About Me

I tell lies and make things up. Sometimes people pay me for it.

I was Debbie Louie for the first 26 years of my life - in case you are wondering if I am the right Debbie Bennett. It's an awfully common name - at least Louie was relatively unusual as surnames go. Bennett is common as muck. I grew up on the Wirral in NW England. So, identity established, let's move on...

I've worked in law enforcement for over 25 years, in a variety of different roles, both front-line and back-office, which may be why the darker side of life tends to emerge in my writing. I've been a VAT debt-collector, a tax-inspector and a specialist drugs investigator - I've even been the team leader controlling all the Thames Valley breweries for beer duty (spending days at a time in breweries around the area...). I've run an IT help desk and worked in e-forensics in the late 1980s, before it became trendy. I currently play with police databases.

I was long-listed (top 25) for the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger in 2005. I was also a reader for several years for the BFS annual short story competition and I spent more than 9 years editing BFS newsletters and anthologies, many stories from which were selected for awards. I also read, edit and review for various online websites, blogs and magazines.

I've organised and co-organised over 10 British Fantasy Society conventions – generally 3 day events with 200-400 people coming along to meet Guests of Honour including Neil Gaiman, Raymond Feist, Clive Barker, Muriel Gray, Doug Bradley, Storm Constantine, Jasper Fforde and Brian Clemens.

You can find more of my musings over at AuthorsElectric, a blog by professional writers, where I have a regular slot on 6th of each month and I write occasional posts for You're Booked - the online community for crime readers and writers run by Harrogate International Festivals.

My claim to fame: I once asked Stephen King to dance!