New Book Out, New One Started

Posted on 14/09/2024 by Jack Marsh

Hello, and welcome to a catch-up blog post. First today’s news…

A Case of Make Believe is back from the layout guys. I have been through it, and it looks great. Apart from the fantastic cover, there is an image of the new character which I’ve had drawn, and the only thing missing is the title of the next book in the series. That will be added when I have thought of it.

If all goes as it usually does, the book will be ready today or tomorrow, and I will post the link when I have it.

As soon as it’s ready, you will be able to find this dark and mysterious novel on the Delamere Files series page here.

Book Six in the series

This one has got off to a mysterious start and even I don’t know where it is leading. It will have something to do with photography, though. Already, we have an opening that is slightly farcical but makes sense, and it’s one of those stories that starts a little way in and then goes back to the beginning. So, after chapter one, I currently have ‘X days earlier’ and the story starts from there with Jack at his desk, rather bored with doing the CID’s cold cases, and hoping for something more exciting to come along.

It does, and it does so in the shape of a Congregationalist minister who has found a body in Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington.

Yes, I know you’d expect to find a body in a cemetery, but not one in a shallow grave, and not one who died ten years earlier and yet looks like it died only a day ago. So, we’ve started off with a right old mystery which, by chapter four, thickens when the detectives (all four) visit the scene to find the body has deteriorated since that morning…

Don’t worry, I will find a way out of this. It will involve some kind of chemical reaction, like a photograph, and I think Doc Markland will have to be brought in.

Meanwhile, Jack has a new team of horses called Moonlight and Silver, though he still has Shadow, of course, and Mrs Norwood next door has her own stable hand and groom again.

Romance Promos

You might like to take a look at the titles in these two romance promos, if you haven’t already. There may be some new authors and titles for you to read there.

A Case of Make Believe – Cover Reveal

Posted on 31/08/2024 by Jack Marsh

I have the cover for the next Delamere Files novel, ‘A Case of Make Believe’, and you can see it further down this post. The book will be available in the next couple of weeks. As with all of my novels, it will be available in paperback from Amazon, in Kindle format and available in Kindle Unlimited. The series is turning out to be very popular, I am pleased to say. People like a good mystery, historical accuracy and an occasional love plot.

Here’s the blurb, and beneath that, a link to the full cover, again designed by Andjela.

A Case of Make Believe Blurb

Jack is left in charge of the agency, its new staff, and a missing person case that arrives unexpectedly from the Cheap Street Mission. A fourteen-year-old boy has vanished, and his older brother, Simeon, is desperate to find him. At first, the only clue is a cutthroat razor, but as Simeon’s past unfolds, so the case darkens with complications.

As they race to find the boy, Jack and Will’s journey takes them from the unbelievable illusions of Piccadilly’s Egyptian Hall to an opium den in Whitechapel, and from a molly house to the sewers deep beneath London. What the Delamere detectives don’t know is that if they fail to find the boy in time, the razor will play a gruesome part in a very public death.

Kidnapping, illusions, East End rent boys, and murders in the style of Grand Guignol, the fifth book in the Delamere Files series is the darkest yet. The books should be read in order.

Click the image to reveal the full cover and let me know what you think. (Ps. I know there should be a hyphen in Make-Believe, but there is a reason there isn’t which will become clear when you read the story. Inserts wink emoji.)

You Won’t Believe Make Believe

Posted on 28/08/2024 by Jack Marsh

It’s nearly the end of the month and ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is off to the proofreader tomorrow. The blurb is more or less done, the author’s notes are complete apart from a section about sewers (you’ll see), the cover is done, and I will finish it when I have had the back text checked. Usually, Andjela adds this and finishes the cover but she’s due to have a baby any day now, so we’ve made this alternative arrangement.

I’ll show you the full cover on Saturday, so stay tuned.

Coming up next month, apart from the release of ‘A Case of Make Believe’, we have two promos to help out with. One is what’s becoming my standard (and successful) Mayhem and Motives promo where several of us mystery writers get together to cross-share titles via one page. The others are an LGBTQ etc., Romance and Fiction promo, into which I have entered Banyak & Fecks, and an LGBTQ etc., romance promo into which I have put ‘The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge’ and ‘The Mentor of Lonemarsh House.’ There will be a newsletter coming out with all the details soon, so make sure you are subscribed.

You can subscribe here or by using the box at the top of the righthand column on any page.

Bobby

For those who have read ‘Bobby’, the biography of my gay godfather, you will know that he was acquainted with Shirley Bassey (now Dame Shirley Bassey, singer of ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Diamonds are Forever’ and other great songs). I am about to send a copy of the book to Dame Shirley, or to her office, which may or may not reach her, because of all the famous people he met in his life, she is the only one still alive. Bob would have liked her to have a copy, I am sure, and I’d be interested to know if she remembers him, and the way her dog used to leap into his pond after she’d just had it groomed. (The dog, not the pond.) So, that’s this week’s admin, as is composing and arranging the newsletter, sending off the MS for ‘Make Believe’ and starting on the next book… Whatever that is going to be… I will have a look around some old newspapers from February 1893 and see what springs to mind.

You will soon get to see another character too, so keep your eyes peeled.

Update: A Case of Make Believe

Posted on 21/08/2024 by Jack Marsh

Here’s the good news: I have finished the initial draft of the Delamere Files book five, ‘A Case of Make Believe’, and am now working on the tidy-up draft. Meanwhile, Andjela has made me a cover and here’s the title…

I will show you the rest of the excellent cover nearer the release date which should be next month. Andjela is just about to have a baby so we’re sending her her all our best wishes from Greece, and I know you will too.

While I’ve been doing that, and she’s been doing the cover, Daz over in India has done me a sketch of the new Delamere detective, which is something else I will hold back for now – we can’t have all the goodies released at the same time, I must whet some appetites.

What I can reveal, though, is that ‘Make Believe’ is packed with historical detail that’s true not only to the period but also to the day on which the story starts. I have used messages in newspapers that appeared on January 10th, 1893, and I have used a programme from Maskelyne and Cooke’s Egyptian Hall mystery and illusion performances of the time, plus other headlines and details I found in the newspaper archive. Also, a couple of scenes take place in the London sewers, so I have been down there (on a virtual tour), I’ve poured over the maps, looked into the founding of the London County Council, the Board of Works and other such organisations, and have used my 1888 street atlas of the city to locate an opium den and a molly house (boy brothel). If you thought ‘Where There’s a Will’ was heading towards dark territory, you wait until you see what ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is all about. You may have to make yourself believe such things actually went on in 1893.

Remember, the promos that keep us afloat.

While you’re waiting for ‘Make Believe’ to come along, be sure to check out this month’s promos to find some new authors and new titles to read. Here are both banners with the links built in.

WIP: An Odd Way Round

Posted on 14/08/2024 by Jack Marsh

I’ve been working on ‘A Case of Make Believe’ but I have been going about it in an odd way – odd for me. Usually, I start at the beginning and plough on until the end, then go back and start again. This time, though, I have already written the climax in first draft form, and I have taken the story to almost the crisis just before the climax, and now I’ve stopped and gone back to the beginning. Why? Ah ha! I am glad you asked…

Something was missing. Every story should have some kind of emotional throughline that will engage the reader. In ‘Finding a Way’ and ‘A Fall From Grace’ it was Jack and Larkin gradually getting together, so it was a kind of falling in love throughline. There’s also one in ‘Where There’s a Will’, but for the secondary characters, and not so much of one in ‘Follow the Van’, apart from Jack possibly being misled. However, when we get to book five, ‘A Case of Make Believe’, Jack is settled in his love life, and Will is happy, but there was no emotional tug. Yet, there should be and there is… there was… I just hadn’t realised what it was. So now, I am going back over draft one which is 80% completed, to complete draft two up to 80%, and while I am doing it, I am adding in and highlighting the emotional throughline that was there but not there.

I know what I mean!

Hopefully, I will have the second draft/first draft completed by the end of the month, and then I will set about the other things which need to happen; cover, editing, proofing etc. So, we should be looking at September for release?

Meanwhile, I am thrilled to say ‘Bobby’ is doing very well and my godfather’s story is being widely read – so he will be happy about that. I am also taking part in another BookFunnel/Book Mojo promo, so any clicks you can give the banner below would be greatly appreciated. (No cost to you, but each click brings me a better reputation.) these promos are working really well for me, so it would be great if you could support them with a click.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-aug/6yfa21rq1b

I should be here on Saturday. I missed last Saturday for various reasons (having a cold and no motivation, mainly), but I’m back up and running now, and I will think of something to tell you by then. Happy reading!

What’s Going On?

Posted on 29/06/2024 by Jack Marsh

Today’s blog post is a general chat about what’s going on, what’s coming up, and what’s new. I have had family staying for the last couple of weeks, so I’ve not been able to get much done, but I have been working in the background and now I have two projects on the go. Here are a few notes.

Where There’s a Will (The Delamere Files book four)

After being held up in a most unusual queue at Amazon for six days, Will has launched himself into the world. This is the first book where Will Merrit is the central character, rather than his older and more cumbersome brother, Jack. Both brothers are called to an isolated castle to attend the reading of a will, and the reason why becomes clear only when the will is read.

Although it has only been on sale for a couple of days, Where There’s a Will has already overtaken Deviant Desire and Finding a Way for the number of sales this month. Interestingly, it has sold more paperbacks than Kindle versions, which is nice to see because it means the book will be on display on several bookshelves around the world.

What’s the Next Delamere File?

I have been searching for the next title and story, and I now have some possibles. I am thinking of setting the next one in the world of magic, magicians, Mr Maskelyne and Cooke’s entertainment at the Egyptian Rooms, or something similar. I have a draft title, ‘A Case of Make Believe’ but that’s tentative. I do, though, have a challenge set by a friend who said he would buy five copies if I included a character by a certain name – and that’s something I intend to do, no matter what the story ends up being. ‘Cutthroat Fanny’, or ‘Fanny Razor’, is the madam at a Clerkenwell molly house (boy brothel), and she’s an arch criminal, of course. She may well be the sister of Violet Flay from the earlier books.

I am about to start on this story, but first…

Bobby – A Life Worth Living

I have been working on this for several years off and on – mainly off, actually, for one reason or another. Now, though, I am at the stage where Andjela is thinking up a cover, and I am on my final proofing before sending the text off to the boys to be formatted. Expect yet another Jackson Marsh in a few weeks’ time.

This though, is not a novel, but the true story of my godfather.

Born in Gambole Road, Tooting in 1919, Uncle Bob was my godfather. Lovely, dear, but why write his biography? Mainly, because many years ago, he asked me to. He had a story he wanted the world to hear. Here’s the opening:

Robert Charles Thompson was many things in his life, among them he was a son, a schoolboy, a teenage sex worker, a gunner in the Royal Navy, a mushroom farmer, a landlord, and head housekeeper at a prestigious London hotel. He was also my godfather and very, very gay.

Uncle Bob’s story begins in Tooting, London, in 1919 and ends in Peacehaven, East Sussex, in 2007. He wanted the book to be called, ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living,’ because he always said that was what he had had. It might easily have been called ‘The gay story of 20th century Britain’, as you will see.

The hotel in question is the Hyde Park Hotel, London, where he met many famous people including David Bowie, Winston Churchill and the Dali Lama.

I’m hoping Bobby will be out before the end of the month.

Promotions

As you may know, I have been involved a few promotions this year, and they are proving very useful for gathering new readers. Also, I hope, they have been useful to other authors too, because where I publicise my books as being in them, so everyone else involved does the same, and we do a joint group promo to help each other out. You can find out more about these via my newsletter (there will be one early next week), here, and on my Facebook page and private group. Coming up in July, we have a promo with lots of historical fiction, two others that revolve around crime stories past and present, and one that’s all about pure MM romance (The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge will be in that one.)

Watch these spaces for more details.

And Finally

This weekend will be taken up by finishing ‘Bobby’ and plotting ‘A Case of Make Believe’ or whatever it will be called. On Monday, work will begin on the next Delamere, and I have an idea that we may see a couple of Larkspur Academy men make guest appearances…

Where There’s a Wait

Posted on 22/06/2024 by Jack Marsh

Today, I was hoping to tell you that ‘Where There’s a Will’ was available on Kindle, but for some reason, it’s taking a long time to show up. Its official status is ‘Publishing’, which means it’s passed all the stages and is simply waiting to go live. This usually happens within three hours, but so far, it’s taken two days. They say in the small print that it can take up to ten days, which seems incredibly slow for a computerised, automated process.

Meanwhile, the print version is available for those who, like me, prefer to buy paperbacks, and here’s the link:

Where there’s a Will

Will and Jack Merrit are set a simple task: Journey to an island in the Bristol Channel to attend the reading of a will. Why? No-one knows.

Charles Marisco can guess what’s in his father’s will. Everything will go to his twin brother, Simon, because he was born first. However, Charles has other things on his mind, namely, his best friend, Barrett Newton, a man he would like to know more intimately.

A storm-lashed castle, a remote island, and a cast of eccentric characters set the stage for Will and Jack Merrit’s most baffling case yet—one that grows deadlier as the body count rises.

This is the fourth book in the Delamere Files series.

The books should be read in order.

I have family visiting right now, so I shan’t be starting on the next story until next weekend, when I will get straight back to it. I have several ideas, some situations I’d like to explore, some historical occasions from 1893 I’d like to look at further, and I have several ideas. So, I need to decide which one I am going to run with and focus on that. While I’m doing that, I will also be finishing ‘Bobby – a Life Worth Living’, the story of my late godfather which is also a kind of walk through 20th century gay Britain, or one gay man’s life from 1919 to 2007, and I can tell you it is a remarkable true story. I did most of the work on this book several years ago and then I set it aside as I wasn’t happy with my style. Now, after I’ve matured a little as a writer, I am able to do the story justice. I’ve added some deeper research I was unable to do 20 years ago, and have knocked the MS into a reasonable shape. As soon as I can afford it, I will commission Andjela to do me a cover, get the OWI guys to do the layout, and it’ll be ready to go. Or will be ready to sit in the Amazon ‘publishing’ queue for a few days…

For now, though, it’s back to my enforced holiday; a trip out for lunch, my piano student this afternoon, and a friend’s terrace for the evening. It’s 36° outside most of the time, so we’re going slowly and drinking loads of water. Here are some views to see you through the weekend.

Where There’s a Will

Posted on 03/04/2024 by Jack Marsh

Hi everyone, and welcome to my Wednesday roundup of news. Today, I am very pleased to tell you I have made a good start on the next Delamere File mystery, and it’s titled, ‘Where There’s a Will.’

If you have been following the series, you will know that my two main characters are Jack and Will Merrit. Jack has featured as the lead of the first three books as he goes from being a hard-working London cabman to being a hard-working private investigator. He’s been trying to come to terms with his change in position, his sexuality, and his feelings towards the writer, Larkin Chase.

Book three will see his brother Will as the main character, although Jack is involved. Will has his own issues, though not around sexuality. He has a ‘condition of preciseness’ as he calls it, a kind of OCD, but not quite. It’s a fine line between madness and genius and Will is approaching that line, although he’s not mad.

Anyway… Where There’s a Will obviously relates to Will Merrit, but it also relates to the reading of a Will on a remote island in the Bristol Channel. The island is modelled on Lundy, though in the story it is Templar Island, and the brothers are charged to go there to be present at the reading of a will.

Why?

You will find out, but first I must find out, lol. I have written my synopsis on a small piece of paper, and here it is, the bottom one. Don’t look too closely as there’s an outside chance you might be able to read my scrawl and I don’t want to give you any spoilers.

(The top piece is the railway timetable from London to Bideford in October 1892)

So, I am already at chapter five, which is around 14,000 words into the story and so far, we have a quest, an unrequited love story theme, and a few laughs. We will soon be at the mystery stage before the threat and peril kick in.

In the meantime, I am pleased to say Follow the Van has been going well, and I have had a few private messages telling me how much readers have enjoyed it. Remember, if you can, reviews on Amazon really help because the more there are, the more coverage the books get.

I’ll be back on Saturday with news of another promo and some other information that might be of interest. Until then, have a good week!

Appledore, Devon, where chapter five is set. The yellow line is where the now defunct railway used to run.

News and Updates

Posted on 27/03/2024 by Jack Marsh

Usually on a Wednesday, I give you an update about my current work in progress, and I will, but today, there is a little more news than that…

Follow the Van has just been released and the paperback version should be available in a few days. This is book three of the Delamere Files series which follows on from the Larkspur Academy Mysteries, though takes us away from Larkspur while keeping us in the Clearwater world. The first three books focus on Jack Merrit, his first love and his new job as an investigator. With him is his younger brother, Will, and book four takes Will’s point of view of the world. So…

Where There’s a Will has begun, and I am already on chapter three. I must admit, I’m not sure where the story is going, as I only have a rough idea, but I know it’s going to be fun and intriguing, though like the others in this series, not particularly steamy. Meanwhile…

The Students of Barrenmoor Ridge is in a special promo that is celebrating the best friends to lovers trope. In my contribution, two 18-year-old besties go camping, one is determined to come out to his best mate, but then, they are attacked, and in trouble, and the two characters from The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge have to come to their rescue, both physical and emotional. Yorkshire Dales, mountain rescue, nerdy teens, crush, best mates, and ‘fade to black’ sex, so suitable for anyone who’s around 16 and upwards.

Click to see all the books in the Best Friends to Lovers Promo.

Meanwhile…

The special Historical Fiction available in the Kindle Unlimited promo is still running, and you can find the books listed here until the end of the month.

And soon…
Another promo will hit the screens and you’ll get another newsletter reminding you (if you are signed up for my newsletter). This one is called ‘Spend Easter with Queer Romance,’ and there are plenty of new titles available. Or, there will be soon as the promo doesn’t officially start until March 29th. However, Cli c k Here and you will be able to see the covers, and after the 29th, you’ll be able to click them and find out more info. I have all three series starters in this promo.

That’s the news for now, and as you can see, there’s a lot going on!

Mardi Gras LGBTQI+ Romance Promo

Posted on 14/02/2024 by Jack Marsh

Yup, I have another promo to tell you about, and this one is the Mardi Gras LGBTQI+ Romance Promo.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/lgbtromancemdp/mxgjqlwf49

There are 75 titles in this promo, with all books being available on Amazon, Kindle, and some on other platforms too. Each has an info page that you find by clicking the book cover, and those pages come with a summary or blurb.

I have two series starters in there, Deviant Desire, and Guardians of the Poor. I expect most of you have read them already because you are lovely, loyal readers, but there must be plenty of titles and new authors in the list waiting for you to discover. Looking at those covers, you can see there is an eclectic mix of niches, including friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, contemporary, fantasy, MM romance, FF romance, and, of course, historical fiction. Among the authors, you will find Addison Albright, Anne Barwell, and Ann Lister.

There is even one that features a model I used on one of my covers. T.L. Travis has ‘A Little Christmas, Orion’s Secret’ in the promo, and the guy on the cover is the same one who appears on my Dracula-related mystery, ‘The Stoker Connection.’ We share the same taste in tasty main characters!

Check out the list, click a few covers to explore further, and recommend your favourite authors on my Facebook Page.

There’s another massive promo coming next month, and I’ll be sending out a newsletter about that at the start of March.

Follow The Van

As Wednesdays are my work-in-progress update day, here’s a quick update on Follow the Van (The Delamere Files book three).

This novel has probably given me more hassle than any other I have written. Why? I am not sure. One reason is because of interruptions, but another is having too many ideas. There are so many threads, I am worried they have led to a lot of repetition. That will all be fixed, and the repetition is me reminding myself of what happened when I last picked up the pen two weeks ago, or even yesterday.

Fear not! It will be fine in the end, and the end is what is in sight. I have started on the climax/finale, though I have left the build-up to it until I have finished the climax, so I know how to start it… You see? It’s one of those that needs a good, long re-look once I’ve stumbled to the end. I’ll keep at it and am aiming to finish the first draft (in whatever form) by this time next week.

Jackson Marsh Author

Gay Historial Mystery

Category Archives: The Delamere Files