BookNews No 7, July 2022

Rosie Robson #3

‘Blood on the Tyne: Red Snow’ is out now and will be 99c/99p for the next couple of weeks before reverting to the normal price. This is likely to be the last in the series, though there’s always a possibility we’ll see Rosie again at some point.

Relic Black

It’s two years since I published the first Relic Black thriller ‘Terminal Black’, so I think it’s time I took the villainous crew for another ride. ‘Crucial Black’ is still mostly in my head so no blurb yet, but here’s the cover and I’ll be working on it after the next Terry Bell mystery – ‘No Cure for Death’ comes out.

The Watson Letters

As I’m sure you’ll have noticed, book #6 in my Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes series came out a little while ago. ‘The Watson Letters Vol 6: The Haunting of Roderick Usher’ will be the last in the series, though there may be one or two short stories featuring the detecting duo later in the year.

BookNews No 6, March 2022

NEW SHORT STORY

‘Angie Baby’ is a short story culled from one of my stage plays. ‘Oh, What a Lovely Wardrobe’ was a one-man show I wrote and performed back in 1997 as part of my Drama degree. ‘Angie Baby’ is one of a series of monologues from the show. Other pieces from the show may appear at some point.

Shoot over to my Freebies page to get your free download.

THE WATSON LETTERS

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that the latest Watson Letters book is now out. ‘The Haunting of Roderick Usher’ is still priced at a meagre 99c/99p but will soon be increased to the normal price of 4.99/3.99. The Watson Letters Blog is still going, as it’s a little behind the stories in the new book.

WRITING WORK

Work on Rosie Robson Mystery No 3 ‘Blood on the Tyne: Red Snow’ is well under way and the new book should be out in the next month or so.

BookNews No 5, November 2021

COVER REVEAL

Following a few less-than-positive comments on the first cover reveal for The Watson Letters Vol 6: The Haunting of Roderick Usher, I’ve updated the cover. The book should be out before Christmas and features haunted houses, witches and a deadly encounter with an old enemy.

HEALTH UPDATE

Since March this year, I’ve had a few health issues. Beginning with what appeared to be cellulitis, I developed enlarged lymph nodes on my lungs. After several weeks off sick, two spells in hospital, six outpatient appointments and two operations, I’ve now been diagnosed with sarcoidosis. In my case, the symptoms include tiredness, sore eyes and painful joints, so writing on a regular basis went out the window. I’m slowly getting back to some sort of routine, but my original plan to put out five new books this year has gone the way of all flesh.

WRITING PROGRESS

Given the above, I’m now aiming to publish the 6^th Watson Letters book and (with luck) the 3^rd Rosie Robson mystery before the end of the year, but both depend on my ability to write regularly, which is still a bit of an issue.

WRITING PROGRESS

A new short story, The Painted Man, will be out within the next week or so. When a bereaved mother and daughter move into a new house, a mysterious figure begins to appear. (Mwah, hah, hah..,)

BookNews No 4: June 2021

COVER REVEAL

After taking a wee break from my Holmes and Watson spoof, I’m now working on the second half of Volume 6. Here’s a preview of the cover for The Watson Letters Vol 6: The Haunting of Roderick Usher.

INTERVIEW

My most recent author interview was with NFReads, where I talk about book titles, covers and bad reviews. You can check it out here.

WRITING PROGRESS

Meanwhile, I’m still busy with three other books. Don’t forget, you can read excerpts from the next Rosie Robson book as well book 5 in the Terry Bell Mysteries on my Work In Progress page.

BookNews No 3: May 2021

THE WITCH IS HERE!

Black Witch Moon is out now and currently on Amazon and Smashwords at 99c/99p. It will revert to the normal price in a few weeks.

WRITING PROGRESS

As well as book 3 in the Christie McKinnon Adventures, I’m busy with the next Rosie Robson mystery, Blood on the Tyne: Red Snow. (You can read an excerpt from Red Snow on my WIP page.)

Not content with having two books on the go, I’ve been thinking about book 5 in the Terry Bell Mysteries series. I’ve had the title for it for a while, and though this is usually enough to get me started, I had no idea what the cover would look like. As getting the cover sorted is a big part of how I create my stories, I thought I’d better get some ideas together.

Initially, the title didn’t suggest anything specific, so I tried to come up with different ways of doing it that fitted in with all the previous covers. Eventually I came up with the idea of a piece of notepaper and that sparked several ideas about where the story could go. At the moment, all I know is that Terry will get involved in a 30-year-old mystery that finds him digging into his own past and unearthing some unpleasant memories.

Here’s the cover:

BookNews No 2: April 2021

A few days ago Vince Stevenson invited me onto Boomers on Books for an interview about my writing – most specifically talking about the background to the first book in my Terry Bell Mysteries series:

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BookNews – No 1: April 2021

Including: a brand-new short story, news of my forthcoming books, and my part in the Reading Between the Lines Online Book Festival..

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Recently, I took part in the Reading Between the Lines Online Book Festival. You can watch my session chatting with fellow crime authors Paul Toolan and Graham Smith on YouTube.

FREE SHORT STORY

I’ve just written a brand-new short story called ‘The New Girl’.

Working with a new assistant, a horror writer considers the implications of his stories.

You can download it FREE to your preferred reading device – just click the image. (If you’d prefer, it’ll also be available to download from Smashwords in a couple of weeks.)