Monthly Archives: October 2025

A Thriller of a Blurb?

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Hello!

I have the blurb for ‘A Depraved Indifference’, the Delamere Files, Book Ten. The MS is with the proofreader, who has already attended to the blurb and author’s notes for me, and I am also talking to Scott about a map for the front of this one – so, as they say, it’s all go!

I also have another great collection of thrillers and mysteries to share with you, and I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, here’s the blurb:

A Depraved Indifference
The Delamere Files Book Ten

Jack Merrit longs for a case more challenging than burglaries and missing jewels, and when someone finds a skeleton inside a pipe organ, his wish comes true. At first, the strange discovery in the church of St Clement Danes seems like a prank, but when Jack’s next call is to a crime within earshot of the bells of St Martin’s, an uneasy pattern emerges.

Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement’s
You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St Martin’s

And then, the murders start.

If the first is chance, a second becomes a coincidence, but a third? That’s a pattern, and these are no ordinary murders. They occur in churches named in the rhyme, and they involve diabolical contraptions that kill seemingly random victims. Asked by both London police forces to investigate without being told why, Jack and his men embark on an investigation knowing where the killer will strike next, but not when.

When the killer invites Jack to join his game, a contest of intellect begins, and knowing failure will lead to disgrace, he pits himself against his most cunning adversary so far.

Thriller, Mystery & Suspense – Huge promo

You can click on either or both of these links; they will take you to the same place, but either James or Jackson will get the kudos (and score) generated by your click.

The 51 titles in this promo take us mainly into the world of straight adventure, mystery and thrillers. I had a look, and I think my ‘Finding a Way’ is the only gay and historical offering, but you never know, it might pick up some new readers.

The same goes for my ‘The Saddling’ which is in here. (Note: I must get Andjela to design me a new cover.)

The Saddling              James Collins

Finding a Way             Jackson Marsh

Very Nearly There

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WIP

I am very nearly at the end of editing ‘A Depraved Indifference,’ and will be sending it to be proofread and checked in a day or so. Meanwhile, I am waiting to hear from Adnjela about the cover ideas, and Neil is beta-reading it for me. His comments so far include, ‘This would make a great horror film.’ I know what he means, but it isn’t a horror story, though some of what takes place is horrific, as you will see. I have one major change to incorporate today, and about 30 pages to read through, but as I have very little else on my plate today, I should be able to round this one off and start thinking about the next one tomorrow.

It’s been an interesting ride. If I turn to my ‘A Depraved Indifference’ folder, I can see some of the research materials I have collected while writing the book. These include a cover of the Police Illustrated News from 1888, various articles from London newspapers of 1893, a map or two of the city with churches marked on it, a map of the Old Nichol rookery in Shoreditch, plans of various London churches, and a photograph of a now destroyed pipe organ.

I’ve shown you this before. It is where the investigation begins with the finding of something very unusual…

I hope to have a cover idea for you soon, and I am aiming to have the book out around the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

PROMO
If you like a spicy MM read, then this promo is for you.

Spicy MM Books in Kindle Unlimited

All these titles fall under the ‘spicy’ heading, which means there’s nookie in them, and that’s fine. That’s what this promo of 55 books is focusing on. My Mentor of Wildhill Farm is in there, my spiciest novel outside of writing for the adult industry, and there are plenty of different niches, all with spicy MM romance involved.

These are all available on Kindle Unlimited too.

Click to browse for free

WIP: A Depraved Indifference

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I’m now onto draft two/three of this one, and Neil is about to start beta reading for me. I know I have some tidying up to do, and I must go through the entire thing again, all 100K words of it, before sending it to my lovely proofreader. Once that’s on its way, I will turn my attention to what comes next… Whatever that may be.

A Depraved Indifference has an open ending, as you will see, so it is definitely not the last Delamere File, but before I get to whatever comes next for Jack and Co., I was thinking about another small collection of short stories. My thinking cap is on!

Meanwhile, here’s a promo you can support:

Queer Romance Is Resistance

This promo is being hosted by the lovely Elle Keaton, who has appeared on my blog in the past. There are 45 titles to explore here, and covers suggesting firemen in love, daddies, dragons, mystical places, and good old MM romance.

First Draft Done

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This will be just a very quick update to let you know the first draft of ‘A Depraved Indifference’ is now complete. Phew! That was a fun one to work through. You will be in for an adventure in mystery. There’s no angst or love story, and not much personal difficulty in this story, not with my main characters. However, the villain is the one who carries the emotional through line, and that’s about the first time I’ve written that way, so that was interesting.

I am now about to start on my reading back. I should point out that when I say the first draft is finished, I mean I have reached the end of telling myself the story. As I have been doing that, I have also been going back and rereading, making changes, improving, and second-drafting chapters, so really, I am about to embark on my third draft, which is mainly a case of fiddling with, improving, checking, and saying, ‘What on earth did I mean by that?’

Meanwhile, I will send Andjela some ideas for a cover and think about an illustration. Does it need one? I can’t put in an image of the villain because I don’t know what he looks like, and anyone else would seem out of place. We’ll see.

The monthly newsletter should be out this morning with a freebie kind of attached (you find the freebie via a link), and I’ll tell you more about the promos I am in later in the month.

Says the Great Bell of Bow

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Here’s a quick update on Delamere ten, ‘A Depraved Indifference.’

When I stopped work yesterday, I was at 92,000 words and halfway through a climax, if you see what I mean. I had two of my heroes just about face to face with the villain (whoever he is), and they had just discovered what is about to happen, with time running out, and now have an impossibly situation to resolve without loss of life. They are also in the belfry of St Mary le Bow church, Cheapside, London, in the middle of the night. Why has all this come about? Because the villain has a depraved indifference to human life caused by other people’s indifference to him. It will all be explained in the story.

Meanwhile, here is a plan of the church, which is the only image to have joined my research folder in the last few days.

In my folder so far, I have a rare photo of the inside of St Clement Danes church, a photo of Morley’s hotel from the late 1890s (Trafalgar Square), some maps and other church floorplans. All this is based around ‘Oranges and Lemons,’ but the nursery rhyme has been twisted by my villain, as you will see, hopefully before this month is out.

New Month, New Promos

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter if you want to get news on new promos. I have six this month, and will be sending out information about them on Saturday, when the newsletter comes out. Tell you what, I’ll give you a preview of the first one now.

MM Romance & Fiction

There are 22 MM titles here, some, like mine, you may already know, but there are others I’ve not seen advertised before. Plus, there are some new authors to explore and a variety of niches within MM romance.