Morning all! Here’s a quick update on where I am with Delamere seven, the current work in progress with no title. I am approaching the halfway mark and am around 40,000 words. Things are about to start to make sense. Lots has happened already, and you’re going to have a nice set of clues to try and crack before you, hopefully, say, ‘Ooooh, I get it now…’ and dive into the second half wondering who and why and what will happen next.
While this case has been unravelling, Benny Baxter has been going through a new phase of his life, and is about to embark on another, but I’m not going to tell you what.
Also, I have been delving into some research areas, albeit briefly, and have come across an interesting story that might make for a future novel. It’s a sad tale, but an interesting one of a boy who ran away from a Dr Barnardo’s home because of ill treatment. I asked a friend of mine to look him up in the census, but he had a very common name, and was hard to trace, but we found some follow-up information… but that’s a story for another day.
Meanwhile, I am just about to start on chapter 13, and I left Baxter with an unannounced visitor, so I best get on with that, before he gets out of hand and does something daft.
This week, by way of ideas for new authors and reading, I have a link to this free promotion if you want to click on through and have a browse.
It’s been a week of varied research for me. Just a quick look through my current work-in-progress folder shows me all kinds of images ranging from the anatomy of a cutthroat razor to the sewer system and the River Fleet. In fact, this week, I have been to so many places, my blog post will simply be a list of them. So, here you go:
I haven’t had time to prepare anything in-depth for this week’s work-in-progress update, so this is only a quick update on Delamere five, ‘A Case of Make Believe.’
I am at 40,000 words of draft one, my team are visiting the London sewers with a guide, and examining the inspection chamber beneath the Egyptian Hall in January 1893. The story is unfolding nicely, not too fast, not too slow (I hope). The new character of Ned (full name Edgar Maddiver) is settling into Delamere house where there is now also a housekeeper, Mrs Sparks. Jack, the MC for this tale, has been to Whitechapel, visited a molly house, in his quest for information, and yet, the case is only moving forward in fits and starts, despite being an urgent matter. There have already been magicians and disappearing acts, and there will be more.
That’s where I am with the book, which I shall return to writing in a moment. I was off yesterday as I had to visit Rhodes and see a doctor about my tennis elbow (which comes from too much typing, apparently), but all is good, and will get better.
Lastly today, the promos are doing me well, and it really does help if my readers at least browse some of the books on offer. The important thing to do is to click the link (the image below), because that registers that I’ve sent people over to view other author’s work, which in turn, gives me a good promo reputation and keeps me in the promos, and that means I get to sell more copies so I can afford to see a doctor about my author’s arm… and so on. Click the banner, and enjoy your reading!
The news today is that ‘1892’ is now available in paperback. Here’s the link:
At the moment, Amazon is only showing the Kindle version, but the paperback link should appear with it soon. It is also available in 11 other Amazon countries, namely: UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, PL, SE, JP, CA and AU.
What’s even better is the review left by Anthony Pisacano. Titled, A Wonderful Christmas Gift!, this is a great review because it gives a succinct outline while not giving anything away, and I couldn’t have put it better myself. Here’s what the review says in full:
Jackson Marsh has gifted his readers another treasure from his Clearwater Tales.
On a train bound for the Christmas Eve festivities at Larkspur Hall, a Baron, housekeeper, detective, antiquarian and a professor, relate to each other tales from their past.
A priest is also in attendance but not for the same reason. He is made welcome to their first-class coach, and becomes privy to their personal stories.
Each story gives us a closer look into the background of the characters we have come to know through the previous stories associated with the Clearwater Mysteries.
I especially enjoyed the Professor’s tale as his background was not divulged when we met him during the Larkspur Mystery series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tales especially the final “priest’s” tale, which left me with a lump in my throat.
I am so glad I discovered Jackson Marsh’s books. His storytelling is expertly detailed, keeps you interested and wanting more, and he has a great sense of humour that he instils into his characters.
1892 (The Clearwater Tales) is a must-read, and I strongly urge familiarizing yourself with Jackson Marsh’s other books.
I can’t think of a better gift than this!
What can I say but thank you! Hopefully, this review might inspire other readers to follow suit, if not with a review of ‘1892’ then with a review of any of my books. Such things are always useful, because I can do what I’ve done here and pull quotes (or the whole thing) and use them to attract other readers.
As for other news, we are gearing up for a Christmas break which, for me, will begin next weekend and run to the 6th or 7th of January. This year, I shall be closing down next Saturday and giving myself a rest, or at least giving my back a rest from constant desk-sitting and typing. My imagination will not rest, and I’ll be taking a notebook with me when we go to Athens just after Christmas. I’ll post pics and posts on my Facebook pages while we’re away, so you can also enjoy Athens at New Year.
There will be a work-in-progress update on Wednesday and a final blog post of the year next Saturday. In the meantime, thank you to everyone who downloaded the free copy of ‘1892’, and to everyone who continues to support my little writing endeavour, which, as Jackson Marsh, now stands at 30 titles. Eek!
I am almost ready to give away a copy of 1892 to every member of my private Facebook group, Jackson’s Deviant Desires. I have the second proof in, though I’ve yet to check them, but once I have, I’ll let you know the days on which you can collect a copy of the first in a new series.
Not to be confused with the Delamere Files which is also my new series. The 1892 collection will be the first in an ongoing set of short stories set in the Clearwater world, and other volumes will be set in other years. There’s no time structure for producing these, I will write and compile them as and when, but I certainly envisage more of them.
If you’ve not started on one of the series before, each of my series starters is being featured on a promo page at Book Funnelright now. That’s Deviant Desire, Guardians of the Poor, and Finding a Way.
This week, I’ve also been involved in an advent calendar on the Facebook group page of LGBTQ+ M/M Euro Book Banter. They are running this fun promo all the way until Christmas with a different author every day, and each one giving away a giveaway. I have done my day and will soon be announcing the winner. I mention it, because I thought you might be interested to see the group and find new authors who are, presumably, Europe-based, or who write novels and stories set in Europe.
There will be more news about the 1892 giveaway on Saturday. I will put it on my blog and on my FB group page, so make sure you have joined the private group before then.
The guys at Other World’s Ink have come up trumps again, and I now have all the files for ‘A Fall from Grace’ on my PC and ready to upload. I just need to do one final check. As long as I don’t notice anything that needs tweaking, I will upload the files later today, and you should be able to find the book within the next couple of days.
So, today, I can put up the front cover and the blurb, and perhaps entice you towards ‘A Fall from Grace’, which picks up a couple of weeks after ‘Finding a Way’ finished; or half-finished, because there was one particular matter unresolved.
As for the next instalment, I’ve changed my working title from ‘Silence & Limelight’ to ‘Follow the Van’, and I’ll update you on its progress soon. Meanwhile, here’s the blurb for The Delamere Files book two:
A Fall from Grace
Hired by the esteemed Clearwater Detective Agency, and determined to prove themselves worthy, Jack and Will Merrit face their first case: They have eight days to unravel past events at an English public school, find a missing man and prevent his suicide.
A new life brings intriguing potentials as Jack grapples with his attraction towards men. As the assistant to the manly and assured, Jimmy Wright, he must put aside his longing for Larkin Chase and the temptations of a new stable lad, and face the weight of his new responsibility. The Merrit brothers’ future depends on it.
But when circumstances pull Jimmy away, Jack and Will are left alone to navigate a map of deceit, solve the case, and save a man’s life, even if it means risking their own.
‘A Fall from Grace’ is the second book in the Delamere Files series of romantic, Victorian gay mysteries, and follows on from ‘Finding a Way.’ The books should be read in order.
This weekend, I wanted to whet your appetite for the second book in the new ‘Delamere Files’ series, ‘A Fall from Grace.’
I am going to reveal the cover… but not quite yet. I have one more read of the MS to do before I send it off to be formatted, so it is snow only a couple of weeks away. Meanwhile, later this week, I will reveal the new and fantastic cover from Andjela V.
A Fall from Grace sees Jack Merrit’s first case with the Clearwater Detective Agency at Delamere House, and the first time he has lived anywhere but in Limehouse. There’s a lot for Jack to adjust to new surroundings, new luck, a new job, and men. First, there’s what to do about Larkin Chase, the man he met in book one, then, there’s the dashing detective, Jimmy Wright, and before long, along comes a stable hand, Ben Baxter… Temptation all around, but also, a case to work on, a mystery to unravel and a life to save.
The mystery began 12 years earlier in a British public school (a private, fee-paying school), where friendships endured into later life. In 1892, one of a small group of very close friends is now missing and in danger, and it’s up to Jack and Will to work out where and by when this man can be found.
That’s all I am going to say right now. You’ll have to wait a couple more weeks to get to the full story, and in the meantime, you’ll get to see the cover and blurb later this week.
As for me, I am working on book three, currently called ‘Silence and Limelight’, while I wait for the final ‘Grace’ MS to come in, so I can give it its last read-through.
Where ‘A Fall from Grace’ has a public school as its background, ‘Silence and Limelight’ has the Victorian Music Hall, and I’m happily beavering away on research and reading to better inform my writing. The characters of Jack and Will Merrit are evolving as the stories continue, I am still referring to my 1888 maps of London for accuracy, and I am putting together a mystery which will take Jack into the story of his family’s past. But all that is for later.
Hello, and welcome to your update on ‘A Fall from Grace’, the Delamere Files book two.
The first draft is finished! I’ve been through the story and transferred it from my head to my typowriter, but I am still surrounded by notes stuck to my writing station, and my notebook overfloweth with more.
Now, I begin the task of editing the story before going back to edit the text. There are many fine details in this story which, although the reader doesn’t need to remember them, need to add up and tie in for the overall picture to accurately emerge. Not only am I developing three characters I only created in the last novel, and developing some of those we met in previous series, but I am also introducing a couple of new ones, for the purpose of this story alone. Each character must be themselves, and that’s easy to do with my quirky, eccentric folk, but not so easy with a protagonist and antagonist neither of whom are onstage for long.
As for those quirky characters who have a scene here and there (or in this case, only here as they only appear once), they are fun to write. You will meet mad Mrs Hogg and her famous hat, and the decrepit chairman of the Old Sinfordians who suffers from a, then, undiagnosed condition we, today, would call something else. A bit like Will who has OCD, but which, in 1892, wasn’t called that but probably considered some kind of mental deformity which it isn’t. In Will’s case, he calls it his ‘preciseness’, which is a far more appealing term than compulsive or obsessive and I don’t consider it a disorder either… But, let’s not get into all of that…
I found this chap online and wondered if it might be Will Merrit.
What you came here for is to learn that draft one is finished and topped off at 104,000 words, with about 95% of them correctly spelt. The first editing job will take me a week or so, and the second, a little longer. Meanwhile, I must turn my attention to blurbs and covers and saving to pay the proofreader and layout designers and all that jazz, while being aware that if I want any clues laid down in ‘A Fall from Grace’ that impact book three, I need to get them in there now.
So, back to work for me, and don’t forget to tune into Saturday’s blog when you can read more of the original, unpublished, opening of ‘Finding a Way.’
Also, don’t forget the Book Funnel promotion and the wealth of LGTBQ+ romantic mysteries on offers from a wide range of authors. Here’s the link to click:
No not that. I’ve been here before, climaxing at around 90,000 words with the end of the first draft in sight, and, today, that’s exactly where I am with ‘A Fall from Grace’, the second book in the new Delamere Files series.
I’m pleased to say that ‘Finding a Way’ is doing well, and has already received one glowing review, which includes: I was hooked on this story from the very first sentence. As always, great characters are introduced to the reader and some cameo appearances of characters from previous series just tied everything so perfectly together.
Thank you for that Charles!
I am aiming to have A Fall from Grace first draft completed by this time next week at the latest.
Meanwhile, I am taking part in a book promotion or two during September, and there will be news about this in a newsletter in the next couple of days. If you’ve not subscribed to my (very) occasional newsletters, you can do so from the Newsletter Page. http://jacksonmarsh.com/newsletter/
I released the first in the new series of The Delamere Files last week, and the story is up and running. Finding a Way introduces us to new characters in the Clearwater world of London in 1892, and sets the scene for things to come with a case involving a London cabbie, a criminal gang and a couple of characters from the previous two series. It is too early to say how the series will run in terms of popularity, but it’s off to a reasonable start after its release.
A Fall from Grace
The second book continues the main relationships between the principal characters with a change in circumstances and a new investigation. I am still working through the first draft, and my desk is still covered with notes and charts as I keep an eye on all the details developing through the story.
I am now at 77,000 words and approaching the crisis, climax, ‘smoking gun’ reveal, and the aftermath sections, which should take me nicely to the target 100,000 words, before I set about the rewrites and tidying up. Last night, I had something of a ‘that’s too obvious’ moment, which I have noted and will address as I progress to the crisis, which I aim to do later today.
As for a release date… I am aiming to have this book finished and ready to go by the end of September, so if you are reading book one, you won’t have to wait too long for book two.
The Clearwater Calendar
Also this week, I have been putting together a wall calendar for 2024. We have just released Neil’s Symi Dream calendar, a thing he has done every year since he had his photo business on the island. We use a company that produces good-quality products that showcase Neil’s photography, and the calendars have proved very popular. We were talking about it the other day when one of us suggested I make one based on the Clearwater front covers. Lo and behold, when I returned to the computer, I’d had exactly the same suggestion from one of my supporters (thanks, Loz, great minds and all that). I have spent the last few days putting something together and have ordered a trial one to see how it looks. All being well, you will be able to order a Clearwater calendar in plenty of time for the end of the year. More news to come in time. For now, it’s back to the keyboard, my new mystery, and my approaching crisis which will, after a twist, lead to a climax, and the Delamere Files will move forward.
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