I’m now onto draft two/three of this one, and Neil is about to start beta reading for me. I know I have some tidying up to do, and I must go through the entire thing again, all 100K words of it, before sending it to my lovely proofreader. Once that’s on its way, I will turn my attention to what comes next… Whatever that may be.
A Depraved Indifference has an open ending, as you will see, so it is definitely not the last Delamere File, but before I get to whatever comes next for Jack and Co., I was thinking about another small collection of short stories. My thinking cap is on!
Meanwhile, here’s a promo you can support:
Queer Romance Is Resistance
This promo is being hosted by the lovely Elle Keaton, who has appeared on my blog in the past. There are 45 titles to explore here, and covers suggesting firemen in love, daddies, dragons, mystical places, and good old MM romance.
Here’s a quick update on Delamere ten, ‘A Depraved Indifference.’
When I stopped work yesterday, I was at 92,000 words and halfway through a climax, if you see what I mean. I had two of my heroes just about face to face with the villain (whoever he is), and they had just discovered what is about to happen, with time running out, and now have an impossibly situation to resolve without loss of life. They are also in the belfry of St Mary le Bow church, Cheapside, London, in the middle of the night. Why has all this come about? Because the villain has a depraved indifference to human life caused by other people’s indifference to him. It will all be explained in the story.
Meanwhile, here is a plan of the church, which is the only image to have joined my research folder in the last few days.
In my folder so far, I have a rare photo of the inside of St Clement Danes church, a photo of Morley’s hotel from the late 1890s (Trafalgar Square), some maps and other church floorplans. All this is based around ‘Oranges and Lemons,’ but the nursery rhyme has been twisted by my villain, as you will see, hopefully before this month is out.
New Month, New Promos
Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter if you want to get news on new promos. I have six this month, and will be sending out information about them on Saturday, when the newsletter comes out. Tell you what, I’ll give you a preview of the first one now.
MM Romance & Fiction
There are 22 MM titles here, some, like mine, you may already know, but there are others I’ve not seen advertised before. Plus, there are some new authors to explore and a variety of niches within MM romance.
First, let me say thank you to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to post a review of any of my books on Amazon. They really do make a difference, as do rates. I’m pleased to say that Snake Hill has already attracted some lovely words of praise, such as:
The writing is lyrical with visuals. The story at the end had me misty-eyed. He captures the depth of male friendships and love perfectly.
This one especially touched me in a way that left me happy and sad at the same time.Every book in this series, along with the original series, is an excellent and exciting read.
I’m not here to hear my praises sung, although it is very rewarding to do so, and it’s always a boost when you read a positive review; it’s moving, too, and boosts self-esteem. The star ratings also help, and although I seem to have a mysterious reader who relishes dropping in one, two or three stars about half an hour after a book comes out, my star ratings are usually four or five, I am pleased to say. Finding a Way, which came out in August 2023, has 199 already, and Deviant Desire, published in 2019, has picked up 322 so far, as well as some excellent reviews. (Plus one which reads like a disgruntled author trying to trash a book because it was better than he could have done, while giving away some of the plot.) That is a no-no in the review world; you never give away twists or plots, but some people can’t help themselves. Ah well…
So, the message of today, folks is, please don’t hesitate to leave reviews whenever you can. Even if it’s only one or two lines, the more reviews and stars a title has, the more chance there is of Amazon recommending it – the same goes for Goodreads, I believe, and other publicity sites. My ‘Follow me’ list is towards the top of the right-hand column, if you use any of those platforms and want to follow me.
Meanwhile… Promos!
Banyak & fecks was taken out of a historical fiction promo for some reason. Either they didn’t like the gay aspect (boo), or it wasn’t bodice-ripping enough for them, and there was no busty wench on the front cover falling out of her clothing and into the arms of a swarthy lord of the manor, I don’t know, but there you go. Still, there are more to indulge in, such as today’s recommendation, which is:
Fall In Love: MM Romance in Kindle Unlimited
If you simply hanker for good, old-fashioned MM Romance, and you’re on KU, then this is the one to check out. You can add up to 30 new titles to your library.
You can do so by clicking the banner, as always, and having a browse. I’ll be back on Wednesday with an update on ‘A Depraved Indifference,’ which is coming along very nicely (well, it’s a bit gruesome in places, but otherwise, it’s quite nice).
This nursery rhyme has been in my head since I started writing ‘A Depraved Indifference’, and for a very good reason, which will become clear when you read the book. (Maybe next month, certainly by November.) I’m excited to tell you about the action through the story, but I can’t, of course, so I will just have to get on and finish it, so we can then discuss it, but I will say that it is definitely a mystery, and it has something to do with the nursery rhyme, ‘Oranges and Lemons.’
A letter from a publication of 1891, noted that beadles and porters of St Clement’s Inn (London) handed out oranges and lemons at New Year, so it wasn’t just children who knew the song. It is sung to the melody of certain church bells, St Clement Danes being one.
The melody of the sung rhyme is always the same, but the couplets can vary, and it always starts with St Clement Danes.
South-west view of the church of St Clement Danes
There are various versions of the lyrics, and it’s not unheard of for people to add their own, as happens in my story. I have gone for the standard version as written in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, although I notice that the ending can also vary. In some modern versions, they have changed the bit about having your head cut off to something less violent. I can’t think why. It’s only a nursery rhyme, and I grew up with a chopper chopping off my head and ‘the last man is dead’, and I haven’t grown up to be a head-chopper-offer.
Below is the version I grew up with, and I remember playing the Oranges and Lemons game on the field in summer at primary school. We would have two children stand making an arch with their arms, and as we sang the rhyme, we took turns to walk beneath the arch. On the last line, the ‘chopper’ came down, and whoever was caught had their head chopped off. (Not really. It was a rural school, but not barbaric.)
Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St Clement’s. You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St Martin’s.
When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey. When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be? Say the bells of Stepney. I do not know, Say the great bells of Bow.
Here comes a candle, To light you to bed. Here comes a chopper To chop off your head. Chip chop chip chop the last man is dead.
St Clement Danes is top right (You will also notice Holywell Street.)
There is also a debate, or several, about which churches are referred to in the rhyme. Some say St Clement’s isn’t the church in the Strand, but the one over at Eastcheap, and so on, but there are probably as many arguments for each one as there are additional lyrics.
Bull’s eyes and targets, say the bells of St Margaret’s, for example; I’ve never heard that one before.
Anyway, Oranges and Lemons features in the story and so far, and so do some other interesting ‘props.’ At the moment, I am asking myself, ‘What do the following have in common?’
A church organ, a medical skeleton, graffiti, a charitable organisation, and a ring? The answer? A Depraved Indifference – coming soon.
PROMO
This Saturday’s ‘please give these books some attention’ promo is the one I take part in every month because it is organised by Book Mojo, and they never send me unsolicited AI emails about book promotions.
MAYHEM & MOTIVES: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads – September Edition The M&M, Book-Mojo collection this month includes my three series starters. There are 45 titles to check out, all various kinds of thriller or mystery, and not necessarily MM related, but still, a good read.
You know how it works, click the banner to reach the page of books…
The good news is that Snake Hill is doing well, which means people must have enjoyed the previous books in the series. The ongoing news is that the paperback is not quite ready, but I hope to have the full cover in the next day or so.
This is off to a good start, and I even know what is to happen and when. The idea came to me very quickly, which is often a good sign and a warning sign. I warn myself to slow down and not rush ahead, and then I tell myself I can because I am creating this, so I can always uncreate it and change things, though, this time, I haven’t had to. Yet.
Without giving too much away, so far, Jack and Baxter have been called to a famous London church where something mysterious has been discovered. It could be 300 years old or three months, but the thing should not be there. Doctor Markland gets involved briefly, and Ned comes along with his scientific bits and pieces, and the next thing you know, we’re having lemonade on the back terrace at Delamere, where Will asks Ronny to sing some nursery rhymes. You can imagine the reception that gets. Later this morning, I will finish chapter six, that’s how well the storytelling is going. So far.
The research is happening as well. Here, for example, is the only image I can find of the church of St Clement Danes (Strand, London) before it was bombed in WWII. This is the original organ, which was built in 1690.
I also did some digging around Trafalgar Square and discovered that where we now have South Africa House was once Morley’s Hotel. That was a handy find as I needed there to be a hotel there in 1893, and lo! Here it is.
Photo is early 20th century
That’s my Wednesday update. If you haven’t joined my newsletter yet, please do, as there’s a heap of hot books coming your way in several September promotions. And, if you’ve not started sharing my BookBub and other links around your social media, please do! (Top of the right-hand column) Back on Saturday with another update.
That should take you to your appropriate Amazon site, and all will be well. The paperback version should be out next week. We’re just organising the full cover, which is something we can’t do until we know the page count, which we now know. So… In case you have missed it, here’s the blurb.
Albert Arbon collapses at Delamere House after a three-day trek. His only son, Robert, has vanished after seeing a strange light in the Suffolk sky, and Arbon is desperate to find him.
Detectives Jack and Baxter, with young Simeon, accompany Arbon back to his remote Suffolk farmhouse, only to find themselves faced with a combination of rural legends seemingly tied to a series of unsettling events. A body lies inexplicably in the middle of an untouched wheat field. Other children have gone missing. There is talk of a ‘fire snake’, and no-one dare share the secrets of what can be seen from Snake Hill.
As the investigation deepens, Jack must navigate more than the mystery. He must also face the burdens of responsibility — not only for uncovering the truth and doing the right thing, but also for guiding Simeon, a boy on the cusp of manhood, who’s willing to risk everything to prove himself.
What Next? Delamere Ten.
You might not be surprised to know I am already working on Delamere 10, and it has the title of ‘A Depraved Indifference.’ I am working with the idea that will combine:
Murders past and future.
A nursery rhyme.
Several London churches.
A Church organ.
So far, it starts on Simeon’s 17th birthday, so it’s set in August 1893.
My original idea for Delamere was to see where Jimmy Wright had come to, following his entry into the Clearwater world back in ‘Twisted Tracks’ in 1888 (although his first appearance is in Deviant Desire, but it’s very brief). I soon discovered that Jack and Will Merrit were to be my leads, and so, the series has become their story, and I, for one, am enjoying exploring their lives. I was going to write one book for each of 12 months of their lives, but that’s kind of gone by the by. Having said that, we’re on book ten (almost) and the series started in June 1892 and we’re only now in August 1893, so I haven’t done too badly. A lot has happened in that time.
I often wonder if it’s too much and how long a series should run for. I think, as long as I am writing a good, entertaining read, and as long as people are still enjoying the stories, i.e. buying them, then I’ll carry on until it feels right to finish. If you have any other ideas, let me know.
Meanwhile… It will soon be September promo time, so get ready for a new list, but in the meantime, there’s a new one just started up a few days ago, and we’re in it, so if you want to boost my kudos, hit the banner. This is a collection so thriller and mystery reads that are available on a variety of platforms.
While we eagerly await the publication of ‘Snake Hill’ (any day now), I have come up with a working title for the next instalment of the Delamere Files, ‘A Depraved Indifference.’
I was doing some legal research the other day, as you do, when I came across something I’d not seen before. There was no reason why I should have done because a) I am not a lawyer, and b) it’s to do with American law, but I liked the term and what it implies. The paragraph was this: If the risk of death or bodily harm is great enough, ignoring it demonstrates a “depraved indifference” to human life and the resulting death is considered to have been committed with malice aforethought.
A depraved indifference to human life… I wondered if there was an English law equivalent in 1893, and I am still researching that, but the story I am now embarking on may not have anything to do with law or that phrase in the way it is meant. What I might do is use that expression/term/whatever to inspire the rest of the story. In Delamere 10, Will has already cited it (and I’m only on chapter two) while settling a case for the CID. Anyway, the point was to let you know I have started on some ideas for the next book, which has had me locked into this view for a while…
And this is the first draft text for chapter one of the next book, in case you want to zoom in and read.
I will be interrupted soon by the arrival of the files for number nine, which I will check through and upload as soon as we’re all happy that Snake Hill is good to go.
Meanwhile, you may have noticed I put three new links at the top right of the page, just beneath the newsletter sign up. My Facebook page, my BluSky profile, and now, my BookBub link, so if you use that service, you can follow me there. I ought to add my Goodreads link too, I suppose. (Note for later.) Meanwhile-meanwhile, a new promo has just arrived, so if you want to be among the first to see these new spy, mystery and suspense titles, just click the banner.
Not long to go now, and you will be able to order/download a copy of the latest Delamere adventure, ‘Snake Hill.’
If you scroll down, you will see the cover and the blurb, but that’s all I can share with you at the moment. I am finishing my last read of it this weekend and will then send the MS to the formatting wizards while I wait for the full cover for the paperback version. I hope to release it during this coming week, but it will depend on when I receive the appropriate files. I’ll keep you informed on my social media.
Talking of which, if anyone uses BlueSky, I have an account there now: @jacksonmarsh.bsky.social so feel free to follow.
In the meantime, I have written a 5,000 pastiche or parody or piece of satire for my other blog where I chat about life on this Greek island. Next week, I will be presenting a section of this piece every day. What is it? Well, have you seen the play or film, ‘Shirley Valentine’? If you have, you will know it’s about a woman coming to Greece and finding herself during a kind of midlife crisis.
Well, my piece of satire answers the question, what would be Shirley’s experience of Greece if the story happened now? Hopefully, readers will find it amusing. If you want to check it out, click over to my Symi Dream blog on Monday and follow the adventure.
Talking of adventure, if you still haven’t checked out this month’s list of books on special promo, then try this one:
MM or MM+ Romance You’ll find 179 MM titles in this collection of MM romances. So many topless hunks, I don’t know where to start. Maybe with one of my own, and ‘The Mentor of Wildhill Farm,’ probably, of all my 50 books, the one with the most heat. In fact, it’s probably 60% heat, and the rest is story. It was my first Jackson Marsh and has a twist at the end you either love or hate.
Click the banner.
I’ll be back on Wednesday with more news on ‘Snake Hill.’
The next Delamere book, ‘Snake Hill’, mostly takes place in Suffolk. To keep things as authentic as I could, I trawled around for a dictionary of Suffolk words and phrases, and came upon:
A Glossary of Words Used in East Anglia (1895)
Author: Rye, Walter (1843-1929)
The subtitle reads, Founded on that of Forby. With Numerous Corrections and Additions. It was published for the English Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, and the version I used was transcribed by Universidad de Salamanca.
You know how I like dialect. ‘Holywell Street’ comes with Baxter’s glossary, if you ned to revise his East End expressions, but in ‘Snake Hill’, we have an East Anglian glossary. For those who may not know:
East Anglia is an area of the East of England often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included.
The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia (Angeln), in what is now Northern Germany. East Anglia is a predominantly rural region and contains mainly flat or low-lying and agricultural land. [Wiki]
So, ahead of publication, here are some of the words I have used in the story. I put this here so you can do some background reading before the book arrives on your Kindle or doormat later in the month.
Badly In ill health. Sometimes sadly badly.
Barley-bird The nightingale, which comes to us in the season of sowing barley.
Biddie Young chicken.
Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog.
Brank Buckwheat
Buck To spring or bound with agility.
Carre A stoat.
Clamp A mound of earth lined with straw to keep potatoes or mangold wurzel through the winter.
Clevers, or Cluvers Tussocks or tufts of coarse grass.
Closen Enclosed fields; plural of close.
Clutter Confusion, disorder.
Cob-boy One who is between boy and man.
Dere Dire, sad.
Doker A diminutive used with respect to young animals.
Duffy dow Young pigeon not fully fledged.
Fleck The down of hares or rabbits torn off by the dogs.
Flick Hare’s or rabbit’s down.
Heads and Holls Prominences and hollows tumbled confusedly together.
Hingle To snare. Poachers hingle hares and rabbits.
Hoven Swollen.
Huckle To bend down with pain.
Jug To squat, and nestle close together, as partridges at night.
Mamble To eat with seeming indifference.
Maul Clayey or marly solid, adhering to the spade or ploughshare.
Mawth-dog The phantom of a dog (in Norfolk).
Mewting The whistling of a boy without any regard or idea of time or harmony.
Mump A hop and a jump.
Nabble To gnaw.
Needles A common weed among corn.
Pin basket The youngest child in a family.
Plounce To plunge with a loud noise.
Quackle To interrupt breathing.
Ranny The shrew-mouse. (Plural, rannies.)
Ravary A violent mad fit of passion.
Roblet A young cock.
Sadly Badly Very ill.
Smouching men Smugglers (Smouch, 1) to kiss 2) to smuggle.
Smuddered Smothered. Choked to death.
Springer A youth.
Stour Stiff or stout.
Tom Poker The great bugbear and terror of naughty children, who inhabits dark closets, holes under the stairs.
Traptles The small pellets of the dung of sheep, hares, rabbits, &c.
Trunket A game at ball, played with short sticks.
Wiff/Wiffing The sudden turning of a hare when coursed. Wishly Earnestly, wishfully, with longing.
Hi all, A quick thing before we get to news of ‘Snake Hill.’
Newsletter
If you are subscribed to my newsletter, you should have received one yesterday with news on Snake Hill, and news of a few more interesting promos to check out.
If you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter, you can do it now on this page. Just check out the top right of the column or go to the newsletter page.
If you do sign up, and you have any problems, will you let me know? I’ve not had many new joiners for a while now, and I wonder if it is something to do with the process. Looking forward to having you on board. Thank you.
Snake Hill Update
The news on Delamere Nine is that it will be going off to the proofreader in a day or so. Meanwhile, I have commissioned a cover from Andjela, and I will show you that when I have it. I have also commissioned a drawing of one of the characters, the protagonist in this case, as it is he who sets off the chain of events that lead to all kinds of madness and mayhem, thrills (I hope) and adventure. I have drafted a vague blurb, and here it is:
When Albert Arbon arrives on Delamere’s doorstep after a three-day trek, his desperation is unmistakable — his son Robert has vanished following a night of strange lights in the Suffolk sky.
Detectives Jack and Baxter, with young Simeon, accompany Arbon back to his remote farmhouse, only to find themselves facing a tangle of rural legends and unsettling events. A body lies inexplicably in the middle of an untouched wheat field. Other children have gone missing, and no-one dare speak of the Fire Snake or share the secrets of Snake Hill.
As the investigation deepens, Jack must navigate more than a mystery. He must face the burdens of responsibility — not only for uncovering the truth, but for guiding Simeon, a boy on the cusp of manhood, who’s willing to risk everything to prove himself.
As I may have mentioned, there’s a background theme of growing up, coming of age, rites of passage, paternal responsibility, father and son… that kind of thing. Also, this is the first book in the series that (apart from a couple of chapters) takes place outside of London, putting Jack and Bax in a brand new environment.
Some of the dialogue and some of the stories told within the story make use of the East Anglian dialect. On Saturday, I will start to introduce you to some of the wonderful words and their meanings in this dialect. So, tune back in on Saturday…
And remember about the newsletter… And, take a look at this promo in the meantime:
MAYHEM & MOTIVES: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads – August Edition Here’s my usual entry with Book-Mojo’s monthly collection of thrillers. This month, there’s a whopping 144 titles to browse, including, for the first time, my Holywell Street. I wonder if a topless Baxter will be enough to draw in some new readers?
