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This is my first venture into self-publishing: a book of 60-plus pictures of the Irish Raid in September 2012, for which I was the 'embedded' photographer (see www.sailing-raids.com). Despite smashing one of my lenses on the second day and having to leave halfway through the event, I managed to get some good shots which have been published in more than a dozen magazines around the world – from Brazil to Japan. I've put a selection of my favourites in this book, along with some simple captions. Inevitably, it works out quite expensive (£41.46 plus p&p for the softback version), but I was genuinely impressed by the quality of the printing in the copy I ordered. If they can get the cost down a little more, this is definitely the way to go. Available from www.photoboxgallery.com/saltydog.

I can't pretend I had any interest in the Titanic before I was asked to write this book. But I soon got interested, trawling through thousands of pages of first-hand testimonies about the disaster. I think what makes it so compelling as a story are the hundreds of interlocking stories of human suffering, courage and fallibility – as well as plain cowardice and selfishness. And there are bigger themes of man vs nature, corporate greed, institutional failure, etc. It really is all there! My book tells the story in 'real time' from the perspective of various passengers and crew – from the firestokers standing in the engine room when the first gush of water bursts through the hull, to the first class passengers who may or may not have paid their way to safety – all told in their own words (lightly edited). It was certainly one of the most engrossing assignments I've ever had, and I now count myself among the millions of Titanoraks out there. Published by Bloomsbury, April 2012.