Peter Buckman on his latest adventure in publishing

In my first job I was the youngest member of Penguin's editorial board; now I must be one of the oldest literary agents still working for their clients. In between I was a full-time writer for 35 years, producing books, plays, scripts for film, tv, and radio, articles and reviews - almost anything, in fact, apart from verse for greetings cards.

Recently I have returned to writing crime, and the result is The Pumpernickel Mysteries, of which the first two, Dead Early and Dead Honest, are published by Word of Mouth Books, an imprint I set up myself because at my age I can't hang around while the friends I still have in publishing tell me they love my writing but it 'doesn't quite fit our current list'. My books will be available from Ingram and Amazon; I have commissioned professionals to do the things I can't manage, and I think the results match the standards I've acquired over sixty years in the business.

Writing a crime novel gives you the opportunity to constantly shift the viewpoint and perspective of the reader, as you have not only to keep them entertained and involved, but also intrigue and wrongfoot them so they are kept guessing till the end. An extra bonus is that you can cover areas of interest that could be boring if treated on their own, such as politics. When you're surrounded by news that is distressing and depressing, a story about a murder can be a welcome distraction, because the characters achieve what is so difficult in real life: they ensure that the good guys survive and the bad guys get what they deserve