Update on Progress

I have just received the first draft cover for Grave Developments, plus, the character sketch came in as well. I will save that, and the full cover, for later, but for now, here is the title of Delamere Six:

Doesn’t give very much away, I know!

By my reckoning, I have two more chapters to finish, and the story should be complete. My aim is to complete this draft by Monday morning at the latest. This is because, on Monday afternoon, I am going to Rhodes and won’t be back until Friday evening. Neil gets back from Scotland on Tuesday, into Rhodes, and I have some appointments, plus, I need to do some shopping. Here, on Symi, we have a few shops, but nothing like H&M or Zara.

The timeline I’ve set for publishing for Grave Developments means we are probably looking at the week before Christmas as the publication week. I don’t know if that’s a good time to publish a new book or not, but when it’s number six in a series, I don’t suppose it matters. It’s not as if anyone will leap into an ongoing series at that point. I know with many detective novels the order you read them in isn’t vital. For example, you could pick up a Miss Marple novel (Agatha Christie) and not need to know what’s happened in her past, but my series work differently.

Are there character developments in this book? Yes. If we think that when the series starts, Jack Merrit is coming to terms with being gay, and that path to self-understanding continues in books two, and starts to settle in book three. By book four, he’s secure and by book five, he and Larkin are ticking along like a married but not living together couple. In book six, he comes across that well-known issue of temptation, and we see how he deals with that. Meanwhile, we’ve also got Baxter. He started out as the hired stable hand and is now fast becoming a detective in his own right. He’s turned his back on his slutty past (or has he?), is now 20, still madly in lust with Jack, the ‘Boss,’ and still as chirpy as ever, but now, he has more to do. So, Bax is developing, Will is settling down and is more able to control his anxiety and OCD. The occupants of Delamere House have also changed slightly, as Dalston and Joe have left and Nes, Sparks, Simeon and Ronny have joined, and, in book six, even the horses are different (Shadow is still with us).

As well as all that going on in the background, we have the mystery to solve, and I should have it wrapped up by Monday, ready for a beta read, and, in the first week of December, do the final drafting.

So, that is where I am, here is a view of where I am and how the weather is.

Yesterday afternoon while on a walk (wearing shorts and a t-shirt).

I will be away for a week or so, but will be on Facebook, and will be back here in due course. There will be a December newsletter soon too, with links to more promos for new titles and authors, and I’ll leave you with this one, in case you haven’t already explored it.

Developing Grave Developments

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.

‘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

Sketches by Dazz

I was just browsing through a file I found under ‘Clearwater’ and which is titled ‘sketches.’ I hadn’t realised that over the past few years, I have commissioned 22 sketches of characters and items associated with the Clearwater, Larkspur and Delamere series (not including two maps). I was wondering who to have sketched for the inside of the next book, ‘Grave Developments.’

It strikes me that although I have a drawing of James Wright, it’s slightly different to the others because it’s an ‘action’ drawing.

James Wright

Maybe I should find that face again and have my artist do me a standard, ‘Dalston Blaze’ portrait as I’ve done with the others. Here’s one of my favourites:

Mrs Norwood

Dazz, as my artist is known has also drawn a couple of story-related items which aren’t characters. My favourite of these is this one:

The mysterious Larkspur standing stones.

These played a large part in the second Larkspur book, ‘Keepers of the Past,’ as you might remember.  

Now working on the Delamere Files, we have had images of Jack and Will Merrit, Larkin Chase and Ned Maddiver. I have to say, Jack’s drawing makes him look a bit rough, but then, when the series starts, he is working 18 to 20 hours a day driving his cab, looking after his ‘special’ brother and trying to pay off debts and avoid eviction, so there’s no wonder. Maybe, I should ask Dazz to draw him as he is by book six?

Or maybe we’ll have a sketch of James…?

Tell you what, with a growing cast of Delamere characters, let me know who you’d like to see a sketch of. We’ve not yet seen Max Pascoe, Benjamin Baxter, Simeon or Ronny Felman, or Mrs Sparks. Send me an email soon because with draft one approaching the 80,000-word mark, I will soon be commissioning a new drawing from Dazz, who – should you need an artist – you can find on Fiverr as DazzlingDezigns.


Meanwhile, today’s promo link takes you to some spooky, mysterious, action-thriller adventure set in all times and places. Have a click and enjoy the browsing.

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.

Four book promos

Four book promos, 235 new titles for you, many on KU.

Hello everyone, and welcome to November.

This month, while I continue to work on the Delamere Files Book Six, now titled, ‘Grave Developments’, I have four promos for you to investigate.

These are something of a mixed bunch, as you will see. As usual, all you have to do to support me is to click the links. Then, if you like a title or cover, click a book cover for the blurb, and if you like it, order it. It doesn’t cost anything, and you don’t need to purchase anything to give me the support that keeps me in the promos; a simple click on the promo banner below will do.

These have been keeping me afloat all year, so the more clicks the better, but I don’t want you to feel that’s all I’m about! In other news, Neil (the husband) is off to visit his children and grandchildren in Scotland later in the month, leaving me here in Greece for 12 days to get on with writing. We’re then taking three days in Rhodes with a friend to go slightly mad and have a break. The weather is stunning, but will surely change soon, and we have just secured our rented house for another year, so we are happy about that.

Okay, so, I am going back to ‘Grave Developments’, and here is the basic info on the four promos.


Giving Thanks

LGBTQIA Romance Sale. This promo has 57 titles including ‘The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge.’


LitRing’s Fog & Free Thrills

A smaller collection this one, with titles in the genres of Mystery & Suspense, Crime, and Mystery & Suspense, Mystery. 18 titles.


Non Fiction Literature Sales

I join in with this one because of the biography I wrote, ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living.’ The genres here include Christian, General Non-Fiction, Self-Help & Instructional, Non-Fiction, and Biography & Memoirs. There are 29 titles


MAYHEM & MOTIVES: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads – November Edition

This is my favourite to join in with and the one that drives most new readers to my novels. I use the organisers, Book Mojo for publicity work now and then, and receive a great service. There are 131 titles this month.


I hope you can join in with a few clicks, or as many as you want, and I hope you stay tuned for news of ‘Grave Developments.’

Take care, and have a great month.