Monthly Archives: April 2026

A Night of Opposites Published

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A Night of Opposites has been published and is available via Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and it is in Kindle Unlimited. Here is a universal link to the book’s page:
A Night of Opposites

This investigation touches on some dark subject matter, as do some of the previous Delamere cases. Life for the Merrit brothers has moved on aplenty in the time they have been at Delamere, and you may have noticed a natural progression in many of the characters, and in their situation. The Delamere world is in a state of constant change, as all our lives are, and in book twelve (‘The Delamere Dilemma’) that change will lead to what I hope will be a classic ‘end of season’ finale. Before that, though, there is this mysterious case to get through.

I don’t want to give anything away, of course, but I can tell you some of the subjects talked about at the end in the author’s notes. I know many readers find these interesting, and that’s why I put them in there, not because I want to show you that I do my research.

The notes for ‘A Night of Opposites’ include:

The Thirteen Club
The London Thirteen Club was a Victorian-era dining society established in 1890 with the specific goal of debunking common superstitions through public defiance.

The ‘Dead Man’s Hole.’
As the Thames is a tidal river, the drowned, dumped and dead tended to wash up in specific places, and there were similar temporary morgue alcoves along the river, including the Dead Man’s Stairs in Wapping and the Dead Man’s Dock in Deptford.

Other Fun Facts
Including: Explanations of some of Baxter’s tall tales, cundum machines, Ah Sing of Shadwell (there was a large Chinese community around the docks of Limehouse and Shadwell in the 19th century), Walter Potter’s Museum of Curiosities in Sussex, and some explanations of medical terms for sexual ‘deviancy’ which, these days, is not deviant at all. There is also a quick chat about class and Charles Booth’s Poverty Map.

You might think that’s a lot of themes to get into one book, yet none of them is the ‘theme’ of the piece. These are just background details, and there are many more.

But that’s enough about ‘A Night of Opposites’ except to show you the full cover and remind you of the Amazon link – please feel free to share.

Promo
And for this week’s promo, we have:

Steamy MM Romance
Genres: Romance / LGBT
A selection of MM romances. There are 85 titles for you to browse. It looks like this list only allows one to two titles per author, which means there is much diversity not only in story but also in style. Looks like everything from hockey players to vampires, with a little reality thrown in along the way.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/steamymmromancebooks/if518wfdt1

News About ‘Bobby’ and a Visit

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Hi all,

While we wait for ‘A Night of Opposites’ to come back from being set out and made ready for publication, I have two pieces of news to tell you. Firstly, the island has just enjoyed a visit from a keen Jackson Marsh reader from the USA, who called in for a few days while on his travels. I often meet readers who come here regularly on holiday. These are kind folks who have supported my James Collins books, such as my travel tales and the Saddling series, the older novels I wrote when I was first starting out, and my other blog, the one about living on a Greek island. It’s always great to see them and chat, but it’s more unusual to meet someone who came here because of reading my books and blog. Here we are up on the roof with the island view behind us.

Great to meet you, Dan! Keep reading 🙂

I’m casually dressed in my old faithful sweatshirt that was once black, I think, or certainly a different colour, and which I can’t bring myself to throw away. It’s my hanging-at-home look. The weather has been good for the visit, and here on the island, the annual summer season is starting to get underway, with Greek Easter taking place this weekend.

In the meantime, I have had an approach from a major publisher (in the USA) interested in reading a second edition of ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living.’ In order for them to consider this, I need to a) expand and refresh the book, and b) have it represented by an agent. In this case, the publisher was very helpful and pointed me to an agent they recommended and he/she/they have agreed to take a look at the second edition when I have completed it, with a view to representation.

So, as well as finishing the Delamere series, I am now to start work on ‘expanding and refreshing’ Bobby. There is no deadline, but I intend to start on the project tomorrow afternoon. (I would start today, but I play the piano on a Wednesday afternoon.)

The mornings will be taken up with ‘The Delamere Dilemma’, the final instalment in the series, and a story which will bring the Clearwater, Larkspur and Delamere series full circle. At least, that’s the intention. In the meantime, ‘A Night of Opposites’ should be back with me soon (the guys have been really busy), and all being well, I will upload that as soon as I’ve checked it. Hopefully, it will appear within hours, as all bar one of the others has done (with one, I had to wait over a week for it to appear, and that’s very unusual).

When the chairman of London’s Thirteen Club wakes to find 13 dead rabbits in his bedroom, he hires Jack Merrit to track down the intruder. The questions are many: Why were the rabbits each missing a foot? How did someone break in through bolted doors, and what is the criminal’s goal?

Jack and Baxter face a table of thirteen suspects. Among them are Jack himself and his lover, Larkin Chase. The case becomes a personal minefield as the mystery thickens, and when a more chilling threat appears in the same impenetrable house, a disturbing story from the property’s past intrudes into the present.

As Will Merrit investigates suspicious events from thirty years ago, the other Delamere men move in on their only suspect. Except, this is a game of opposites, superstitions and deception, and when the truth finally comes to light, Jack faces the most difficult decision of his career.

So, a new Delamere out soon, the 12th in the series already started, work on ‘Bobby’ to start again tomorrow (Delamere in the morning and Bobby in the afternoon), visitors from abroad, agents, publishers, and all the while still trying to sell what I have already written. I tell you, being an indie author is an ongoing battle of adventures and challenges.

Also, I have several promos to send you to this month, and most are MM Romance, but a couple are also historical mystery and mystery/thriller reads. All are ideas for new reads. Let’s start the list with this one:

Crime Fiction – Sequels

Genres: Mystery & Suspense / British Detectives, Mystery & Suspense / Crime, and Mystery & Suspense / Thriller

You know when you read one book and want there to be another? This collection of 26 titles from a variety of crime authors tells you straight off that these are sequels or another book in a series, meaning there are others that come before and possibly after.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/crimesequelsapr26/kquu04cym5

A Night of Opposites – Due Out Soon

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This week’s WIP update.
‘A Night of Opposites’, the Delamere Files book 11, is currently open on my desk, where I am giving it its last read before preparing for publication. It’s back from the proofreader (always a little like waiting for your end-of-school report), and I am doing my final check. Andjela is finalising the cover, and as we’re making some changes, I can’t show you that just yet. When it’s ready, the first to see it will be members of my private Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/jacksonsdeviantdesires, if you’re not already in, join! It’s all free.

Here, though, is the title – not that it gives anything away.

And after this one? I hear you ask. Well… I have already made a start on Delamere 12, and this will be the last in the series. In fact, it may well be the last in the Clearwater world. But… I mean in terms of full-length, 100 K novels. I may do some more shorts along the lines of ‘1892’ and ‘1893’, or some side stories based around the characters, but not a full-on mystery. I think it will soon be time to turn my hand to something else.

I was recently contacted by HarperCollins about my book, ‘Bobby’, and they encouraged me to seek representation so they might consider doing something with it. It would have to be a second edition, perhaps with substantially more information, if I can find any to add, or with more embellishments, though without spoiling the ‘voice’ of the existing piece. On the back of that, I approached an agency via their recommendation, and they are currently reviewing ‘Banyak & Fecks’ not for publication, but to see how I write fiction. The ‘Bobby’ biography would be much different, and once Delamere 11 is up and running, I may get back to them about how to ‘move Bobby forward.’ However, I shall not be ‘Reaching out.’ I will write them an email.

Newsletter

My next newsletter is due out on Saturday, and there will be another list of interesting promotions to check out, and hopefully, a little more news on ‘A Night of Opposites.’ If you’re not subscribed, you can do so here. Fill out the few details, and verify your email address when the message comes back, and that will add you to the list. Sorted.

Here’s a bonus. I uploaded this photo by accident. It was meant for my other blog, the one about living in Greece, but here it is anyway. Monday morning at 04.30 heading down the hill to catch a boat.