news, so I thought maybe I should resurrect the old bloody blog. What news? Basically, free books. And very cheap books. And more free books. …
January 6, 2022
Animated discourse
I’ve long been fascinated by animation. The idea of someone’s drawings coming to life has always seemed very powerful to me – an incredibly direct form of creativity. When I was younger, I tried my hand at it the old fashioned way – creating minutely different images on paper or cells to photograph frame by …
April 29, 2021
Paperback Writer…
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book? It took me years to write, will you take a look? It’s a dark, twisty story about a man named Quinn And I need a job, So I want to be a paperback writer…. Paperback writer! (With apologies to the Beatles) Summon Up The Blood is …
March 1, 2021
A new review of Fortune’s Hand.
Every now and then a review comes along that makes you think you’re not entirely wasting your time. There are readers out there who get what you’re trying to do and respond enthusiastically to it. One of those is Ellie Hawkes, who has just posted her review of Fortune’s Hand on her blog, Elspells. All …
December 5, 2020
A Christmas excerpt from Fortune’s Hand (1)
The Palace of Whitehall is all decked out in green, hung with sprigs of holly, ivy, spruce and pine. A resinous scent conjures forth the forest in its wintergreen glory. As if the forest has brought itself inside for us. And the hunting scenes depicted on the hanging tapestries are in the process of coming …
December 1, 2020
Sometimes you find something nice
It’s great to be a published writer, having your work out there in the public domain for people to discover. Sometimes people who have discovered your work take the time to say what they think about it. Either in an amazon or Goodreads review, or on their own blog. Occasionally I put my writing name …
November 23, 2020
Taking Comfort Take 2
Those wonderful people at Sharpe Books have reissued my 2006 novel Taking Comfort as an ebook, giving it brand new cover, which I love. Taking Comfort was my first published novel, so it holds a special place in my affections. Rereading it for the new edition was an interesting experience. I was surprised how well …
