Lee J. Russell

The best place to begin? John le Carré…

There was a singular character that sucked me back into Thrillers when I started reading them in earnest last year… George Smiley, created by John le Carré. Smiley is an odd character; to me he didn’t feel directly prominent but there was something about him that stuck in the back of mind, like he wasContinue reading “The best place to begin? John le Carré…”

Thrillers, Espionage and Nietzsche…

I was describing the progress on my latest work-in-progress (the post-Brexit espionage thriller, still untitled) to a colleague last week and stunned myself into silence when I made a connection that I hadn’t seen before… A few years back I read my way through some of the popular works of the most famous philosophers andContinue reading “Thrillers, Espionage and Nietzsche…”

Website spring clean…

I’ve just finished updating my website at http://www.russellweb.org.uk to remove clutter and make my content more accessible. I had debated whether to retire the site and replace it with something from WordPress. However, the more I looked at WordPress the more I came to appreciate the way my current site has been tailored to myContinue reading “Website spring clean…”

Thanks to everyone who downloaded a free copy of ‘An End of Beginnings’ during my recent promotion on KDP…

I’ve just enjoyed running a 5-day free promotion for ‘An End of Beginnings’ on Amazon Kindle. It is always fun using Facebook groups to engage with readers and I’d like to thank the 51 people who downloaded a copy, I hope you enjoy it 🙂 – it would be nice to get some honest reviewsContinue reading “Thanks to everyone who downloaded a free copy of ‘An End of Beginnings’ during my recent promotion on KDP…”

“Smoke Above the Village”

I don’t often write poetry but a theme about chav violence wouldn’t leave me alone and eventually this is what emerged: OneGratia gratum faciens…Thomas’ words echo around Æthelberht’s seat,lost exhortations to the ebb and flow on thecobbled bridge where frightened witches once wept.Hollow bodies gabble past the old wet stool,selfish, replete with base desires, fullContinue reading ““Smoke Above the Village””

Falling in love with “Red Dwarf”…

It was around 2003 or 2004 when I fell in love with the British sci-fi comedy show “Red Dwarf”. I had been somewhat aware of the series when it launched in 1988 but the external model shots looked so unrealistic that I didn’t bother to try it… what a mistake! My epiphany came late oneContinue reading “Falling in love with “Red Dwarf”…”

“Atomic Blonde” – a great fun film starring Charlize Theron

Last night I really enjoyed watching the DVD of 2017 action-thriller “Atomic Blonde” – the films rocks fast like a Sam Peckinpah version of ‘The Bourne Conspiracy’ with x1000% of the violence. Charlize Theron is very convincing in the role of lethal MI6 officer Lorraine Broughton, sent to Berlin to recover ‘The List’ (of allContinue reading ““Atomic Blonde” – a great fun film starring Charlize Theron”

How Book Bloggers Boost Sales for Indie Authors – from shaylaraquel.com

Like many (ie most) indie authors I find book marketing to be a painful, arcane art that is full of hard work, confusion and disappointments. That just drives me to try harder and fortunately the internet is full of good advice, like… … this helpful blog article from Shayla Raquel (@shaylaleeraquel) about “How Book BloggersContinue reading “How Book Bloggers Boost Sales for Indie Authors – from shaylaraquel.com”

Awestruck by the drive & dedication shown by the climbers in the film “Meru”…

I’ve just finished watching the film “Meru” on Netflix and I was left completely in awe of the drive and dedication of the climbers to reach the peak of Mount Meru, a nearly 22,000-foot tall Himalayan mountain. In 2011, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk were the first people to reach its summit viaContinue reading “Awestruck by the drive & dedication shown by the climbers in the film “Meru”…”

Next vlog about the writing of the Brexit Conspiracy-Thrillers is now on YouTube…

In my latest video blog I give an update on how I planned & prepared to write my new series of Brexit Conspiracy-Thrillers, and show some of the software that I now use. The vlog is on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/NQ4My7eXwN4 The tools I show include: FreeMind – mind mapping software MS Word &Continue reading “Next vlog about the writing of the Brexit Conspiracy-Thrillers is now on YouTube…”