Category Archives: Fiction

Dec 26

An Up and Down Year

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I cannot say I will be sorry to see the back of this year. Quite the opposite. It cannot leave soon enough. Stuff personal, family and work, have kept me from my keyboard in a creative capacity. Live, online lessons are all very well and good but when your hobby is writing, it’s a bit […]

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Aug 15

Byrd: Free to a good home

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For one week only (until the next time) Byrd’s first mystery – A Cowardice of Crows is free (on Kindle) all around the world. For those of you new to his world, Symington, Earl Byrd is – to all intents and purposes – a pleasure loving man about town. Best friends with Bertie, Prince of […]

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Feb 27

A Disappointment of Owls

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Is released on the 3rd March. Set in the middle of Unkindness of Ravens, Symington is adjusting to life in Fournier Street. A chance encounter with Albert Shawcross – a solicitor with a sideline in illegal divorces – is just one of those things, until Shawcross winds up dead and local bobby Constable Dennison comes […]

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New Website.

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Had a bit of a writer’s revamp, so there’s a new website to go with it. Do pop over to sesmith.pub and have a look. If I don’t post before, may your 2021 be a darn sight better than your 2020 PS huge shout out to @panistroglodyte for noticing the error 🙂

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Show me my photos

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(This is a Google prompt inspired piece written by predictive text. Enjoy. Or not.) Happy New year and thanks for all the work you have done. I’m currently working on the project and I have just finished my PhD thesis with a couple of other locations. The first chapter is very often a little past […]

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Jun 07

An open letter to my current WIP*

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*work in progress Dear WIP First let me start by saying it is a pleasure to meet you. You have been a long time coming and at times I thought you’d never turn up. You have been a challenge and a joy and the bit you revealed of yourself today, although rough around the edges, […]

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Apr 09

William Melville Returns

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Currently sitting in the inbox, or possibly now on the desktop of my poor publisher, is a copy of Symington Byrd’s third adventure. Set during Byrd’s sojourn in Fournier Street, its a tale of revenge. However, more importantly it sees the return of one of the historical figures from my time travel trilogy: William Melville. […]

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Aug 14

Lip Reading

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Today’s research led me into the world of lip reading and an amazing puzzle created in 1914. Too late for my Emily to refer to, but useful for my purposes The photograph was taken just as each boy starts to pronounce his name. And yes, you can tell which boy is which – just by […]

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Aug 13

Akouphones & Sign Language

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…An early electric hearing aid to the rest of us, has been the focus of today’s research. Invented by Miller Reece Hutchinson in 1898, it used carbon transmitters to convert a weak electrical signal. It was bulky by all accounts – needing to be housed on a table – and thus cumbersome to transport. It […]

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Jan 13

Clean Slate 13/1

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In london, the East End to be precise. Down a notorious street, near a market is a house. A double fronted place. Behind a well painted door lies a corridor, with rooms of business hiving off. The biggest acts as the jewellers. A large glass display counter dominates the room, and is tastefully laid out […]

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