The weather

For an English author, given our preoccupation with the elements, a little musing about the weather can hardly fail.  So, here we go...

The apparent cancellation of summer - in mid August, naturally - has set me thinking about the place of the weather in the tvdetective books. Working through the editing for The Balance of Guilt, I've noticed that in just about every sequence I write I make some mention of it.

I suppose it's an obvious part of setting a scene, but I suspect there's more to it than that.  Sometimes, I just have a feeling that certain weather conditions are better for a part of a book than others.  A happy time is often set in the sunshine, difficult, emotional moments come amidst dark skies, and a bit of rain is always useful to heighten the tension of a little drama.

With the books being set in Devon, the weather takes on an added importance.  So very exposed as we are in the south west to the prevailing westerlies, we often suffer extremes of weather before the rest of the country. 

Thinking back on my career (the day job part!), some of the biggest stories I've ever covered have stemmed from the weather, and that must have had an influence on me.

And as if on cue, as I write, on the radio comes the weather forecast, and today I'm in for a soaking.  Serves me right to blogging about the weather!

Don't forget, if you'd like to pose a question about the books, you can get in touch via the contact page of the site - www.thetvdetective.com/contact.html  and I'll do my best to answer it.