David J. Gatward's Blog

Well, back in January, I decided that a good way to start the year would be with a little work trip to that there London. So off I headed on the train to visit a few places, including the Sherlock Holmes Museum . I immediately enjoyed the bustle of London. It’s very different to being out in the Somerset countryside, perfect for people watching and eating good food. Completely by accident, I ended up staying in a hotel in the same street where the Bow Street Runners were started, which I’m sure you know are generally considered London’s first professional police force. There is a museum , but I didn’t have time to visit, so this is definitely on the cards for later in the year.  Lamp oustide the Bow Street Runners museum Before dropping by on Sherlock and Watson, I went to the Marquis pub , which has an amazing history, including the time when a highwayman was captured on the premises and later sentenced to hang at Tyburn , the most commonly used location for executions for indivi...

It’s fair to say that I don’t really get out much what with writing all these books and juggling various other aspects of family life. So the chance to high tail it to London for the Kindle Storyteller Awards on 13 th November was a welcome change from the norm. I hopped on the train to London (or ‘that there London’ as we call it in the west country) on Sunday afternoon and arrived in the Big Smoke just an hour or so later. After a few hours sightseeing and wandering around Covent Garden market, I collapsed into bed to make sure I would be looking fresh and beautiful for the awards ceremony the following day.  As per the schedule my fellow nominees (Francesca Catlow, Cary Hansson, C J Ogden and M. L. Rose) and I were ushered into the Houses of Parliament for a round of photos, interviews and more photos before the event itself started. Which it did promptly following the arrival of guest judges Baroness Floella Benjamin and Sue Perkins (both of whom were wonderful and lovely, i...

  Back in October, when I was up in Hawes for the Meet the Author event, I had an amazing opportunity to visit the old police station in Leyburn (about 16-ish miles from Hawes). Closed in 2021, it has now been bought by a property developer who is in the process of turning it into flats. Luckily for me, the new owner is also a fan of Grimm, so when he offered to give me a tour, I jumped at the chance! As you can see from the photos, it’s an imposing Victorian building (they certainly built things to last back then). Inside, as you’d expect from a building that’s been empty for two years, it’s a bit run down, but you can still see all the features of the old station – the front desk, various admin offices, an empty computer cabinet, the parade room, a sound-proofed room, which left us all a bit baffled, and a handy height measurer to record the height of suspects. Best – and creepiest – of all, was the one remaining cell, with the observation hatch in the door. I wouldn’t have wante...

Well, what an amazing couple of days! Great food, great company and great fun all wrapped in the stunning scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. The weather obviously hadn't got the memo, though! Anyone travelling up to Wensleydale on the Friday had to battle torrential rain and high winds, which resulted in numerous roads in the area being closed due to flooding. Happily, though, everyone finally made it to Hawes in time for the 2 pm kickoff on Saturday (with the exception of Will, who despite car troubles still managed to make it to the book signing on Sunday).  It all started with a short meet-and-greet session, where participants were met by my beardy, smiley face and given a goodie bag of Grimm-themed memorabilia. Then I took to the stage to be interviewed by my good friend Marty (who I've known since we were two fresh-faced young'uns just starting out at university). This was followed by a Q&A session where I was grilled by members of the audience on topics as varied as ...

A few readers have already commented about the biscuits Aldwin Fothergill offers to Jen and Liz in Dead Man’s Hands when they come to question him about the grisly goings-on in Hawes. The original inspiration actually came from an old recipe book that my mum made for me when I left for university. Full of family favourites to remind me of home and make sure I actually made some proper food, it’s a very treasured little book, and I’ve made the biscuit recipe’s numerous times over the decades. So what better reason is there to pass on these delicious oat biscuits to some lovely Grimm readers: Ingredients   Note for metric measurements: Our scales don’t do ounces, so I converted 4 oz into 113 grams and 3 oz into 85 grams 4 oz of margarine or butter  4 oz of porridge oats 1 teaspoon of golden syrup 4 oz of caster sugar 3 oz of plain flour ¼ teaspoon of baking soda   Method Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Place a sheet of baking paper onto two baking trays. ...