Meet Bill Todd

I’ve spent my working life as a journalist. You meet a lot of people, see things, learn stuff. For a crimewriter, it’s a plot factory.


I’ve also done a lot of travelwriting. It’s not all cocktails under the palm trees but it is a fantastic job that’s taken me to more than 40 countries, from the white wastes of Arctic Finland to the deserts of Namibia.


People often ask my favourite place. In a world of globalisation, many destinations look the same but Iceland and Namibia are like stepping onto another planet. Go if you can.


I’ve also enjoyed a long love affair with Western Crete, the mountains, coastline, food and people. And I was delighted and surprised to receive the Ed Lacy Gibraltar travel award in 2007.


Another interest is my family tree. I’ve traced the ancestors back to William of Byfield, a farmer in 1600s Northamptonshire, just down the road from Shakespeare.


I love maps. They might seem old fashioned in the age of GPS but they tell stories, make promises. I have a ragbag collection of more than 3,000.


I’m also a fan of interesting cheeses, good beer and wilderness. They’re like Marmite, you’re an empty places person or you’re not.


I have written six crime thrillers and a book of short stories featuring Danny Lancaster, a wounded Afghanistan veteran turned private investigator. They are:


The Wreck Of The Margherita


Death Squad


Rough Diamond


Rock Hard


Gargoyle Pixie Dog


Godlefe’s Cuckoo 


Last Orders


I’ve also written three non-fiction books. GUNNER is based on my father’s World War Two diary. PIGTAIL PILOT is the tragic story of a talented young woman pilot. A CROCUS FROM JERUSALEM is about a 19-year-old country lad’s journey to war in the Middle East in 1917.


If you fancy a chat I’m easy to find.