Please extend a warm welcome to Malcolm Hollingdrake, who has kindly agreed to share a few words with us. Find out more about Malcolm here on Amazon
I was born in Bradford so I was no stranger to the Yorkshire Dales, a regular, weekend picnic venue. However, it wasn’t until I arrived at Ripon College of Education to spend three years of what was said to be study, did I truly appreciate the area! Harrogate was always a favourite destination. It’s a special place, in total contrast to the industrial city of Bradford I knew in the 50s.
After writing my first, self-published novel, ‘Engulfed’, I read that Harrogate was considered to be the ‘Happiest place to live in the UK’; that got me thinking and so DCI Cyril Bennett was born. ‘Keen as Mustard’ (Now entitled, ‘Only the Dead’) was self-published as an eBook but sat almost unnoticed on Amazon’s shelves! (I think it had fallen down the back!)
Like all things, ideas are born in the strangest of places and the inspiration for the second book in the series came with a chance conversation whilst on holiday. I discovered that running beneath Harrogate was a disused railway tunnel – that gem of knowledge was the catalyst for my next novel, again a self-published eBook, ‘Just Above Hades’ (Now entitled, ‘Hell’s Gate’).
As a writer I had always hoped to win a publishing contract. Rejection letters become a way of life but you persevere in the hope that someone will see the value of your work. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be offered a book deal with Bloodhound Books for the Harrogate series.
The third novel entitled, ‘Flesh Evidence’, is due out alongside the first two before Christmas; three books in two months! Exciting! The fourth is finished apart from the editing.
The biggest thrill for me will be to see my work in book form. To hold it and flick the pages will be an emotional moment. I see writing as comparable to climbing a mountain. I’m lucky to have someone who has always believed in me and encouraged me, I have readers who have shown their support; their reviews steady the rope and take the strain to make climbing a little easier. I feel as though I have the skill to reach the summit but often, through no fault of my own, I fall. It’s about starting that climb over and over again in the hope that one day, one day, with the team’s help, I will stand on the top and be in a position to wave the Bloodhound Banner!
