Thoughts and words

Inspiration from daily experiences - Hotel Kiev

In 1996, I was sent to Ukraine for 3 months to work on a European project to retrain Ukrainian army officers. I had to travel around the country and I soon noticed that from Kiev to Odessa, from Odessa to Kharkov, from Kharkov to Lviv, there was always a man... Read more →

Ian McEwan on ideas and inspiration.

Ian McEwan is a British novelist and screenwriter. Among other novels, he has written "Atonement" and "Sweet Tooth," the first of these being made into a successful film. He won the Man Booker Prize for his novel "Amsterdam." Here he is, talking about where his ideas and inspiration come from.... Read more →

Inspiration from the news: Carla's Birthday

The newspapers are full of interesting, thought-provoking articles. Many of these articles are no more than a few lines in length and are most often to be found, in my experience, in the local press. Some of these articles have inspired novels, for example, the case of Pietro Maso in... Read more →

Inspiration from day-to-day sights and sounds - Solomon Grundy

One day in the early 90s I was in Dundee. It was just before Christmas, freezing cold, and an old man was dancing in the street - not so very different from the man in the pic below. He made such an impression on me that I wanted to record... Read more →

Inspiration from the writings of others - James Ramsey Ullman 2

The author has been in love with mountains since he can remember. Mont Blanc was his "Everest" but he still enjoys the challenges involved in mountaineering - as evidenced by this 2017 photo with two old friends at the top of a peak in the Dolomites. Although the 3 people... Read more →

Inspiration from the writings of others - James Ramsey Ullman

One of my favourite books is "The White Tower" by James Ramsey Ullman (photo below). Ullman was a writer and a mountaineer. Mountaineering was often the subject and the spiritual core of his books. “For it is the ultimate wisdom of the mountains that a man is never more a... Read more →

Inspiration from the writing of others - Robert Graves

I first read "Goodbye to All That" by Robert Graves in the late 60s. Here is the author. On the left, the pic shows Graves in WW1. The second pic must have been taken in Majorca, where he lived until his death in 1985. One passage from "Goodbye to All... Read more →

Lights over Bellano now in paperback!

Lights over Bellano is now available in paperback! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/151141247X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1502990975&sr=8-11&keywords=robert+john+goddard Read more →

Lost Property now available in hardcover!

"Lost Property" is now available as a paperback! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Property-Robert-John-Goddard/dp/1522021086/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1502957187&sr=8-9&keywords=robert+john+goddard Read more →

Inspiration from imposters

Many writers are inspired by what-if stories. For example: what if Mallory and Irvine had made it to the top of Everest in 1924 or what if Anastasia had not been killed in 1918. The life, death and possible survival of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia have already inspired... Read more →