Revisiting the Jim Bowden years . . .

The whaling book was instrumental in the creation of  Jessica Blair. Since then I have written 18 historical sagas under that name and am writing the nineteenth at present. The pen-name came about when my publisher, Piatkus, accepted the first historical saga and declared that, for various reasons, they would prefer to publish it under a female name. Jessica Blair was their suggestion.

The rugged Yorkshire coast and its ports of the nineteenth century have formed the backdrop to most of these novels of romance, mystery and adventure. In the books' journeys into the past, you can follow the whalers, the jet carvers, the smugglers, the alum workers, the artists, the photographers and the herring fishers; face dangers with the wreckers in Cornwall; fly with the fighter pilots and bomber crews of the Second World War; sail with the minesweepers, experience Dunkirk and watch the work of the Women’s Land Army.

But I always say I learned my initial writing trade on the back of westerns. They were where I learned to tell a story and create characters.

In my early writing days there were no computers; no internet. We had no easy way to communicate with fans, no speed of response, etc. Now, with websites, you can learn much more about who writes your westerns.

And what a boon the Net must be when researching background material for westerns! I built up a substantial library instead – you still can’t beat a book.

But readers can get to my blog through my website and I’m always pleased to hear from anyone who loves westerns – or anyone who loves reading and, of course, writing.

I was born in Middlesbrough, England, in 1923. I trained as a teacher but never followed this profession because the Second World War intervened. I served in the Royal Air Force as a bomb-aimer, doing 36 operational flights in the Lancasters of 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron Bomber Command.

At my blog recently I joined the fashion for lists and gave one of ten books about Bomber Command that I thought should be read. The books, and more like them, make you realize what these men (many of them still boys) contributed. If their campaign had not been carried out successfully, many more people would have died before the final victory. Their losses were high but they never flinched from their duty. The books lead you to wonder why Bomber Command was never awarded a Campaign Medal.

Many other branches of the Armed Services were awarded medals – and are still, rightly so, for participation in today’s conflicts. It's fitting that recognition is given to those who risk their lives or pay the ultimate sacrifice for their country. So, why no recognition for those of Bomber Command who served their country in the Second World War?

Their role has been maligned by people who were not there, who cannot appreciate or recognize the vital role played by Bomber Command, along with the other services, in ridding the world of an evil regime. The oversight must be laid to a large extent at Winston Churchill’s door. He tried to distance himself from a campaign he had wholeheartedly approved in order to defeat Adolf Hitler and all he stood for.

After the war I was sent to Rhodesia by the RAF. It was on the voyage to Durban that I wrote my first short story and was bitten by the writing bug. On return to England, I wrote articles for newspapers and magazines and fulfilled my desire to write a novel by using some wartime experiences as background.

Along with my wife, Joan, I wrote three books dealing with aspects of Yorkshire. I also started a review column in the Yorkshire Gazette and Herald, and that has now been running more than 40 years.

Visits to Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, sparked off an interest in whaling. Ten years' intermittent research into the subject resulted in the publication of the mentioned illustrated history, Harpooned.

Writing was a part-time occupation until 1977 when, with the full support of my wife, it became full-time. Throughout my whole writing career I have had her, and my four children’s, unstinting support, advice and inspiration.

I moved into the computing age very early on when I purchased a word processor which had everyone amazed at the ability to manoeuvre words, sentences, paragraphs and whole pages at will. Since then I have updated the equipment twice, to keep abreast of the wider facilities computers offer authors. The equipment came with me when I moved to a family home in the village of Ampleforth on the death of my wife in 1999.

Though much of my writing life revolves around the computer, I realize it is essential for a writer to keep personal contact with people. As part of this I attend the meetings of the northern branch of the Romantic Novelists’ Association near Harrogate once a month. We catch up on what we are all doing, exchange ideas, meet new authors, and share the exchanges over a pleasant meal.

I am also a member of  the Society of Authors, the Bomber Command Association, the Aircrew Association, the National Geographic Society and the Scarborough Writers' Circle.

Westerns?

Great stuff! Wonderful escape material. Curl up in a chair with a good western . . . let the troubles of the world fade away in the pounding hoofbeats of the posse pursuing our innocent hero. . . .