Peter Lovesey Insider Writing Secrets: Guest Post by Andrew McAleer

While writing the 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists: Insider Secrets from Top Writers (Simon & Schuster), I had the honor of corresponding with some of the best mystery writers in the business – Diamond Dagger winner and Grand Master Peter Lovesey among them. 

Lovesey’s inimitable characters include Sergeant Cribb and Detective Peter Diamond. He is regarded as the, “[M]odern master of the historical mystery story.” (Encyclopedia Mysteriosa). I sweated out my oversees request to Lovesey asking for even a couple of writing tips or habits he might offer to emerging authors. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful reply. Rather than supplying a couple of writing tips, Lovesey generously contributed tips for nine chapters. 

Below are a handful of his superb tips – all certain to inspire your next great mystery story. 

 

* * *

1. Being Creative and Original
 
PETER LOVESEY - Beware of the cliché. By this I mean not only the cliché phrase (“It’s an old trick, major, but it just might work.”), but the cliché plot (the murderer turns out to be the narrator) and the cliché style. Don’t try to be the second Raymond Chandler or J.K. Rowling. By all means learn from successful writers, but be yourself, and say it freshly.
 
2. Having Precise Goals, Not Just Wishes
 
PETER LOVESEY - Make your writing a regular duty. Remember that one page a day—say 300 words—each day for a year gives you a 109,500-word novel.
 
3. Being Open to Experiences 
 
PETER LOVESEY - Give your writing an authentic feel by using your own experience. Of course you don’t have to commit a murder to write about one, but you can give it a strong sense of place by choosing a setting you know. Dorothy L. Sayers worked in advertising and wrote Murder Must Advertise. Agatha Christie trained as a pharmacist and used her knowledge of poison in her books. P.D. James worked in the police department at the Home Office. Colin Dexter, the creator of Inspector Morse, is a champion crossword solver and a lover of real ale and Wagner. 
 
4. Getting the Basics Down
 
PETER LOVESEY - Don’t be afraid of breaking the rules of English you learned at school. Perfectly correct English can be a bore. So put the occasional sentence without a verb. Don’t worry if the sentence ends with a preposition. And start some sentences with And.
 
5. Plotting
 
PETER LOVESEY - This is a personal tip and may be controversial, but it saves me time and rewriting. Plot before you write. Make sure you have a satisfying story in outline form before you start chapter one. Using this method, I don’t put the book through a series of drafts. Each day’s output will appear on the printed page. I know plenty of writers who like the challenge of not knowing where they are heading, but this way works for me. 
 

* * *

Peter Lovesey passed away on April 10, 2025; he was 88. As Diamond Dagger winner Martin Edwards noted, “Lovesey…was often described as ‘prolific’. Although this was true, in his case the term never became a euphemism for ‘formulaic’ or ‘predictable.’ Lovesey possessed the gift of entertaining readers while setting a diverse range of stories at different times in the past as well as in the present.” (The Guardian)
            Or, as Peter Lovesey might have said, “I avoid the cliché.” 

***

Andrew McAleer is the author of the best-selling detective Henry von Stray classic British mystery series. The von Stray collection, A Casebook of Crime: Thrilling Adventures of Suspense from the Golden Age of Mystery was released in March 2025 (Level Best Books). Introduction by Edgar winner Art Tayor. Volume Two of A Casebook of Crime is scheduled for release in March 2026. Introduction by Derringer winner Stacy Woodson      
             

"Rough Cider" in the Making by Peter Lovesey

This article appeared in the Mystery Readers Journal: Murder in Wartime (33:2), Summer 2017. Check out the Table of Contents for this and other articles focusing on Murder in Wartime. Rough Cider is one of Peter Lovesey's favorite books...and mine! Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

Rough Cider in the Making by Peter Lovesey

The book of mine closest to my own experience is Rough Cider, written over thirty years ago in 1986. It has remained in print and is often mentioned by readers as a personal favourite, a non-series ‘one-off’ written in the first person as if by a university lecturer, who is persuaded or compelled to recall traumatic events from 1943 in rural England during World War II. Much of it drew on my own memories of being made homeless and moved from suburban London to a farm in the West Country.

In 1944 my home was destroyed by a V-1 rocket, one of those pilotless planes that Hitler sent over from France. Miraculously, all my family survived while everyone in the other half of the semi-detached house was killed. My mother had gone shopping when the air-raid siren sounded. She had left two of her three sons in the house. I was at school nearby and our father was away in the army. Mother had told my brother John, who was 14, to make sure that if the warning came he took my younger brother, Andrew, who was 3, under the Morrison shelter—a cast-iron table that had been offered by the government to all houses within range of the rockets. The table held up under the weight of the rubble and the two boys were dug out alive.

Being homeless, we slept for a few nights on the vicar’s living-room floor until arrangements were made to send us to a temporary home out of London. So my mother and her three sons took a long train journey to Cornwall in the West Country and were found accommodation on an isolated farm. The farmer and his wife and grown-up son had no choice but to accept this family from miles away. We were ‘billeted’—to use the terminology of the time. With hindsight I can understand how our hosts must have felt to have a woman in a state of shock and three noisy kids foisted on them at harvest time, but for us it was difficult to understand why we were not more welcome. The farmhouse was dark inside and lit by oil-lamps, and had curtains across all the doors to keep draughts to a minimum. As an 8-year-old, I found it spooky. Good thing I wasn’t without my family, as many so-called evacuees had found themselves earlier in the war when they were sent to the country for their own safety.

We didn’t remain there long—perhaps as little as a month. My father, on compassionate leave, found us a temporary house back in London, and we returned, much relieved, to the bomb-infested suburbs. But the memory of that time is still vivid in my mind. When I came to write Rough Cider forty years later, it was easy to get back into the thought process of a child, watching events unfold without fully understanding them. I began the book with a sentence that plunges the reader straight into that world:

“When I was nine, I fell in love with a girl of twenty called Barbara, who killed herself.”

Of course, the writer’s imagination moves on from remembered things to events that didn’t happen in reality. There was no suicide on the farm, no murder and no cider that I can recall. But the novel is centered around a plot involving an American soldier posted to England, and as a boy I did get to meet GIs at the local American Army base. After our return to London, we Lovesey boys were invited to a party put on specially by the GIs for ‘bombed-out’ kids—and it was wonderful. I can still remember the silent films they projected onto a screen for us—Buster Keaton and Chaplin—and the magician, and the food! Food we didn’t know existed. I was one of the first British children to taste a Hershey Bar and chewing gum. No wonder I can understand how the boy Theo came to idolize the soldier called Duke.
So there it is. I mustn’t give away more of the plot. Rough Cider remains a personal favorite for reasons you will now understand.

***

Peter Lovesey has several series, including historical mysteries, as well as short stories, and stand-alone crime fiction. His books are fabulous reads.. all of them. 

Awards: Macmillan/Panther First Crime Novel Award, 1970, for Wobble to Death; Crime Writers Association Silver Dagger Award, 1977, 1995, and 1996, Gold Dagger Award, 1983, for The False Inspector Dew; Veuve Clicquot/Crime Writers Association Short Story Award, 1985; Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere, 1985; Prix du Roman d'Aventures, 1987; finalist for Best Novel award, Mystery Writers of America, 1988, for Rough Cider, and 1996, for The Summons; Ellery Queen Readers award, 1991; Anthony Award for best novel, 1992, for The Last Detective; Mystery Writers of America Golden Mysteries Short Story Prize, 1995; Crime Writers Association Macavity Award for Best Novel, 1997, for Bloodhounds, and 2004, for The House Sitter; Crime Writers Association Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, 2000, for lifetime Achievement.

PETER LOVESEY 50th ANNIVERSARY GALA TODAY!

CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF PETER LOVESEY'S CRIME FICTION

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of WOBBLE TO DEATH, Peter Lovesey's debut mystery. 

Join Murder by the Book and Soho Press in celebrating the Golden Anniversary of the Diamond Dagger Winner and MWA Grand Master with a virtual gala.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4: 7 p.m. EST  (4 p.m. PST)

Toastmakers include Louise Penny, Peter Robinson, Jeffery Deaver, Lawrence Block, and Cara Black. Peter Lovesey will announce the winner of the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest.

Event can be watched live on the Murder By The Book YouTube page, which can be found HERE.

When it’s time for the event to begin, you should be able to refresh the page until the live video shows up as a new post.

If you miss the beginning of the talk, as soon as it wraps up you can find it on Murder by the Book's YOUTUBE CHANNEL to watch from the beginning.

 

The Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest

Here's some great news from Soho Crime: The Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest

Fifty years ago, Peter Lovesey—who would go on to become an MWA Grand Master and a CWA Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement Award-winner—published his first mystery novel, Wobble to Death, after winning a first novel contest he stumbled across in an English newspaper. Over 40 novels (and a few television series) later, he has gone on to become one of the most respected mystery writers at work today. ​

To celebrate Peter Lovesey's incredible career and its unusual beginnings, Soho Crime is proud to present the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest, in which one debut crime/mystery author will be awarded a publication contract with Soho Crime.*

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE CONTEST? Any writer, regardless of nationality, aged 18 or older, who has never been the author of any Published Novel (in any genre), as defined by the contest rules. Employees of Soho Press and members of their immediate families living in the same household (or a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate) are not eligible to enter.

WHAT TYPE OF NOVEL IS ELIGIBLE? For the purpose of this Contest, a “Crime Novel” means a work of fiction of at least 30,000 words that features any of the characteristics outlined in detail in the contest rules.

WHAT IS THE PRIZE? If a winner is selected, he or she will be offered the opportunity to enter into a publication agreement with Soho Press. After execution of the standard form author's agreement by both parties, the winner will receive an advance against future royalties of $10,000 (ten thousand US dollars).

WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRY? All submissions must be received by 11:59pm EST on April 1, 2020

WHO IS JUDGING THE ENTRIES? The editorial staff of Soho Crime will select a shortlist of two (2) or three (3) Finalists, and the winner will be selected from among the Finalists by Peter Lovesey.

HOW DO I ENTER? To enter into this contest, you must first read and agree to the complete contest rules, which contain the complete method of entry. Any entries that do not abide by entry rules are subject to disqualification.

Peter Lovesey's Beau Death: review by Sue Trowbridge. Book Give-Away

Peter Lovesey is one of my favorite authors and favorite people. I've known him for over 30 years, but my acquaintance with his books precedes that. Peter has also been a big supporter of and frequent contributor to the Mystery Readers Journal. With over 40 novels and numerous short stories and editor of anthologies, Peter Lovesey has just been named Grandmaster by Mystery Writers of America.

Do you have a favorite Peter Lovesey novel? Make a comment below for a chance to win a copy of his latest novel Beau Death. Be sure and leave your email address.

This review originally appeared on The Saturday Reader. Reprinted with permission by Sue Trowbridge. Sue Trowbridge reviews books (mostly mysteries & thrillers) every week on her blog. She works as a freelance web developer and book designer.

Beau Death by Peter Lovesey
reviewed by Sue Trowbridge

You can always count on Peter Lovesey to provide you with a solid, well-written, well-plotted novel. Year after year, Lovesey just keeps publishing fine crime fiction—he’s written over 40 books—and funnily enough, just a few hours after I had been musing, “Is Peter Lovesey taken for granted?” the news broke that he had been awarded Grand Master status by the Mystery Writers of America. I hope the honor will bring more attention to his stellar body of work.

Beau Death is the latest entry in his long-running series about Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond, who works in the historic city of Bath. As the novel opens, a block of run-down townhouses is being demolished, and the wrecking ball reveals a surprise in one of the attics: a skeleton, dressed in an 18th-century costume, sitting in a chair. The police are called in, and when a goofy photo of Diamond with the remains goes viral, people start speculating that the dead man could be Beau Nash.

Nash was known as the “King of Bath,” a local icon who hosted royalty, politicians and famous writers during his tenure as town’s unofficial Master of Ceremonies. Eventually, scandal and debts caused him to survive on a small income from city funds, and when he died, he was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave—but could he somehow have wound up in a townhouse attic in an unfashionable suburb instead?

I will admit that I thought Beau Nash was Lovesey’s own creation, kind of a take-off on Beau Brummel, but he was real. Not real is the book’s Beau Nash Society, a fashionable, invitation-only Bath club whose members are required to attend meetings dressed in period costume. If the corpse isn’t the real Beau, perhaps he was a modern-day member of the Society, and with a little help from his girlfriend Paloma (an expert on historic clothing), Diamond will need to don a wig and breeches in order to discover the dead man’s identity.

Unlike a lot of crime fiction series which overwhelm you with their characters’ back stories, Beau Death can easily be read as a stand-alone. There are some references made to incidents in Diamond’s past, but this really isn’t a series which demands to be read in order. Though mystery fans who are just discovering Lovesey will no doubt be delighted to find that he has such a rich and deep back catalog to enjoy. His Grand Master award is well-deserved indeed.

Rough Cider in the Making: Peter Lovesey

The latest issue of Mystery Readers Journal (33:2) focuses on Murder in Wartime  Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

I decided to post some of the articles here on Mystery Fanfare. This one is by Peter Lovesey. Peter is one of my favorite authors--and one of my favorite people! Peter Lovesey has been a crime writer since 1970. He was guest of honor at this year’s CrimeFest and will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Bouchercon in Dallas. 

Peter Lovesey: 
Rough Cider in the Making

The book of mine closest to my own experience is Rough Cider, written over thirty years ago in 1986. It has remained in print and is often mentioned by readers as a personal favourite, a non-series ‘one-off’ written in the first person as if by a university lecturer, who is persuaded or compelled to recall traumatic events from 1943 in rural England during World War II. Much of it drew on my own memories of being made homeless and moved from suburban London to a farm in the West Country.

In 1944 my home was destroyed by a V-1 rocket, one of those pilotless planes that Hitler sent over from France. Miraculously, all my family survived while everyone in the other half of the semi-detached house was killed. My mother had gone shopping when the air-raid siren sounded. She had left two of her three sons in the house. I was at school nearby and our father was away in the army. Mother had told my brother John, who was 14, to make sure that if the warning came he took my younger brother, Andrew, who was 3, under the Morrison shelter—a cast-iron table that had been offered by the government to all houses within range of the rockets. The table held up under the weight of the rubble and the two boys were dug out alive.

Being homeless, we slept for a few nights on the vicar’s living-room floor until arrangements were made to send us to a temporary home out of London. So my mother and her three sons took a long train journey to Cornwall in the West Country and were found accommodation on an isolated farm. The farmer and his wife and grown-up son had no choice but to accept this family from miles away. We were ‘billeted’—to use the terminology of the time. With hindsight I can understand how our hosts must have felt to have a woman in a state of shock and three noisy kids foisted on them at harvest time, but for us it was difficult to understand why we were not more welcome. The farmhouse was dark inside and lit by oil-lamps, and had curtains across all the doors to keep draughts to a minimum. As an 8-year-old, I found it spooky. Good thing I wasn’t without my family, as many so-called evacuees had found themselves earlier in the war when they were sent to the country for their own safety.

We didn’t remain there long—perhaps as little as a month. My father, on compassionate leave, found us a temporary house back in London, and we returned, much relieved, to the bomb-infested suburbs. But the memory of that time is still vivid in my mind. When I came to write Rough Cider forty years later, it was easy to get back into the thought process of a child, watching events unfold without fully understanding them. I began the book with a sentence that plunges the reader straight into that world:

“When I was nine, I fell in love with a girl of twenty called Barbara, who killed herself.”

Of course, the writer’s imagination moves on from remembered things to events that didn’t happen in reality. There was no suicide on the farm, no murder and no cider that I can recall. But the novel is centered around a plot involving an American soldier posted to England, and as a boy I did get to meet GIs at the local American Army base. After our return to London, we Lovesey boys were invited to a party put on specially by the GIs for ‘bombed-out’ kids—and it was wonderful. I can still remember the silent films they projected onto a screen for us—Buster Keaton and Chaplin—and the magician, and the food! Food we didn’t know existed. I was one of the first British children to taste a Hershey Bar and chewing gum. No wonder I can understand how the boy Theo came to idolize the soldier called Duke.

So there it is. I mustn’t give away more of the plot. Rough Cider remains a personal favorite for reasons you will now understand.

Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond Bath TV series?

The Bath Chronicle reports:  
Production companies are being wooed in a campaign to persuade them to turn a series of detective novels set in Bath into a TV series. Tourism bosses are hoping that author Peter Lovesey's Bath detective Peter Diamond might follow in the footsteps of Oxford's Inspector Morse. Mr Lovesey will be in Bath next week to launch his latest novel Stagestruck, which is set at the Theatre Royal, and to reveal more details about the hopes of a TV series.

Marketing body Future Bath Plus has taken out an option on the series, which means it has first refusal on negotiating with production companies to get the filming off the ground. It is working with Bath-based director Giles Foster, who has been involved with series such as Foyle's War and The Four Seasons, which was shot in the city a few years ago.

Although the plans are still in the early stages, Mr Lovesey, the author of 11 books about Det Supt Diamond who is based at Manvers Street police station, said he was hopeful that a series would go ahead. Lovesey said: "If it happens then of course I would be over the moon, really thrilled.
"With all these things, we don't believe it will really happen until they actually start the filming. There have been a few disappointments all the way along, where things have seemed like they will happen, but this time it does seem to be looking promising. "They are putting a proposal together and it is looking good to me. I will be thrilled if it comes to something this time."

 READ MORE HERE.

Hat Tip: Soho Press