Ian Patrick

After working as an actor, director and teacher in theatre, film and television, followed by a long academic career, Ian is now a full-time writer. His background plays a modest part in his writing, he says. 'My fiction is based to the best of my ability on research and field work. I have to believe the words my fictive characters speak, and the actions they undertake.' Which explains why he has accompanied detectives to the front line, interviewed victims of crime and forensics investigators, taken courses on forensics, crime scene management, and DNA analysis, and spent many hours scouring actual locations for his crime scenes: many of them based on actual events. 'I endeavour to make my fiction plausible and authentic. I can only hope that readers will also enjoy the journey of discovering my characters and their foibles, their actions and their experiences. I hope, too, that they will inform me about and forgive me for any lapses in my work or any errors of detail.'