WELCOMEIf you’re looking for trouble, you’ve come to the wrong place.
If you’re looking for trouble, I believe it has its own website, which I’m not prepared to advertise here as I don’t wish to be seen to be condoning poor behaviour. Instead, this is t’Interweb home of Michael Davies. You can pretty much see what I do. |
BREAKING NEWS...
NEW NOVEL SET FOR MAY 2023 PUBLICATION
Marking the centenary of Desmond Bagley’s birth (see Domino Island, below), publishers HarperCollins have commissioned a brand new novel featuring the same protagonist, Bill Kemp. Entitled Outback, it's due for publication in hardback and Kindle on May 11, 2023.
In an original story created and written by yours truly, Kemp faces new foes and new dangers in the remote Australian interior. Here's what they have to say about it:
Insurance investigator Bill Kemp had never wanted to trek deep into Australia’s remote interior. But when his clients Sophie and Adam Church inherit an abandoned opal mine, triggering some explosive long-lost secrets, they – and Kemp – find themselves facing an unknown enemy even more deadly than the vast, forbidding wilderness of the outback…
The Desmond Bagley centenary novel honours the legacy of the bestselling thriller writer with a new adventure featuring Bill Kemp, described by Jeffrey Deaver as ‘part James Bond, part Philip Marlowe, and all hero’. Writer Michael Davies, who completed the first Kemp novel Domino Island for publication nearly 40 years after the author’s death, now weaves an original tale of danger and death under the blistering Australian sun.
HELP A STARVING AUTHOR AND PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE!
Marking the centenary of Desmond Bagley’s birth (see Domino Island, below), publishers HarperCollins have commissioned a brand new novel featuring the same protagonist, Bill Kemp. Entitled Outback, it's due for publication in hardback and Kindle on May 11, 2023.
In an original story created and written by yours truly, Kemp faces new foes and new dangers in the remote Australian interior. Here's what they have to say about it:
Insurance investigator Bill Kemp had never wanted to trek deep into Australia’s remote interior. But when his clients Sophie and Adam Church inherit an abandoned opal mine, triggering some explosive long-lost secrets, they – and Kemp – find themselves facing an unknown enemy even more deadly than the vast, forbidding wilderness of the outback…
The Desmond Bagley centenary novel honours the legacy of the bestselling thriller writer with a new adventure featuring Bill Kemp, described by Jeffrey Deaver as ‘part James Bond, part Philip Marlowe, and all hero’. Writer Michael Davies, who completed the first Kemp novel Domino Island for publication nearly 40 years after the author’s death, now weaves an original tale of danger and death under the blistering Australian sun.
HELP A STARVING AUTHOR AND PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY HERE!

PAPERBACK EDITION RELEASED
Sales of Domino Island, the ‘lost’ Desmond Bagley novel, went so well that publishers HarperCollins issued a paperback release in May 2020. Its cover features the same style as the other 16 Bagley books and brings DI fully into the fold as a ‘proper’ Bagley novel.
Sales of Domino Island, the ‘lost’ Desmond Bagley novel, went so well that publishers HarperCollins issued a paperback release in May 2020. Its cover features the same style as the other 16 Bagley books and brings DI fully into the fold as a ‘proper’ Bagley novel.

DIARY DATE: May 16, 2019
HarperCollins publishes a 'lost’ Desmond Bagley novel, Domino Island, more than 35 years after the author’s death.
Why is this significant? Well, because I’ve had the honour and pleasure of taking DB’s original first draft from 1972 and (perhaps rather presumptuously) delivering it as a final manuscript for publication. Fortunately, I had his notes to work from, as well as contemporary correspondence between him and his publisher, so I wasn’t working completely in the dark, and it’s been a thrilling experience.
You can order a copy here if you fancy it. In good time for Father's Day.

FROM 2018: Not one, but TWO whole producers are in talks to bring their versions of Tess: The Musical to the stage.
But wait, I hear you cry, what is Tess: The Musical? Really? Where have you been all these years? With music by Michael Blore, lyrics by yours truly, it’s a fully sung-through adaptation of the Hardy classic. Follow our heroine @MusicalTess or on Facebook (Tess d'Urberville) to keep up with the latest news.
As well as more details here, check out our Tessie’s website at www.tessthemusical.com where you can hear the whole show for free and find out more about its ongoing development.
#TeamTess
But wait, I hear you cry, what is Tess: The Musical? Really? Where have you been all these years? With music by Michael Blore, lyrics by yours truly, it’s a fully sung-through adaptation of the Hardy classic. Follow our heroine @MusicalTess or on Facebook (Tess d'Urberville) to keep up with the latest news.
As well as more details here, check out our Tessie’s website at www.tessthemusical.com where you can hear the whole show for free and find out more about its ongoing development.
#TeamTess
Elsewhere, there’s a new play completed, This American Carnage, which acts as a companion piece to Reality, offering between them the prospect of a full evening’s entertainment. With both pieces using the device of a ticking clock, they’re combined under the umbrella title of Countdown and currently available for production. Just get in touch...
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT MICHAEL'S WRITING...
'Bristling with theatrical ideas'
- Sir Alan Ayckbourn
'Very well crafted... very professional in all departments'
- Sir Tim Rice
'Really powerful'
- Matthew Graham, Life on Mars creator
'Stunning show'
'An unforgettable evening'
'Inspirational'
- Audience members at Rasputin's Mother premiere
'Very funny... entertaining characters... great vignettes. I enjoyed it and laughed, both quite rare!'
- Micheal Jacob, Creative Head, BBC College of Comedy
'An amazingly good job... stories work well and are full of character and texture'
- Simon Harper, Holby City senior script editor
'Strong, distinctive dialogue... well defined, powerful characters... and a real understanding of the medium.'
- Emmerdale core writer Chris Thompson
'Intriguing and edifying... alive and full of energy'
- actor Paul Copley
'Cracking dialogue, fascinating ideas, strong complementary characters'
- Ronald Duncan Playwriting Competition judges
- Sir Alan Ayckbourn
'Very well crafted... very professional in all departments'
- Sir Tim Rice
'Really powerful'
- Matthew Graham, Life on Mars creator
'Stunning show'
'An unforgettable evening'
'Inspirational'
- Audience members at Rasputin's Mother premiere
'Very funny... entertaining characters... great vignettes. I enjoyed it and laughed, both quite rare!'
- Micheal Jacob, Creative Head, BBC College of Comedy
'An amazingly good job... stories work well and are full of character and texture'
- Simon Harper, Holby City senior script editor
'Strong, distinctive dialogue... well defined, powerful characters... and a real understanding of the medium.'
- Emmerdale core writer Chris Thompson
'Intriguing and edifying... alive and full of energy'
- actor Paul Copley
'Cracking dialogue, fascinating ideas, strong complementary characters'
- Ronald Duncan Playwriting Competition judges