www.stephendavison.com

It's The Story Stooopid! Or Is It?

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:20:09 +0000

There are three writers I particularly admire and who have influenced my own writing.

The first is James Patterson. I really like his take. The way he presents his material. The catchy titles with their promise of excitement. The artwork on the covers. I like the no-nonsense way his novels cut to the chase too. I love the leanness of it all. Pure story-telling. That (in the words of Jeffery Archer) is a God-given talent. Not that this talent will win him many awards. If there is one thing the right-on literary set dislike more than wild success, its seat-of-the-pants page-turners.

Same with Lee Child. I love this bloke! An Englishman abroad. The Reacher character is just perfect. I love the narrative. It beats like a drum. I'm hypnotized by the rythmn of it. Have you listened to him on audio-books? Dick Hill's interpretation is genius.

There's awards given in the UK at this time of year. OBE's, CBE's and the like. An author received one today. A lady. A very nice lady I'm sure. A great author too no doubt, but I'd not heard of her. I've heard of Lee Child though. He's sold 60 million books. He keeps on with Reacher. One a year. Relentless discipline. Always striving for outstanding. Why don't they give him a gong? If I were in charge, I surely would.

The last one is Dan Brown. He came out of nowhere with TDC. A lottery win. I was aware of him before then I should add. Not long before - I read Angels and Demons a year or two before TDC broke. But it was the story that got me. The speed of it. The cleverness of it and all against a Roman background. I was caught up in the possibility of it all. It was Dan Brown in general and Angels and Demons in particular that inspired me to start writing again.

So those are the three. I've tried to find similarities between them. A thread that connects them together. Its difficult. Is it the story that I love the most? Is it the characters that populate the stories or is it the place? Which is most important?

What about you? Who are your three?

Do you go for the story first-and-foremost, or are you into the characters? What about setting?

Tell me. I'd love to know.

The City Of London, The East-End and My Nan

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:04:37 +0000

For the first five years of my life I lived opposite my Nan and Granddad in Bethnal Green, East London. We – my mum, dad and sister - left to live on a council estate in Essex but they remained behind. So I would go back a lot. Back to Bethnal Green. Back to Roman Road and to Holman House.

That period of my life is seared into my memory. The feelings, the images, and the sounds are all stored deep in my brain. I had a great childhood on Harold Hill, but the times spent with my Nan were special. She created a world that I loved to be in. A world of impossible stories, of tales from the war years, of trips ‘up the other end’ (the west-end of London) of endless cups of tea, of cakes and sweets and good times.

My Nan’s world had that other precious quality that (I realise now) most adults don’t have in theirs.

Time.

And she’d spend it willingly with me. It wasn’t hard for her. She didn’t have to force it. It was what she loved to do.

I can’t remember how old I was when my Granddad died but she never recovered from that. Not fully. Our world was changed too. She tried to recreate it like it was but something was off. It was broken somehow.

When I got older I worked in the city of London. On the edge of the east-end. A few hundred yards from the old Spitalfields market where my Grandad worked for fifty years. By then the market had moved to Leyton and the site was abandoned. It had not yet become the new Covent Garden it is today, so it was grey and empty and cold. I would go there in my lunchtimes. Just to walk around, to look at buildings, to imagine what went on for all those years. Then I’d return to the office feeling deflated and empty. Like I’d lost something.

And I had. I’d lost a chunk of the past.

That’s why place is important to me. I was aware after finishing Kill&Cure and certain after writing Dead Innocent that the city/east-end setting was an attempt to recreate my Nan’s world. Visiting those streets in my head, remembering the bustle of it, the smells of it and the feel of it is a way of connecting with her.

I desperately want to find her again.

I hope I succeed.

I hope too that you take a chance on Dead Innocent. Kill&Cure became a ♯1 bestseller both here and in the USA. As a thank-you to the thousands of you who downloaded it, we’ve kept Dead Innocent to under a dollar. You can get it here:

Dead Innocent (Kindle USA)Dead Innocent (Kindle UK)

Kill&Cure (Kindle USA)Kill&Cure (Kindle UK)

I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my novels. Let me know how you get on.

Skin Tags

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:06:22 +0000

Sounds like the name of a good thriller doesn't it? Might use that one.

In fact it's what I've just had removed from my arm pits. I didn't need them removed by the way, they weren't catching on clothing or bleeding when I washed 'mi pits or anything as worthy as that. Oh no. I did for vanity. Plain and simple. Didn't like the look of 'em when I lifted my arms, so I got the doc to lop the buggers off.

I've got a reputation to upkeep. Didn't you know?

What's this got to do with thrillers, I hear you ask. Well, what about the fact that we - authors - lop off stuff from our writing (during the edits) that we have previously clung on to. Will that do? Stuff we've held to our breasts and our arm pits through most of the re-writes. Stuff that we loved - the paragraph written so pleasingly, the scene so cool that it gave us a warm glow. Except it doesn't take the piece forward. It's just there for no other purpose than it is there.

It's a skin tag folks!

I write pacy thrillers. They move at a million miles an hour (did I say a million? Two million, I meant two million); they are F.A.S.T. So we can't have bits that are surplus to, can we?

'Course not.

Now leave me alone while I change the dressing on my surgical wounds.

Kill&Cure

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:48:31 +0000

Writing this novel was a dream and darn hard work. Or maybe a hard working dream. The urge to create somethng from nothing, to manifest (bit new age that I know) something in the physical realm from a thought or an idea, a nugget of something intangible from the spiritual realm is the biggest buzz you can have.

I'm serious.

I don't care if its a new thriller book, a business, a community, a science protocol...whatever gets you excited is what you must create NOW.

And that's the idea isn't it? To get excited.

If you're excited about an idea and you don't know what to do next. I don't care what it is. If I can help, I will.

Now enough preaching for today. I'm off to take some tablets.

P.S,. Checkout my other bloggy-blog: www.stephendavison.wordpress.com

Books like James Patterson

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:16:58 +0000

Who are you like?

That's what you get asked when people realise you've written a book.

'Er..not sure,' used to be my response but not now. Nah, not ever now because, be-cause people - all of us - need drawers to put things in or hooks to hang things on or, or... errrr... pigeon holes! that's it; pigeon holes to place things into. They want to position you. It settles them. So now I say stuff like, 'Oh, James Patterson,' or sometime if I'm feeling particularly bold: 'My books are like Dan Brown.' Then I nod decisively in case I seem less than convinced.

Who am I like? God knows. I wish I had the courage of the great Elvis P, who told a producer "I don't sound like nobody" when asked a similar question.

See ya anon.

P.S. Get the thriller novel Kill&Cure Freeeeeeeee! by going to www.stephendavisononline.com

Intention

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:16:32 +0000

What's the intention? This is the question. In a novel the intention for it - the novel - must be defined, specific, achievable and must never be diluted. I'm not talking about plots or characterisation or scenes or any of that stuff. I'm talking about the feel, the pace, the sense, the smell of it. That's the intention. Intention for any creation must be arrived at, stuck to and followed until it has been completed. Easier said than done.
Should it be free? Oh that's another question entirely. This idiot thinks that perhaps it should. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifYYoXYN0zs

Free Thriller e-Books

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:43:47 +0000

The idea of giving away a free copy of one's book is not new. It just rarely happens to a book that has just been published in the conventual way. People are always searching for good thriller books to read its true, thing is they usually pay for it! Well things have changed- the internet has seen to that. The way we want to access stuff - information, entertainment, news - has changed. We can get news whenever we want and don't have to buy a paper to do so. We can listen to any tune we please and not have to pay or leave our homes to get it, we can virtually buy whatever we want at the click of a button.

None of this is new. It's just getting bigger.

So why not give away Kill&Cure? Why not indeed. It is fast, smart and it twists. If you enjoy books by James Patterson or John Grisham, you will love it. I promise.

Stephen

P.S. Go to www.stephendavisononline.com to start the download. Oh, and enjoy!

Thriller Novel Online

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:27:28 +0000

Having a chitty-chat with the publishers a few weeks ago and I had an idea about Kill&Cure.

'An idea like what?' they asked.

'An idea like giving the book away free,' I replied.

'Are you mad?'

'Me? Nah....'

Here's the thinking. You don't know who I am, right?

Right.

So why would you buy Kill&Cure when you can just as easily buy an Alex Cross novel, or something by Brown or Grisham, right?

Now then, the clever bit: if you go to www.stephendavisononline.com and tell me who you are and where in the world you are from, then you can get it for free. Check out the YouTube vid too - it'll give you all the info.

You heard it here first.

Reading Matters

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:09:15 +0100

Keep being asked about this review. It does appear on this website elsewhere but is obviously difficult for you to find! Here's the link:

http://kimbofo.typepad.com/readingmatters/2009/05/kill-cure-by-stephen-davison.html

Brentwood Gazette

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:22:43 +0100

Nice piece in the BG. Have a gander...

Signings

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:35:42 +0100

Signing copies of K&C at Waterstones Brentwood tommorrow (20th June) from 11 am, and Chelmesford Waterstones (27th June) from 3pm. Would love, of course, to see you there!

Stephen Davison’s Kill & Cure ticks all of the medical thriller boxes

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:53:37 +0100

Stephen Davison’s Kill & Cure ticks all of the medical thriller boxes. There is an “evil” company out to protect its research at all costs, a group of scientists putting themselves in harms way to outwit the company, and the man of the hour, in this case named David Stichell (called Stich), who rises up to outwit the inevitable police chase and find the truth. This is, in the end, a decent but not exceptional thriller, but the surprises that Davison has managed to fit into his debut novel make the book a quick read and fun few hours.

Surprise number one is David Stichell himself. He is not a top research scientist; he is a children’s chiropractor. Just the fact that he is one step out of the research that lies at the centre of the thriller helps the novel move forward more quickly. The explanations that Stichell receives don’t feel redundant because he needs them as much as the reader does. It makes the invariable scientific conversations seem much more natural as the main character is coming at it with no experience. The science is not seamlessly woven in, (and without the excuse of Stich’s ignorance, would seem heavy-handed indeed) but it isn’t too obscure – the usual genetic manipulation of seemingly perfect medicine.

Stich has a family to protect: a fiancee, Susan (the actual top scientist), and a daughter, Alice. When the book begins, a murder is committed that seems completely unconnected to Stich or his family, until it becomes clear that his fiancee is becoming involved with the same study that may have gotten other scientists killed. Soon, Stich is desperate to figure out what is going in order to protect those he loves. As the questions proliferate, Stich must move quickly to understand where the true threats hide. Susan, though, may be operating on her own agenda and keeping secrets that could get everyone killed.

Davison does an excellent job portraying Stich as an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary events. He is rarely in complete possesion of the facts, and he is often operating on less than complete information. This style works well to make Stich a sort of everyman – instead of the super-intelligent, super-lucky, and super-skilled protagonists that inhabit many thrillers. That said, the writing in Kill & Cure does feel like a debut novel. However, it is tightly edited and there are elements in the plot that put it a step above a typical medical thriller. Stich’s profession is not the only surprise in the novel, and it is those surprises that really make it worth the read. So much so, that to give any of the plot away in a review feels like spoiling some of the best bits of the novel. It’s a solid entry into the medical thriller genre, and it would be worth looking out for anything Davison writes next.

Review: Jennie from Bookgeeks (30-05-09)

Promo stuff

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:04:03 +0100

Great to see so many Waterstone's stores using the promo material A&F (publishers) have given them. To all who have made the book look good in store - Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you.....

Bookgeeks

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:00:28 +0100

Nice review on Bookgeeks. We'll post it officially in a bit, but meanwhile here's the link http://www.bookgeeks.co.uk/2009/05/30/jennies-review-kill-by-stephen-davison

Winchester

Sat, 23 May 2009 08:41:16 +0100

Will be in Winchester this year with Suresh Ariaratnam. We're running a workshop on Friday night, so if you fancy it sign up and come along it will be great to see you and you won't be disappointed (I promise). I remember going along to Winchester a few years ago clutching my manuscript, hoping someone would love it. The only person remotely interested was a lady called Sally Spedding (horror/crime author). Nothing concrete came of it but I'll always be grateful. So come along... you may just find exactly what you're looking for!

Kill&Cure is not your average run-of-the-mill crime thriller

Tue, 12 May 2009 18:18:31 +0100

Reading Matters, Saturday, May 9, 2009

For a start, it's set in the pharmaceutical world and its main protagonist is a chiropractor. But this debut novel, to be published on May 15, is a cracking read, full of murders, betrayals and scientific conspiracies.

The story revolves around David Stichell (Stich), the director of a chiropractic clinic in London, who has sole custody of his four-year-old daughter, Alice. He lives with his fiancée, Susan Harrison, a scientist at Immteck Pharmaceuticals, the same company for which he is taking part in a trial to test a new drug that supposedly shrinks cancerous tumors. But what Stich does not realise is that the results of the drug trial are being fudged -- and that's where his life gets interesting.

When Susan and Stich make a visit to see Susan's Uncle Maxi in the countryside, things begin to go awry. Through the window of Maxi's house they witness him being murdered, then it's Susan's turn to be fatally shot.

Stich miraculously escapes with a superficial wound to the leg and goes on the run from the murderer. From here the pace never lets up, particularly when it becomes apparent that the police think him responsible for the deaths, so he must run from both the law and the criminals who want him dead.

Along the way he is accompanied by a trustworthy friend, Vicky, and assisted virtually by a newspaper editor who has contacts in all the right places.

When one of Susan's colleagues is found dead with a syringe -- originally full of hydrochloric acid -- sticking out of his arm, Stich is convinced the murders are linked and embarks on a quest to unravel the truth before the hit man finally tracks him down ...

Kill & Cure is fast, furious and incredibly well plotted. I hesitate to use the word compelling but there's no better word to describe this novel. I simply had to race through it, almost cover to cover, because I was so determined to find out what happened. And even then, I still didn't guess the culprits, and the twist at the end came as a real surprise.

The prose style is short and snappy -- in fact most of the narrative moves forward almost exclusively through dialogue -- but that's no bad thing.

There's quite a bit of science in it, but this is all explained clearly and without patronising the reader, no small feat when you're dealing with complicated subjects.

I'm not going to jump up and down and say this is the best book I've read all year, but it's an entertaining read that has a touch of the John Grisham's about it. I also very much appreciated the London references throughout, and I rather suspect it would make an excellent movie. ITV, where are you?

Doctor's First Spine-Chiller Sparked by Police Swoop

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:01:49 +0000

Gazette, Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A case of mistaken identity inspired this Brentwood chiropractor to pen his first novel.

Co-owner of The Spinal Health Clinic in Brentwood, Stephen Davison is looking to make a name for himself in crime fiction circles with the release of his debut novel Kill & Cure.

He came up with the idea after his own run-in with the law in Romford.

He explained: "How would you react if you were suddenly snatched out of everyday life and plunged into a nightmare?

"That's the question I've had in my head since a policeman stopped me in the street one day and said, 'There's just been an incident. You fit the description of the person we want to talk to'.

"He bundled me into the back of a waiting police car and locked the door. "After some time a man strode up, thrust his face close to the window and stared in at me. Finally he snapped upright and I heard him say, 'No, that's not him'.

Then I was free to go.

"But I've always wondered what would have happened if the man had said, 'Yes, he's the one'!"

And Stephen's novel Kill & Cure explores the fictional story of what happens when an ordinary man is plucked from normality and thrust into a nightmare.

The protagonist, London chiropractor David Stichell, finds himself dragged into a remorseful web of treachery and lies, pursued not only by the police but by the very powers who want him dead.

The medical thriller, published by A&F Books, is being released on March 31.

It costs £6.99 and will be available from book stores and online.

Download the article...

Brentwood Medic Turned Thriller Writer

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:01:34 +0000

Interview with Oliver Rowe at Phoenix FM.

When Brentwood chiropractor Steve Davison was the victim of mistaken identity by the police, the germ of an idea for his first novel was formed. In March his 'Kill & Cure' thriller will be published, combining chiropracting as the main character's profession and the theme of the extraordinary happening to an ordinary person, as experienced by Steve.

When walking through Romford he was pounced upon by police and bundled into a patrol car as the suspect criminal officers were looking for. Steve was kept in the locked car for around 15 minutes – "but felt like hours" – until a plain clothes officer peered through the window studying him closely. "No, that's not him," the officer announced and Steve was set free.

The episode led to two years working on 'Kill & Cure', fitted in around running Brentwood's Spinal Health Clinic, now in Avenue Road. The former immunologist turned chiropractor after the treatment helped him recover from back injuries started the practice with wife Joanne Lancaster in the Brentwood Centre in 2001. Almost two years ago it moved to a former doctor's surgery in Warley, where Steve and Joanne also live.

'Kill & Cure' by Stephen Davison (pictured) will be published by Alice & Fred Books (A&F) on March 31 priced £6.99. Phoenix FM has advance copies to give away and, to win one, listeners should email via www.phoenixfm.com, selecting CONTACT and SATURDAY MORNING PITSTOP or Friday's BOOK CLUB show also promoting the book. Mention 'Kill & Cure' in your mail, add a phone number and all entries will be put in a draw to be made on February 28th's Saturday Pitstop.

Hear Steve's Phoenix FM interview...

Kill&Cure by Stephen Davison

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:51:41 +0000

Release Date: 15th May 2009
Published by Alice & Fred Books
ISBN: 978-0-9560965-0-0
Paperback, 177 x 110 mm, 320 pages
£6.99

Pluck an ordinary man from the normality of his existence – and throw him into hell. That’s the premise behind Stephen Davison’s intensely compelling debut novel, which explodes onto the crime fiction scene with a ruthless verve. An intricate mix of medical brainteasers, brutal killings and a desperate quest for truth, Kill&Cure is a masterly display of serpentine plot lines and disturbing flashbacks.

London chiropractor, David Stichell, a man in the business of freeing others from pain, may seem an unlikely, if intriguing, protagonist. Yet there are dark shadows in his past intent on catching up with him. As murder victims pile up, Stichell finds himself dragged into a remorseless web of treachery and lies, pursued not only by the police, but by very particular powers who want him dead.

‘How would you react if you were suddenly snatched out of everyday life and plunged into a nightmare?’ Stephen asks. ‘That’s the question I’ve had in my head since a policeman stopped me in the street one day and said, “There’s just been an incident. You fit the description of the person we want to talk to.” He bundled me into the back of a waiting car and locked the door. After some time, a man strode up, thrust his face close to the window and stared in at me. Finally, he snapped upright and I heard him say, “No, that’s not him.” Then I was free to go. But I’ve always wondered what would have happened if the man had said, “Yes, he’s the one.”’

The Director of a chiropractic clinic, Stephen Davison has also studied immunology and developmental genetics. With his knowledge and understanding of the clinical world of scientific investigation as the linchpin, his novel becomes a deftly woven tapestry of violence and deception, where life is at once precious and expendable. Even as the truth unravels, Davison’s hero is still left to face up to one of the toughest fights of his life. Fast-paced and suspenseful, set against a minutely researched medical backdrop, Kill&Cure is the vivid exploration of one man’s instincts for survival when events spiral out of his control.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE AN INTERVIEW PLEASE CONTACT:

Alice & Fred Books
Rosden House
Suite 243
372 Old Street
London
EC1V 9AU

enquiries@aliceandfred.com

www.aliceandfred.com

Download the press release...