Brighton's Peter James on writer's block and his latest novel

Brighton-born author Peter James has written dozens of novels including his crime thriller series featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.

The series, which has sold 23 million copies worldwide, has since been turned into the popular ITV show Grace.

Ahead of the release of his 20th Roy Grace novel One Of Us Is Dead, which comes out later this month, Peter told The Argus about his latest book and some of his writing secrets.

“It's controversial, but I don't believe in writer's block,” the 76-year-old told The Argus.

“But when I say I don't believe in writer's block, I get stuck. Often. What I do is I just take the dogs out for a walk for half an hour and it pops.

“When people say to me, oh, I've got writer's block, I haven't been writing for months.

“I say, well, first thing I question is ‘Do you know the ending of the story?’

“And they'll always say ‘no.’

“I say, well, would you get in the car, start driving, not knowing where you're going - whether you're going to Tesco or to Hailsham?

“If you know the ending, that is always the solution, because then you can work out how to get towards it.”

“I always know the ending I want to get to,” he said.

“Half the books I write, it'll change when I get there.

“But at least I have that kind of vanishing point on the horizon.”

City of 'great beauty and an undertow of violence'

Asked why he continues to set his novels in Brighton, Peter said: “I felt steeped in Brighton as a child.

“It was always ingrained in me that Brighton had this great beauty, that beneath the surface there was a kind of constant undertow of violence.

“There was, as there is today, an element of nasty people here.

“Brighton is now a really desirable place so there has been a massive change, but yet the criminal undertow is still there.”

Peter also joked about the city being “the perfect environment” for a criminal.

“You've got a major sea port on both sides so it is great for bringing in drugs and exporting stolen goods," he said.

“You've then got what every villain wants, which is good escape routes: a fast motorway network, the channel ports, even Shoreham airport. You've got all kinds of escape routes.

“It's a party town, so you've got an enormous recreational drugs market.”

READ MORE: Peter James reveals all on new book guaranteed to surprise Grace fans

Inspiration from the seaside city

It was a story from a friend in Brighton that gave Peter the inspiration for his latest novel.

The 20th instalment in the Roy Grace series follows James Taylor’s hunt for the truth behind the mysterious circumstances surrounding his friends’ deaths. It reveals dark secrets that should stay buried.

As Roy Grace works on a seemingly unrelated case of mushroom poisoning, his investigation leads him to search for a mysterious hooded figure.

What begins as a simple case quickly unravels into more bodies. Despite evidence saying otherwise, Roy’s honed investigative instincts mean he is fixed on the trail of one suspect and persists in his pursuit of the truth, even if this means chasing after a dead man to save James Taylor’s life.

“The whole book came about when I bumped into the son of an old friend of mine who lives in Brighton,” Peter said.

“And he said, I've got a story you're going to want to write.

“I said, ‘I get told that at least once a day’.

“I had a coffee with him. He said, he arrived late at a funeral, in Brighton, it was pelting with rain

“And he arrives late, and the church is completely rammed and he has to stand at the back.

“And halfway through the service, he sees a bloke literally sitting six rows in front of him whose funeral he went to two years before and gave the eulogy at."

After hearing more about it Peter thought "I have to write this”.

The cover of Peter James's latest novel (Image: Pan Macmillan)

The evolution of crime and the importance of humour

Crime is constantly evolving and Peter gets inspiration from new technologies as well as age-old tricks.

“There is a whole section of the book about e-fit and identifying people,” Peter said.

“Quite often over the years, the police, either Sussex Police or the Met, have asked me to put something in the book that will highlight an issue.

“With this book, the Met Police said they've got new, terrific new facial identification software which features in the book.”

“There's always a constant game of catch-up between the police and villains.

"Villains get ahead of the game. Then police get ahead.”

“I love highlighting something people didn't realise,” Peter said.

Writing rituals

Peter also revealed the special rituals he enjoys when writing his books.

“My best writing time is like six till half eight at night,” Peter said.

“Because I started doing that when I was working full-time in film and television.

“That's the habit of it and I always kick off and I have my rituals.

“I have vodka martini with four Sicilian olives and I mix it myself, very particularly.

“And I put on music and I have a very eclectic playlist for the first three quarters of the book and the last 25 per cent I play opera.

“The first three quarters I play anything, Van Morrison, Kinks.

“I can't write with The Beatles on, which is really weird.”

“I just like that kind of, I almost get an immersive sound.

"It cuts out anything else.

“Usually I have two of our three dogs come and sit. One at my feet, one on the sofa next to me.

“And I do that six days a week when I'm writing and it takes me about seven months in the first draft.

“And I look forward to that. It’s my treat time.”

One Of Us Is Dead is out on September 24. Read exclusive extracts in the printed Argus newspaper from Monday.

Peter James is heading out to meet readers see this graphic for dates.

(Image: Argus)