Here’s Where I’m At

I am currently at 82,000 Holywell Street… Well, 82k words written for ‘Holywell Street’, the Delamere book number eight. Funnily enough, the plot revolves around number eight Holywell Street, mainly so I can say here’s book number eight Holywell Street as though it’s an address as well as part of the sequence. Also, according to the 1891 census, that address was vacant, as were others around it, so I can be more creative with its description. I suspect the buildings were left empty for a good reason, like they were falling down, because the street was demolished in 1901. It was quite picturesque by all accounts and some buildings there were from pre-1700 or very early 1700s.

Anyway, I am having fun and working through the climax, which isn’t really a climax in the usual sense. There’s no death-defying leaps of faith, zip lines onto music hall stages, or people falling off burning towers. What there is, though, is a bit of fun (I hope) as part of the ‘towards the end’ section is seen from Ronny’s point of view, and we know what a little oik he can be. As that’s going on, I am waiting for the first draft of a new reel to come back from the guy who is working one up for me, and I am about to send off for a new pencil sketch to go in the front of the next book. I am also considering the cover, though the final draft won’t be ready for some weeks yet. Meanwhile, I believe Holywell Street will be my 48th book, including my ‘living on a Greek island’ books and those written under my real name. I know it sounds like a lot, but it’s what I do! This is one of my shelves and contains all the Jackson Marsh titles, except for ‘Bobby’ which is on the shelf above.

Holywell Street Update

Here’s an update on how Holywell Street is coming along.

I am up to around 65,000 words of the first draft, and it’s going along quite well, thank you. I was a little worried that I was about to peak too early, but I have sorted that. It’s a case of me wanting to write the exciting part asap, but not wanting to write it out of sequence. When that happens, I tend to rush the middle, so I have to either a) force myself to slow down, or b) write the exciting part out of sequence, which is what I wanted to avoid. By ‘exciting’ I mean the revelation, the part where I can let go of all the surprises I have kept in my head, and all those traps I have laid through the early part of the story, which I can now spring.

(Wych Street ran behind Holywell Street, and in yesterday’s writing, Jack and Ronny were parked here waiting for someone…)

Holywell Street doesn’t have so many surprises, and it’s not going to have an action ending as we have in A Case of Make Believe and Acts of Faith; it’s going to have more of the kind of ending we had in Gave Developments. What it does have, though, is a string of seemingly unrelated and random ‘clues’ for Jack and co. to solve, some information based on fact about a certain Victorian pornographer, a nod to the story of Jack Saul, and plenty of factual details about a few other matters you will read about before too long. Hopefully, you will find the book on the shelves and ready for reading before the end of June.

Meanwhile, can I tempt you to a click and a browse of some mysteries and thrillers that are all available on Kindle Unlimited? Have a browse here, and I’ll be back on Saturday with more news.

WIP: Holywell Street Halfway

This week’s work in progress update is to let you know that I have just reached the halfway point in the first draft of Holywell Street, the eighth Delamere file. What can I tell you? It’s a complicated trail of seemingly unrelated clues left by a man who wanted a favour done for a specific group of people, and Jack Merrit is compelled to carry out the dead man’s last wish. While he and Baxter start on the trail, Will and Ned have some research to do, and the new detective is settling into life at Delamere.

There’s a little more of Ronny and Simeon in this one, so a little vulgar comedy from time to time, there are facts mixed with fiction as usual, and, so far, we have been taken to places such as the Old Bailey, Fulham, and, of course, Holywell Street.

What I can also share with you today is a shot of my research. This is a screenshot of a record from the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey from September 1876, and forms part of one of my clues. These records are online and available for anyone to trawl, and they make for fascinating reading. You can find them for free at Old Bailey Online.

Now, I must return to 1893 and chapter 14, where I will start at 48,500 words. I last left the team in the new boardroom, with someone having a revelation, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. By the way, there will be another newsletter soon, and a new set of promos to view and push, so keep an eye out for all that on Saturday.

Chapter Seven

In today’s work in progress blog, I am pleased to tell you that I am now working on chapter seven of ‘Holywell Street’, and the story is progressing well. Hopefully, those aren’t famous last words and the story will continue to flow. It should do because I know where I am going (to a certain point) and by the time I get there, I will have discovered where I am to go after that, and so on until the end. I am already 25,000 words through it and that’s only in about a week, because I have little other work to contend with right now. That, in turn, means I’m pretty poor, but I continue to promote indie authors through my promotions (there’s another on to check out at the bottom of the post), and my loyal fans continue to read, while I pick up a few new readers along the way.

So far in ‘Holywell Street’ we have met two unscrupulous characters, and then we have started the story in Delamere House, where there have been some changes, mainly in the layout of rooms and in the staff. There are now five detectives, two of whom are in charge of research and records, and the other three are more out-and-about, Jack and Baxter included, and the boys still haven’t grown up. Soon, I aim to put on the blog a description of how the house is now organised. I wrote this for myself rather than to go into a book, but I will share it with you when I’m sure that’s how things are going to be.

A character in the new book and the cause of the mystery…

While I get back to creating book eight of the series, I’ll leave you with this promo. It’s a new one and only started on 9th April, so it has a while to run. Have a click, have a browse, and you never know, you may find another new and exciting author to follow.

Tales to Devour. Begin Reading This Hour!

April 9th through to May 10th.Genres: General Fiction / Literary Fiction, Mystery & Suspense / Mystery, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy / Science Fiction

https://books.bookfunnel.com/blindsidemysteries/2uwlpo9v4n

Acts of Faith Full Cover

Hi all,

Today, I’m sharing with you the mockup of the full cover of Acts of Faith. I am currently doing my last read through and will book the interior layout process tomorrow. I am still aiming to have the book go live around 26th March. It would be slightly sooner, but I have to be away all day today, so things have got knocked back – but keep an eye out, and there will be more news at the weekend.

As you can see from the cover, Baxter ends up in the Thames not far from where Tower Bridge is still under construction, and if you want to know where the climax of the book takes place more precisely, get a map and have a look for the River Neckinger. This was, apparently, the area in which Dickens set Oliver Twist, and Fagin’s lair in particular. Not that that has anything to do with my story or Baxter being in the river, it’s just something to mention.

So, not long to go now. Thank you, as always, for your continuing support.

Back to Acts of Faith

Hello everyone, I am back from my travels and I have started back to work on ‘Acts of Faith’, the Delamere Files book seven.

We had a great time away, despite Neil going down with the flu and me having a dodgy allergic reaction to something I ate in London. We caught up with my old cabaret partner, had lunch in Garrick Street, went to see ‘The Book of Mormon,’ surprised my nephew on his 30th birthday, Neil’s sister too, and my brother, I called in on my mother and stepfamily, and we stayed overnight in a pod in Gatwick airport. Now, we’re back, and both have colds, but we’re battling on.

I have some photos of Clearwater-related places in London that I took while I was there, and I will share them with you in time.

Today though, as my Wednesday work-in-progress blog, I wanted to run by you the first draft of the blurb for the next book. This, like the 1st draft, is still a work in progress, but this should be enough to give you the gist of the story and whet your appetite to know more. As for the writing, I am at 75% and am coming up to the smoking gun realisation, crisis and climax. It’s all in my head. It’s just a case of getting it down. So, here’s the blurb – and I’ll be back on Saturday.


Acts of Faith

The Delamere Files Book Seven

Jackson Marsh

When the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police assigns a personal case, failure is not an option. However, what starts out as a simple mystery soon turns into something far more complicated. An opera singer dead in her bath, a Smithfield butcher skinned alive, an unknown man found locked inside a steam locomotive… What is the connection?

With Benny Baxter’s help, the Clearwater detectives begin investigating the gruesome and seemingly unrelated murders, fully aware that failure could spell disaster for the agency.

Bringing in a handsome young constable seems to do little to aid the investigation, but Baxter recognizes in PC Inning a man trapped in a loveless marriage, with desires that lie elsewhere. As Baxter strives to prove his worth both in the case and in winning Inning’s affection, his search for a better life and love takes a chilling turn. He makes a horrifying discovery: the killer may be far closer than he ever imagined.


Benjamin Baxter, 1893

The Book with no Title (as yet)

As usual, I am still unsure about the title of the next Delamere story which is now up to 27,000 words – so just over a quarter of the way through, if it is to be a standard length. The characters are all in place, and the mystery has been set, though it is soon to lead to another, and then another until someone realises what’s going on and that someone may well be me.

I have been looking through old newspapers trying to discover if there were still any paddle steamers working on the Thames in 1893, but I haven’t had any luck so far. (Anyone? Any idea?) I discovered there were still paddle steamers for sale, but I think these were probably for scrap or refurbishing. I’ve not delved into this in much detail as yet, but here’s a piece I pulled from a London newspaper of March 1893:

Click to enlarge

The things aren’t integral to the story, but I wanted to use one for… some reason, so I went off on the distraction tour and spent a happy hour reading all kinds of advertisements and snippets. Also, in the process of writing a character’s backstory the other day, I mentioned the dance card, and went off to see if I could find an image of one to share.

Here’s a potted history of the dance card from the Newberry Library:

Popularized in Vienna in the nineteenth century, dance cards continued to be used throughout the early twentieth century. Names could be filled in just after a dance to keep as a memento, or early in the evening to ensure one had a partner planned for each dance, thus eliminating the risk of being labelled a wallflower.

Which of the characters used a dance card, you may wonder, and you will, one day, find out. I have a piece of work to do for someone else today, and then, I shall be continuing with chapter 10. Meanwhile, if you are looking for some new romance reads to start the year, I have several promos to share with you. Let’s start with this one, LGBTQIA+ Romance = the January Bookfair. Simply click the banner to check out over 45 MM romance titles.

Welcome to 2025

Hello everyone. I hope you had a pleasant New Year and, like me, you’re looking forward to a year full of writing, reading, and losing oneself in fictional adventures.

My year has started well. I am working on the next Delamere mystery (book seven, as yet untitled), and for those who have asked to know more about Benny Baxter, you’ll be pleased to hear he features in this next story. He may even end up being the hero… We shall see. Here’s the drawing Dalston Blaze did of Baxter back in 1893.

Benjamin Baxter

The year also started well because of an email I received. It’s from a friend who has a friend I vaguely knew years ago, and that friend has read all the Clearwater books, and is two books into the Larkspur series, and, apparently, I am now his favourite author. What this friend has also done is spread the word around his older, wealthier mates, who are now also enjoying the series. The email goes on to say:

All his friends who have read the books agree that they ought to be picked up as a TV series and would love that to happen. I told him that you were already in the early stages of issuing the audio books and he thinks various others of his friends would welcome that.

Well, slow down a moment… The audiobook version of Deviant Desire is still in discussion because I am unable to release such a thing through Amazon as I would like, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen there. As for a TV series… I did have an approach from Bad Hat Harry Productions, but that may have been either fishing or phishing, as I’ve not heard anything more. There was another company interested in me giving them the rights to make a screenplay, but when I said, ‘Giving?’ and told them to name a figure, they slunk away. However, if any of my readers do know someone in TV or film, a production company or an artist with clout, and wants to recommend the books… Feel free! That’s how it works. I could spend months putting together a ‘bible’ for the world, characters, stories and so on, and then not be able to hawk a proposal around because I don’t live in London or LA, so I have to rely on chance or word of mouth, or email – which is where you might come in. You know, if you’re bored one day, send an email off to Netflix of someone…

Anyway, I can’t sit around here dreaming, I have a book to write, and I am going to get on with that right now, and will be back on Saturday with another update from the world of Jackson Marsh. Until then, here is an inspirational view to start the year.

Grave Developments

The work in progress is progressing, albeit in fits and starts. Usually, I have a decent run at a first draft and start at the beginning and plough through in about six weeks. This time, the draft seems to have taken forever, and I am still only 75% of the way through. There are a few reasons for this, but mainly, it has been to do with my ‘tennis elbow’ (repetitive strain injury) which has meant I have had to spend less time writing. However, the story is coming together, and I am about to enter the ‘build to the crisis and climax’ stage of proceedings ahead of the ‘smoking gun’ moment and then, the denouement.

The neat thing about this story, though, is even I still don’t know the who or why of the matter. Well, I kind of do, but things have been changing as I’ve gone along, and that’s mainly thanks to Jack Merrit going off on his own and doing his own thing. I know what’s to happen next, though. Jack and his assistant are about to interview the son of a woman who recently died. Then, Jack needs to call on Larkin Chase to translate a document for him, and that document is going to be somewhat erotic, so much so that Jack, who has been getting more and more horny these past few chapters, will give in to his lust and… A happy ending for both. It’s been a while since we’ve had any decent nookie in one of my stories, but it’s not always appropriate to put it in, as it were, and there’s no point bunging in sex for the sake of it. Anyway… What’s this?

It’s part of an 1846 tithe map of part of Stoke Newington where the story is set. Image from the Hackney History Archive Collection

The title has finally come to me as ‘Grave Developments’, and I should soon be thinking about a cover and a blurb. I will keep you informed.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for something to read, then I can suggest a quick browse of the books here:

Click the banner.

These are all LGBT etc., romances. There are a few Christmas romances in there (eek! Maybe too soon?), an animal-rescue-centred one, and a couple with classic ‘topless hunks’ on the covers. Definitely something to keep you occupied while you wait for Grave Developments to develop.

A Question of a Title

Sorry I missed the blog last Saturday, I am still trying to rest my arm as much as possible, though I am still writing. It’s a little frustrating, only putting in half a chapter a day or around 2,500 words when I am used to writing 4,000 or so, but it has to be done. Anyway, I am not complaining!

Newsletter & Promos

If you want to check out loads of new titles and authors across various genres, then sign up to my newsletter. I have got into the habit of joining three or four free promos per month, and sharing the details with newsletter followers, pointing them towards a whole series of mystery, thriller, MM Romance, and LGBT stories, novels and collections. These are all free to browse, and I’ve picked up some great new reading from them. Each month, I send out a newsletter to announce that month’s promos, so if you want to be in on it, simply sign using the two boxes over there on the top right. >>

Here, for example, is a promo that covers: General Fiction / Contemporary Women, General Fiction / Historical Fiction, and Non-Fiction / Biography & Memoir.

Click the banner

A Question of a Title

While that is happening in the background, I am still working on Delamere Six. I am at around 60,000 words, and the story is coming together nicely. It’s one of these where I know the climax and outcome, and am working towards it along planned lines, when one of the characters throws me a bombshell twist and I have to get myself out of his predicament. At least, that’s how it feels. This book’s subject started off as being about photography, and although that is involved, it’s now more about graverobbing and gay cruising grounds of the late 19th century.

What’s missing still is the title, and I have a few to consider. As it’s me, I like a play on words and thus, am thinking go ‘Grave Developments’, as that brings in both photography and the other theme of the novel. Actually, having spoken to you aloud about that possibility, I think I will stick with it! I also had in mind, ‘A Grave Affair’, but that sounded like ‘The Eyre Affair’ by Jasper Fforde (which I couldn’t get through, sorry), and I also thought of ‘A Very Grave Shock’, which is a line from the story, but which sounds too twee.

So, Grave Developments it is – it kind of fits with the early Clearwater in that it’s two words summing up the novel’s theme; ‘Deviant Desire’, ‘Fallen Splendour’, etc.

And the images today are relevant in that they are parts of what I have been researching recently. The Invalid Asylum for Respectable Women in Stoke Newington, and more photographic background.

A service that might put Dalston Blaze out of work.