November 16 2012.


Peter James joined the Rotary Club of Seaford at a recent regular Club meeting. Well it was a sort of regular meeting, except that wives, partners and friends had heard that Peter was coming and asked if they too could attend. As a result, the dining room at Seaford Golf Club was rather fuller than usual!

Born and brought up in Brighton, Peter showed an early interest in books, writing to Enid Blyton to ask awkward questions such as, "Why do the Famous Five never need to go to the toilet?" Her answers didn't always convince him. At 14 he read Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock" starting a desire that was to result in him becoming an author himself.

Before becoming a best-selling crime writer he was, amongst other things, a film maker and script writer, an Internet pioneer and co-founder of pavilion.co.uk in Brighton, and a passionate motor racing driver.

Peter is now famous for, among other things, his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace novels. Interest in the police was kindled by a burglary he suffered just after marriage, and he became very familiar with police work. He developed friendships with a number of police officers and others associated with police work. As a result he has experts able to help him and check facts, as well as give him ideas. Many of his books are based on fact.

His latest best seller "Not Dead Yet" is based on his own experience of being stalked over a number of years, and has knocked the "Fifty Shades of Grey" series off the top spot. His sales now exceed 13 million books.

Peter is Patron of Crimestoppers in Sussex, (alongside Dame Vera Lynn), and holds the Sussex Police Outstanding Public Service Award.