It was a dark and stormy night...

Today I braved the storm of the century that is wreaking havoc in my home county of Cumbria. As I write this the wind is shrieking and unbattened-down items of furniture are rattling around my garden, splashing through the 'new' swimming pool that has appeared where my patio was yesterday. Touch wood: I am far more fortunate than a lot of my fellow Cumbrians tonight. Many people have had their homes and businesses flooded, and this latest round of storms are threatening to be worse than the deluge that submerged Carlisle back in 2005.

Any way, the reason I faced the storms was to drive into Carlisle to the local BBC Radio office to do a pre-recorded show to air at 17.30 on Sunday 29th November on BBC Radio Wales. I had the pleasure of being interviwed by author Phil Rickman, whose show 'Phil The Shelf' is very popular at present. On the show I talk about Joe Hunter, my influences, my take on bullies and the paradox that Joe Hunter faces when dealing with Dantalion - a product of bullying in his formative years. I also speak about the attraction of crime novels, particularly hard-edged action figures like Joe Hunter, Jack Reacher and Joe Pike and why women love them so much. Hope I don't upset any feminists out there. I also give a hint of what might be in line for Joe Hunter in coming books.

I'm looking forward to hearing the finished result, and hope you enjoy it too. I'll post a link as soon as it becomes available.

I was glad that it was radio and not TV: wet through and looking wind-swept maybe wouldn't have went down that well on TV.

But I've made it home, hale and hearty, and hoping that the power lines don't go down before I finish typ