It’s time for a roundup of what’s going on in my Jackson Marsh world right now, and life’s a varied bag of pick-n-mix, to say the least. Here’s the roundup.

Where There’s a Will

The draft is with the proofreader, and Andjela and I are working on the cover. The first thing to get right is the face of Will Merrit, and here’s one of the mock-ups she’s managed to produce from the original photo.

There are things to tweak on that draft version, but we’ll get there.

Delamere Files Book Five

I have started researching the history and details of the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, and in particular, the world of Maskelyne and Cooke’s mysterious entertainments. The magic shows as we might call them these days. I did some work in this area when I wrote ‘Seeing through Shadows’ in the Larkspur Series, because it’s where Chester Cadman met the man who duped him, and ‘Shadows’ is about Chester cracking the case of the Larkspur Ghost. I am currently thinking about writing an investigation that takes place in the world of onstage magicians.

The first thing I need is a title because I want to add that to the end of book four.

Bobby

This is my late godfather’s life story, which is a lot about growing up and being gay during the 20th century. I am now working on the section which is my reminiscences of the man, while the rest of the text is being read and checked by Neil and others. I will have to ask Andjela to do me another cover, and the layout may have to wait until July when I will next be able to afford to pay for the work, but the book should come along in the next couple of months. Meanwhile, here’s a photo of me and Bobby, taken, I reckon in 1971 when my parents had not long bought the house behind us.

Here’s a strange numbers thing. I have a godson who is currently 16 while I am 61, and pointed out to him today that the phenomenon of our ages being reversible will not happen again. He was born when I was 44. My godfather was also 44 when I was born, so when I was 16 he was 61, and that phenomenon never happened again.

Promotions

There are several excellent promotions running at the moment, and I am in them. They are a mix of Academy Series Starters (all genres but in an academic setting), Mayhem and Motives, a collection of great titles in the mystery, action & adventure field, and Pride Month, which is all to do with general LGBT fiction including Sci-fi and Fantasy, and in my case, historical mystery.

All of these promos cost you nothing to view and there are loads of new titles and authors for you to check out, so plenty of ideas for summer reading. Many of the books, or all of them in some promo cases, are available on KU, so if you’re signed up for that, you now have a new and exciting library of gay lit to see you through.

The Strange Case of the Missing Man

We are living through a local mystery right now here on Symi, because a TV presenter and journalist has mysteriously vanished. Last Wednesday, Michael Mosley set off to walk back from a beach via a well-used and open route and hasn’t been since. We’ve been doing what we can to help, and that’s mainly been deflecting journalists and pointing them towards the authorities, and guiding some of the family around the village to show them the lie of the land as the search continues.

And Onwards

So, for me, it’s now back to the typo-writer, and onto the final chapter of Bobby, while thinking up a title for book five, doing a jigsaw to free up my mind, trying to stay cool (nearly 40 degrees again yesterday), drinking lots of water (at least five litres yesterday), and looking forward to a family visit that starts next weekend. As usual, it’s all go.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who’s been clicking on the promos and getting me a good referral reputation, and to everyone who is currently reading and buying the books. It generates a small income, but as it’s the only one I have, it’s very well received!

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