Authors Electric

James Haley Chase  You just never know where your random blogging is going to lead you. A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post on the subject of authors who had inspired me to write. I wrote about crime thriller writer, James Hadley Chase (1906-1985). He was a prolific writer, known as the Thriller King of Europe in his hayday. He wrote around 90 crime novels, with half of them being made into films. I wasn't aware of any of this however when I first picked up one of his novels as a young teenager – probably too young to be reading his style of books! I was probably around 13 or 14, maybe even younger, when my local librarian decided I was old enough to venture out of the children’s section of the library into the big grown up world of adult books.  As I’d always go to the library with my mum, who was a big Agatha Christie fan, I browsed the crime shelves just as she did. But I have to admit, Agatha Christie didn’t really grab me, but by c...

Thriller writer James Hadley Chase 1906-1985 If you had to pinpoint one author who inspired you to write, who would it be? Just thinking back to my growing up years and trips to the library, I remember heading straight for the crime corner and in particular books by James Hadley Chase. I was in my early teens at the time and can remember being so excited that I was actually allowed to borrow books from the adult section of the library. I can still picture myself stretching up to reach those James Hadley Chase hardback novels with their glamorous and daring covers.  Mum and I used to go to our local library together. She was a massive murder mystery fan and loved Agatha Christie. She must have read every one of her novels. So while mum was browsing titles such as Murder on the Orient Express and A Murder is Announced , I'd be just a bit further along looking for a James Hadley Chase thriller. Looking back, I can't actually remember th...