Happy Christmas!

Hello! I am making this my last blog of the year so that I can take a whole two weeks off. Obviously, I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who reads these pages, and my printed or otherwise pages, and to everyone who connects via my FB page. Mostly, here’s a big thank you to everyone who leaves positive reviews and who shares my links and titles. Thanks to you, I’ve had the best year ever, and I am very happy about that.

Now, let’s start the random photos of the year…

Things I’ve done this year, 01: had some new banners made.

I just went to my shelves and checked what I’d published this year. Turns out, it’s been a five-book year; Follow the Van, Where There’s a Will, A Case of Make Believe, Grave Developments, and Bobby – a Life Worth Living. Mind you, I’d been working on Bobby off and on for about twenty years, so… Still, that brings the total of titles up to 45, though I don’t write because I want to reach a magic number of books or anything.

Last winter. View from home.

I was just wondering what I could mention as other things I’ve done this year… If we can count New Year’s Eve last year (because it went on into the first day of this year), then 2024, for me, brought: Watching the Greek National opera perform Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ (in Greek), a few days in Athens, missing the Nutcracker because of being ill, spending time with my godson building model cars and things from kits, hanging out a lot with visitors, a couple of trips to Rhodes for bits and pieces, mainly for health checkups because it’s so easy and cheap to see a specialist you may as well, having my mum and nephew come to visit for two weeks, our niece for a few days, doing some walking but not enough, trying to sort out my RSI, a lot of resting away from typing (boo), and not very much else of note, really. As you’ll see, this last post of 2024 carries several photos taken throughout the year, mostly of scenery when I have been out and about on the island.

Havings said that, this was in Rhodes last March.

What about next year? Plans?

The husband getting his arty shots in the Old Town of Rhodes.

Well, assuming all remains as well as it can be in the world, our plan is to stay where we are, only moving house if/when this one gets sold. We currently have no plans to go anywhere next year, and I intend to write at least three more books. Hopefully more, but it will depend on the shoulder, back, neck, elbow, and arm situation and how many hours I can do at the computer without again becoming a cripple. So, I’ll keep on writing. On which note, I have just had an idea for the next book, so I want to go and write that down before I forget it. I’ll leave you with more photos, and wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year, and, once again, thank you for reading!

And now, a load more photos taken through 2024…

We repainted the courtyard.
Another day over in Rhodes.
Neil had bad vertigo in March, so we went to an ENT specialist, where he had a full examination which I watched from the Doc’s office.
Found this in my folder and thought of Sir Easterby Cresswell.
Boys’ nights with the godsons, always hilarious.
Walking…
One of the near-finished model kits (Harry’s work).
The courtyard in summer.
If you’ve ever wondered what my characters mean when talking aboujt making a few bob, or half a crown…
Early morning walks.
Traffic jams.
Explored the wilder parts of the island with H.
Some more new banners.
Tourist watching.
Family walks.
Some homework for you.
Getting ready for Christmas.

See you next year!

Grave Developments as Promised

I don’t yet have the link, but if you keep an eye on the Delamere Files series page, you should see it come up within the next couple of days – all being well.

I have the final proofs back from the layout guys and have sent back a few tweaks, mainly of my own making—like calling it book five when it’s book six, that kind of thing. Hopefully, they will be able to fix those things and let me have it back today, so I can send it straight up to Amazon, and it can go live on Thursday, maybe. It can take a couple of days but usually only a couple of hours.

Graverobbing, a faceless corpse, a woman dead from shock, and a woodland cemetery where men indulge their forbidden desires. What ties these to the pastor of the Stoke Newington Congregationalist Chapel, a Greek immigrant, and an affluent family? Everything is connected, but the puzzle is complex, and it’s up to Jack Merrit to solve the macabre mystery.

While Will and Ned delve into the science behind the crime, Jack’s enquiries take him deep into the dark corners of Abney Park Cemetery where men lurk in the shadows, driven there by lust and the need for secrecy. With his loyal partner, Ben Baxter, by his side, Jack walks among temptation. The dangerous thrill of anonymous sex is a powerful lure, but if he is to remain true to his lover, solve the case, and save an innocent man’s life, he must resist the beckoning darkness.

After that, I shall be taking a break over the Christmas period, mainly to rest my arm, but also to do some publicity and research. So, if you don’t hear much from me here, don’t worry. I shall keep up to date on my Facebook page.

I’m still thinking of a title for the next book, though I have a working outline, and I know its subject matter – so it’s going to have something to do with saints and feast days, martyrdom and murder…


Don’t forget I have some promos still running this month. There will be a newsletter and a new list of promos to explore in January. For now, though, click on any of these three below to find some interesting new reads. Thanks for your click on the last one – I reached a score of 76 clicks, which, I think, isn’t bad at all! The more the merrier for all indie authors involved in these promos.

Non-Fiction Literary Sales

Mayhem & Motives

Kindle Unlimited Mysteries

Something to do with Saints

While I await the return of the Grave Developments manuscript ahead of publication (before Christmas, all being well), I have set my mind to Delamere seven which, at the moment, has something to do with saints. I ran the idea past Neil and Jenine the other evening and they both thought it was a good one. A bit ‘Dan Brown’ meets Dickens, but I can live with that comparison. All I have to do now is research the subject, or the parts of it I need, and think of what’s going to be happening in the ‘real world’ around the mystery. I don’t want to introduce any new characters apart from those associated with the case, but I need some kind of emotional throughline for my hero. Thinking cap on…

Grave Developments

In the meantime, Grave Developments should be with you very soon. Here’s the cover and the blurb.

Graverobbing, a faceless corpse, a woman dead from shock, and a woodland cemetery where men indulge their forbidden desires. What ties these to the pastor of the Stoke Newington Congregationalist Chapel, a Greek immigrant, and an affluent family? Everything is connected, but the puzzle is complex, and it’s up to Jack Merrit to solve the macabre mystery.

While Will and Ned delve into the science behind the crime, Jack’s enquiries take him deep into the dark corners of Abney Park Cemetery where men lurk in the shadows, driven there by lust and the need for secrecy. With his loyal partner, Ben Baxter, by his side, Jack walks among temptations. The dangerous thrill of anonymous sex is a powerful lure, but if he is to remain true to his lover, solve the case, and save an innocent man’s life, he must resist the beckoning darkness.

Deviant Desire

In other news, I am currently corresponding with a very talented audiobook narrator, and we are discussing turning Deviant Desire into an audiobook. If we do, and if it works, then we may well go on to record the others. I’ll let you know more about that if and when there are developments (hopefully, not of the grave kind).

Promo Support

If you want to support fellow indie authors, and me, take a look at this month’s ‘Mayhem & Motives’ list of top authors and titles available on a variety of platforms.

Cover Reveal: Grave Developments

Today, for those who are not signed up for the newsletter and didn’t see the cover in the last dispatch, I have the cover of the next book to show you. I also have the blurb, which I will be adding to the book’s Amazon pages this morning. That’s another step in the right direction for the last publication of 2024. That will make five books this year, four from the Delamere series, and Bobby, a Life Worth Living, the biography of my gay godfather (1919 to 2007). I shall start writing again in the New Year, if not before.

Below, I have put the blurb for ‘Grave Developments’ and the link to the full cover. Beneath that is a link to this week’s special promotion, and it’s for books that are all thrillers, mysteries and such and which are all available now on Kindle Unlimited. You’ll find plenty of new reading there while you wait another, say, two weeks, to see what all these things in the blub have in common and what they all lead to. Here it is…


Grave Developments:

Graverobbing, a faceless corpse, a woman dead from shock, and a woodland cemetery where men indulge their forbidden desires. What ties these to the pastor of the Stoke Newington Congregationalist Chapel, a Greek immigrant, and an affluent family? Everything is connected, but the puzzle is complex, and it’s up to Jack Merrit to solve the macabre mystery.

While Will and Ned delve into the science behind the crime, Jack’s enquiries take him deep into the dark corners of Abney Park Cemetery where men lurk in the shadows, driven there by lust and the need for secrecy. With his loyal partner, Ben Baxter, by his side, Jack walks among temptation. The dangerous thrill of anonymous sex is a powerful lure, but if he is to remain true to his lover, solve the case, and save an innocent man’s life, he must resist the beckoning darkness.

‘Grave Developments’ is the sixth book in the Delamere Mysteries series. The series starts with ‘Finding a Way’ and is best read in order.


Grave Developments Cover

(Click the title to see the full cover.)


December on Kindle Unlimited. Mystery, Thriller and Suspense Reads


Grave Developments

After what seems like months, Grave Development will be off to the proofreader this weekend. I have a little tidying up to do here and there, but yesterday, I started really thinking about the blurb, which is a sign I am nearly at the end of this particular path.

If you signed up for the newsletter, you would have received a link to the cover. I sent this out on Monday and will reveal the cover to everyone else on Saturday, here and on my Facebook page.

Also in the newsletter was news of this month’s promos. These are where you can find new authors and titles in my chosen genres, and all you need to do is click and take a look. Doesn’t cost a thing to browse. Many of the titles are on offer, or reduced in price, or simply craving a little attention.

Here’s one to highlight this month, Kindle Unlimited Mystery Novels. If you’ve already signed up for KU, you can add any of these to your reading list. If you’re not in KU, you can buy them for as little as $2.99.

While you’re doing that, I will set about fixing a couple of minor things in Grave Developments, have another bash at finalising the blurb, and check through my author’s notes. This time, they include a couple of personal anecdotes which concern a couple of the places mentioned in the story.

Don’t forget to be here on Saturday for the cover reveal.