As a crime novelist myself, I was interested to see how the genre is developing rapidly in Iceland and how many of its authors use their work to make serious points about the state of their homeland.

This brings me back to the reasons why people write. There are all sorts of reasons but one is to shine a light on the world in which we live. That is certainly one of my motivations, is the motivation of all writers, I suspect.

Yes, I write to entertain but I also want to make people think about some of the themes upon which I base my novels. Whether I set a story in an ailing school or on a rundown housing estates, whether I write about a traumatised victim of war or an anguished parent terrified about the effect of drugs on their child, I hope that people will feel that the stories reflect, in a small way, their experiences. For me, that is what makes stories come to life, the sense that they are REAL.

Coming back to our competition, I hope that some writers from Iceland see fit to enter their work - I reckon it would make for really interesting reading and we have not any from that part of the world yet.

The entries are coming in for our September competition and already I can see one or two that will give our judge Fiona Cooper plenty of food for thought. Food for thought? Really must do a blog on the importance of avoiding tired old clichés.

John Dean