Dan James author page

Dan James biography

Dan James is a pseudonym used by British journalist and author Dan Waddell. Waddell began his writing career in journalism and has contributed to national newspapers. He also worked as a sports writer and covered county cricket for The Daily Telegraph before publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children.

Writing as Dan James, he published Unsinkable, a historical thriller set aboard RMS Titanic. The novel follows former Special Branch officer Arthur Beck and journalist Martha Heaton as they investigate a murderer during the ship’s maiden voyage. Unsinkable was published by Arrow in March 2012, the centenary year of the Titanic disaster.

Under his own name, Waddell created the crime series featuring genealogist Nigel Barnes, beginning with The Blood Detective. The novel was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey New Blood Dagger and nominated for the Macavity Award for Best First Novel. Its sequel, Blood Atonement, continued the series.

Waddell has also written nonfiction for children. How to Be a Detective, illustrated by Jim Smith and published by Walker Books in 2012, is an interactive introduction to solving mysteries, while How to Be a Spy, illustrated by Nikalas Catlow, was published by Walker Books in 2014. His other nonfiction includes books connected with the BBC television series Who Do You Think You Are? and Field of Shadows, an account of an English cricket tour of Nazi Germany in 1937.