Tag Archives: new novel

Developing Grave Developments

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This week’s work-in-progress news is that I have almost finished the first draft of ‘Grave Developments’, the next Delamere Files mystery. This one has taken a long time to put down, mainly because of a physical hurdle, the dodgy arm thing. However, on days when I have not been able to type for long, I have read back and made alterations, edits, and improvements to existing chapters. This isn’t my usual way of working, but it actually works really well. I’ve now almost completed the second or even third draft for about 80% of the book, and with only another 10% to write and 10% to improve, it’s almost there. So, later this week, I will start on the cover and the illustration, the blurb and everything else, ahead of releasing the book in, let’s say, mid-December.

Talking of the illustration, I asked on my Facebook page who readers would like to see an illustration of, and through FB and emails, the winner was Benjamin Baxter. I am now on the lookout for an image of a 19/20-year-old man with blond hair and a ponytail, wearing a late 19th-century groom’s uniform. A bit specific, so I’m actually looking for a photo of a bloke from then (or now) whose face seems right to me, and then I’ll ask Daz to put him in the right garb. I found this chap, who may be a TV star (I don’t recognise him), but he’s slightly too old – he looks more like 25 + to me, but I may be wrong.

I bet you’re going to say, that’s (insert name of famous actor), have you been living under a rock?

(I just noticed the watermark. it’s an AI image generator. I went to it and tried asking for a ’19 year old blond man’ and it told me off for trying to generate an NSFW image! The hunt continues elsewhere. Anyway, that’s where we are with the next Delamere. Not too long to go now, I hope. In the meantime, your support is always greatly appreciated, with buying and reading the books, leaving reviews, mentioning the books on social media and following the promos. I have to say, most of my income these days comes via the readership of the ‘Mayhem & Motives’ promos arranged by BookMojo, so this week, it’s their turn to have some Jackson publicity. I have earmarked a couple from this month’s list, and I’ll get to them after I have finished my current read, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, by Dickens. Take a look, and see what you fancy:

Work in Progress: Grave Developments.

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‘Grave Developments’ is the title of the next book in the Delamere Files series. The ‘file’ in this case (or, in other words, the case in this case), revolves around the finding of a body with no face. This is discovered in a shallow grave, and the person who finds it, wants the Delamere boys to investigate ahead of reporting the thing to the police. Why? Therein lies the tale.

The first draft is now at the 86,000-word mark, and I have broken off around the time of the crisis to work on the ensuing climax and finale, and then, I will go back and finish sticking the two sections together. I’m doing this because I can’t be sure how long the climax will take to play out until I’ve written it, and the body of the book before it feels like it is done. Jack can go no further in his investigation, so something needs to happen to trigger the ending, but I have so many options, I need to see what works before I decide which one is best.

The life of an author, eh?

The latest addition to the research file. A snap of the cover of The People weekly newspaper from 1893, ‘A Newspaper for all Classes.’

Talking of which, my life just got a little quieter for a while, as Neil has just this minute left to go to Scotland to see the children and grandchildren, leaving me home alone for 12 days before meeting him for a three-day break in Rhodes on his way back. So, I have 12 days to finish Grave Developments, commission a drawing and cover, and then have the book proofed and typeset before publication. That, I aim to do before Christmas, so stay tuned, and keep reading.

On the subject of which, this set of non-fictional books might be of interest, might inspire you, or might offer you something alternative while you wait. Have a click, have a browse, and I’ll be back on Saturday, hopefully, with more news of the Clearwater world.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/Novlitsales/wfsmqhv1dp

Back to Work

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I haven’t posted here for ten days! That’s because I had to take a week off due to an arm injury. Well, RSI caused by too much typing, so this will be brief so I can save my typing time for writing the next book – which still doesn’t have a title! Very unlike me, as the titles usually come during the writing of the first half of a new MS. I still only have ‘Snapshot’ as my working title, but I am now thinking about something to do with a play on the word grave. Why? That will become clear when you read the story.

While I am working on it (50,000 words so far, so halfway through), I am pleased to say that ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is doing well, as is the whole series. So is the Clearwater series, and Larkspur is coming in close behind in terms of page reads and books ordered.

I wasn’t lazy while I was sofa-bound. I read two books about Jack the Ripper, and a couple of short stories by Thomas Hardy I’d not read before.

Thomas Hardy

The JtR books were interesting. One was a collection of all theories and the various ‘solutions’, which, of course, are not solutions, because there never can be a solution, and that’s why the mystery endures. The other was a book written by ex-policemen, and this one doesn’t say ‘This is the solution’ but gives the facts as they were known to the police at the time, and that’s it. We then make up our own minds. The Thomas Hardy shorts were completely different though if you like colloquial language and West Country legends, try, ‘The Withered Arm.’

I thought that title was appropriate considering I was off work with just such a thing.

And today’s highlighted promo is this one (below). Click the banner to find a selection of women’s lit, mystery, time travel and bio books to keep you busy reading.

New Book Out, New One Started

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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.

Nearly There

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Once again, I find myself typing ‘Nearly There’ as a title, because ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is nearly ready to be released. It’s currently with the guys at Other Worlds  Ink who do the layout for me, and I hope to have it back for checking in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I’ve started the next one, and have drafted the first chapter and a half. As per usual, I have an idea for a scene and have started with that with no idea where I am going or how this one will end. Sometimes I know the whole story, other times, I know how it will end. In this case, I know it will have something to do with early photography and murder, but apart from that…

Here’s the current opening line:

Of all the things Will Merrit imagined he would do as an investigator, locking himself in a pitch-black bathroom with two other men was not one of them.

If you were wondering about the opening of ‘A Case of Maker Believe’, then here’s the opening line of that one (which follows the date, January 5th, 1893)

She stood beneath the stage petting a rat and wallowing in the gasps and groans from the audience above, while through the dust-shedding boards came the sound of her lover’s footsteps as the story neared its climax.

And, to tease you further, the final line of the story:

The box of gifts still to be distributed, he watched, smiling, and could think of nowhere else he would rather be than home.

So, all I need to do now on the Delamere Files Book Six is to find a story and write it into 100,000 words. Meanwhile, as soon as book five is published, you will be able to find it here:

Click to find the series page on Amazon

A Case of Make Believe – Cover Reveal

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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.)

Update: A Case of Make Believe

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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.

Mystery, thriller, and suspense novels
Find a new favourite author

WIP: An Odd Way Round

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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!

All Over the Place

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All Over the Place

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:

Whitechapel

Whitechapel High Street 1890

A molly house
(An old term for a gay brothel)

Rhodes (I had a day away)

(Underneath) The Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly

The London sewers

(Photo from: http://www.adeadendstreet.co.uk/2014/11/river-fleet-cso-london.html

The River Fleet
At Farringdon, pre 1846

The incomplete Tower Bridge
(The bridge was completed and opened in 1894)

Circa 1893 or early 1894

And Delamere House, which I don’t have an image of, only what’s inside my head, and hopefully, yours if you have started on the series.

Book five is progressing well, and there will be more news about that on Wednesday.

Starting Again

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This week’s Work In Progress blog update.

Bobby, a Life Worth Living, is doing well, and I have had some great feedback already. It’s wonderful to hear that his story resonates with so many people, and they have volunteered their own snippets of older relations’ stories. I am waiting for some leads so I can try and copy some of our interviews onto the PC and from there, to this website, so readers can hear Bobby talking about his past. That’s a project for the future, and I’ll let you know if I am successful.

Where There’s a Will is doing brilliantly in the charts, and has already gained some four- and five-star ratings. Good old Will!

A Case of Make Believe

Well now, this is the working title of Delamere book five, and Make Believe is written that way for a reason. The idea is to have someone be made to believe something and it’s all to do with magic acts and the Victorian passion for macabre shows, the famous decapitation tricks of the Egyptian Hall, and the weird and wonderful of Maskelyne and Cooke’s entertainments.

But not everything is going to plan, so the title may change, although the subject of this mystery won’t. I have already changed the first 14,000 words. Let me explain…

I began on the story, setting it in January 1893. On James Wright’s 30th birthday, actually, January 10th. By then, Delamere House has a housekeeper and a new detective. I started the story from Will’s point of view, and immediately had Jack and Jimmy setting off for Paris to solve an urgent case at the Paris Opera House.

This was to set things up for book six, which may well have something to do with a phantom at the Opera House (left), and thus, become the inspiration for the novel by Gaston Leroux, which he will publish in serial form, starting in 1909… but that’s another story.

Back at Delamere, we were introduced to the new housekeeper, and the new detective, and then a new case arrived at the end of chapter one, and in chapters two and three, Will said goodbye to Jack, and was left in charge of the agency and… It didn’t work. As soon as Jack and Will were separated, the thing fell flat. Add to that, too many new faces and too much domestic detail, and I knew I was off to a false start. So, I have set those first 14,000 words aside. (There’s a good idea in there for a short story, and I might well do another ‘1892’ for Christmas, maybe ‘1891’, I’ll see.)

Now, I have started again with the same villain in mind, and the same background, but I’m coming at it from a different angle. The story now opens with a piece by Larkin Chase, and he’s describing a theatrical event that, later in 1897, would become Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, specialising in naturalistic horror shows. My version, in 1893, is a forerunner, if you like, and it’s a bit of make-believe itself because I am sure the mystery shows of the time didn’t go as far as Grand Guignol, but like the Phantom of the Opera, the Delamere case might well be the inspiration for creatives of the future.

So, that’s where we are.

This week’s promo to click on and check out for more reading, is all about MM Romance novels. This is running all month, the books are all available through Amazon, and there are plenty of your favourite niches and tropes included. Have a click and enjoy your reading!