Clan Destine Press Blog — Stephen Johnson
A Writer's Appropriate Sense of Drama
By Stephen Johnson I’m finding out if change inspires or hampers creativity – and all because of a nasty little germ wreaking havoc around the world.Last year, I finally found my happy place to pen novels until the grim reaper sneaks up the stairs. It’s at the top of the home in Glendowie, Auckland. I call it a garret because and I can secretly dream of being in Paris. The family call it the attic. They have no sense of drama.From my desk, I’ve watched the Half Moon Bay ferries chug back and forth to beautiful Waiheke Island in the...
An Aussie Crime Writer Talks About The Harry The Horse Phase
By Stephen Johnson I’m past the halfway point on the latest Spotlight series manuscript. The body count stands at one, a minimalist victim rate compared to my first book, Tugga’s Mob. Fear not, more blood will be spilled before the final page. I’m edging to that climax, slowed in part by the knowledge it will face the Harry The Horse phase.Harry Lovett, aka Harry The Horse, departed for the chief sub’s bar behind the Pearly Gates in the early '80s, a few years after I joined the ABC as a cadet. It was a bygone era that Hollywood would portray...
Book Peek: Inside Tugga's Mob by Stephen Johnson
Book Peek Sneak Peek Stephen Johnson
A sneak book peek into Clan Destine Press' award-nominated Tugga's Mob by Stephen Johnson. June 1, 1986Day One: Judy Williams, from Waikato, New Zealand, is now officially in London. God, what a flight getting here: delays in Sydney and then Singapore, but we weren’t allowed to leave the airport. Such a long haul from Auckland to Heathrow, but it’s worth it to be in what I’ve always considered the coolest city in the world. There are millions of cars, people, and houses and the city noise is incredible; it’s close to how I imagined it would be. All those English...
Tugga's Mob author fesses up to the weirdest thing he's ever written
By Stephen Johnson My first murder. Thinking of sneaky ways to kill, without being caught, was a weird experience for a television news and sports producer. During my career, I encountered a few candidates for justifiable homicide – TV executives, politicians, businessmen – but no thoughts beyond that. The daily news bulletins I produced regularly dealt with death: wars, famines, murders, accidents. It was at a distance, seen via the camera lens. Did I have the killer instinct to take a human life? In a literary sense. My hitman skills didn’t extend beyond swatting flies and squashing mozzies. The speed...
The Burning of the Ribbons: A Crime Writer's Glee
By Stephen Johnson I wanted to share something cheerful in my first blog entry for Clan Destine Press – given the state of the world – and it was my laptop screensaver that provided the inspiration. It opened on a photo taken in 2017 during the European motorhome grand tour that produced my debut crime novel Tugga’s Mob.It revealed a joyous street scene in Portugal; students from the University of Porto were celebrating the end of the academic year in the Queima das Fitas; burning of the ribbons. There are a couple of unique aspects that always make me smile...