Jackson’s ‘What’s New?’ Newsletter

Well, this week seems to have caught up with me. It’s Saturday, and I’m not prepared. I have to get my newsletter out this morning, and I should really be posting a blog post, but as I am totally unprepared, I thought I would put the basics of the newsletter here as well as send it out in the usual way. Doesn’t that negate the need for a newsletter? Yes, I can see what you mean, but no, not if you’re one of the many people who haven’t subscribed.

This month, as always, I have a list of promos for you. As I tend to save the writing news for this blog and my social media pages, the newsletter is primarily a listings update.


March Promos & News from Jackson Marsh

Hello, and welcome to March!

There is no need to rush out and buy me anything, but March is my birthday month. Strangely, I share the date with Archer, Lord Clearwater (and another character I can’t recall off the top of my head). As if to celebrate reaching the age of the year of my birth (63), I have a series of promos listed below, and as usual, browsing is completely free.

In other news: (This section is for the newsletter readers only.)


New Titles and Authors

#1 Backlist Bump 2026

Genres: Romance / LGBT Hosted by Elle Keaton
There are 63 titles in this collection of backlist titles, all LGBT-themed.
In this collection, I am trying to promote some backlisters of my own, namely, ‘The Mentor of Lonemarsh House’ and ‘The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge.’

https://books.bookfunnel.com/backlistbump2026/lnvv3e3kwr


#2 All Romance Book Fair

Romance, Romance / Billionaire, and Romance / LGBT
How about a selection of 80 MM and straight Romance novels from a wide variety of authors? It’s mainly straight romance, but I have thrown in three Jackson MM titles to see if we can’t convert some of the bodice ripping to breeches ripping.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/bfhostallromsl/mbleukvif4


#3 M/M Erotica – March

Romance / Active/Erotica and Romance / LGBT
The title says it all – Anything goes in these 71 erotic novels.
Including ‘The Mentor of Wildhill Farm.’ (NSFW)

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mmeroticamarch/15pp94n8xc


#4 Crime Fiction – Sequels

Mystery & Suspense / British Detectives, Mystery & Suspense / Crime, and Mystery & Suspense / Thriller
There are 33 titles in this list, including novellas and full-length novels, and they are, or are supposed to be, at least the second book in a series, to show that the series is more than just the initial book.
In this one, I have ‘A Fall from Grace’ and ‘A Depraved Indifference’, two of the (currently) 10 Delamere books.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/crimesequelsmar26/undydgw1uw


#5 Into The Shadows

Mystery & Suspense / Mystery, Mystery & Suspense / Suspense, and Mystery & Suspense / Thriller

There are 35 exciting titles in this collection of ‘must-read’ thrillers and mystery novels. Among them, you will find my ‘Deviant Desire’, the Clearwater Mysteries, book one.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/sloanesintotheshadows/xphorzik4g


#6 MAYHEM & MOTIVES: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads

Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense / Cozy Mystery, and Mystery & Suspense / Thriller

There are 134 titles in this large and very varied collection of titles old and new. All mystery, thrillers, spies, assassins, various eras and tropes, everything you need for some thrills.

I have four titles in this one.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/mysthrillsus-march/o3kfo1wuca


#7 M/M Erotica & Steamy Romance on KU

General Fiction / LGBT, Romance / Active/Erotica, and Romance / Steamy

If you want something spicy to warm up the rest of your winter months, then this collection of 24 titles will do the trick.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/spicy_mm_on_ku/n1g212iaav


That’s it for now. Keep following the website for more news on Delamere 11, and thanks, as always, for your support.

Jackson.

Facebook Groups for Queer Indie Authors and Their Fans

There are currently ten books in the Delamere Files series, and I suspect I’ll be reading all of them.

That was the last line of a review of ‘Finding a Way’ that appeared in a Facebook group last November.

As always in these books, the fairly placid opening chapters begin to speed up, until the heart-stopping denouement brings everything to a climax.” Posted by the same reviewer two days ago, about ‘Acts of Faith’, book seven in the series.

In between times, he has written a thoughtful, accurate and positive review of each book in turn, and says he intends to finish the series. Sounds like good news for me!

I’m mentioning this today because the reviewer, Ulysses, is not alone. I recently found positive reviews of the series on other Facebook pages, and that made me think of other indie authors and their fans out there.

These pages and groups have worked well for me, albeit randomly, and they would, I am sure, like a few more followers. These aren’t the kind of pages where you only see promotions, though there are plenty, they are more concerned with the literature and its authors.

All I list here are great communities, but there are many more. I hope these will be of interest to readers and authors alike.

By the way, if you search for my name within the group, you should find all the reviews published there to date.


Queer Romance Ink

As usual, click the image to follow the link. You might have to join the groups in order to browse.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/queeromanceink


LGBTQ+ Mystery-Thriller-Suspense Fiction

https://www.facebook.com/groups/518503111562540


Gay Men Loving Gay Books

https://www.facebook.com/groups/gaymenlovinggayfiction


Can I find 10,000 people who like LGBTQ+ romance novels?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/121643342280


Newsletter & Promos

There will be another newsletter on 7th March, so make sure you are subscribed.

I’ll have some new listings for you, some promos to explore, where LGBTQ+ novels are on special offer or simply being advertised, and there will soon be news of Delamere 11 – check back on Wednesday.

Valentine’s Day 1894

Valentine’s Day is but a week away. Any plans? If they involve reading, then I have a list of suggestions for you at the bottom of this post.

As for me, I expect we shan’t be going to a fancy restaurant or the cinema, ice skating or laughing in the park because we don’t have any of those things on the island. If we do go out, it will either be to the bar where two TVs play at once, or to the café by the playground where there’s always a children’s party to go with your onion rings, or we’ll go to our taverna for some chips, which is about all they cook at this time of year. Chips and liver.

I am wondering, though, if and how I could use Valentine’s Day as a background theme to one of my mysteries. (Let’s shorten it to VD; it’s easier to type.) It’s been done before, as you will see from the list below, but there’s no reason VD can’t be used as a theme/background/plot device in an original way.

I went to have a look at the National Newspaper Archive to see what the nation’s thoughts were on VD in 1894. By then, the sending of cards was very popular, and VD was celebrated. There are articles in the papers telling us that it is not as well observed as it used to be, in a religious sense, but the exchange of fancy, anonymous cards and greetings on VD was popular. Poems were much involved, too, especially in Britain.

I found this, then, current thought in the Aberdeen Express, on February 14th, 1894, and it made me smile.

To-day (sic) is St Valentine’s Day, and we notice, with great regret, that here, there and everywhere in print, ancient and very superstitious doings are advocated, by means of which the gentle saint is to aid and abet lovers and other foolish folks. We need not point out to our readers that all these things betoken vanity and gross ignorance, and that the only correct way of invoking the aid of the “holy blessed martyr” is to place two bay leaves, after sprinkling them with rose-water, across a pillow, and repeat the formula:

Good Valentine be kind to me,
In dream let me my true love see.

I imagined that was written by a strict and dour Scotsman of some cloth or other (we notice with great regret… superstitious doings… vanity and gross ignorance). Lots of bluster and fear of God behind the voice. But then, he made me laugh by cutting his dour tone and telling us how to cast a spell. Maybe he wasn’t a man of the church after all.

What he gives us is an idea for something you could do on Valentine’s Day, and if you don’t have a special someone whose pillows you could sprinkle, then surprise a neighbour, or even a stranger. I am sure it would lighten their day.

Enough silliness. I am away to beaver away on Delamere Eleven, but I will leave you with the list – the promo list of 30 titles where Valentines come in the guise of murderers and assassins.

Click, browse and share, and I’ll get back to chapter ten…


Killer Valentines: MM Assassins and Murderers

Genres: General Fiction / LGBT and Romance / LGBT

There are 30 titles, including Deviant Desire, which is one of only a few historical fiction-themed covers, as far as I can see. It’s hard to see what with so much naked flesh also going on… Looks like there’s a mix of genres within the MM murderings.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/killervalentines/2g4p3u3ub1

Happy New Year!

Hi, all. I’m back from my travels and preparing to start on a new book.

It’s good to be able to report that, so far since its release, ‘1893’ has been doing well, and, thanks to the promotions and you, the three Clearwater series also continue to attract new readers. That’s good news, and from reviews, it seems readers are mostly happy with my work. My aim is to entertain, so as long as readers are entertained by the stories, I am happy.

So, for now, it is back to writing, and I’m afraid, back to the relentless promos and publicity needed to keep me in writing materials. So, let’s kick off 2026 with these:

Promos

I have three promos to share this month, as you may have seen in yesterday’s newsletter. In case you didn’t, here they are:

New Year, New Attitude: Memoirs, Poetry, Relationship, Inspirational reads

Here’s something slightly different from my usual promotion. It’s a collection of 28 titles, all of which are non-fiction. In fact, they are more along the lines of inspirational fic, women’s fic, literary fiction, memoirs, poetry, etc. There are no self-help books, and nothing has been done by AI.

I have entered my godfather’s biography, ‘Bobby, a Life Worth Living’, into this promo.

Steamy MM Winter Nights

There are 133 titles in this collection of steamy MM romance novels, all of which are available from Amazon. All kinds of tropes are included; there are some great covers, very tempting taglines and blurbs, and loads of variety.

Have a look and prepare to curl up with a steaming hot mug of this is how male love is.

All Flavours of MM Romance

There are over 20 books still available in this special promo, all MM Romance, but all different tropes and flavours are included.

That’s that, for now. I aim to be back on Saturday, when I might have some news for you about TikTok and other things I don’t understand!

WIP: A Depraved Indifference

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.

Says the Great Bell of Bow

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.

Reviews

First, let me say thank you to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to post a review of any of my books on Amazon. They really do make a difference, as do rates. I’m pleased to say that Snake Hill has already attracted some lovely words of praise, such as:

The writing is lyrical with visuals. The story at the end had me misty-eyed. He captures the depth of male friendships and love perfectly.

This one especially touched me in a way that left me happy and sad at the same time. Every book in this series, along with the original series, is an excellent and exciting read.

I’m not here to hear my praises sung, although it is very rewarding to do so, and it’s always a boost when you read a positive review; it’s moving, too, and boosts self-esteem. The star ratings also help, and although I seem to have a mysterious reader who relishes dropping in one, two or three stars about half an hour after a book comes out, my star ratings are usually four or five, I am pleased to say. Finding a Way, which came out in August 2023, has 199 already, and Deviant Desire, published in 2019, has picked up 322 so far, as well as some excellent reviews. (Plus one which reads like a disgruntled author trying to trash a book because it was better than he could have done, while giving away some of the plot.) That is a no-no in the review world; you never give away twists or plots, but some people can’t help themselves. Ah well…

So, the message of today, folks is, please don’t hesitate to leave reviews whenever you can. Even if it’s only one or two lines, the more reviews and stars a title has, the more chance there is of Amazon recommending it – the same goes for Goodreads, I believe, and other publicity sites. My ‘Follow me’ list is towards the top of the right-hand column, if you use any of those platforms and want to follow me.

Meanwhile… Promos!

Banyak & fecks was taken out of a historical fiction promo for some reason. Either they didn’t like the gay aspect (boo), or it wasn’t bodice-ripping enough for them, and there was no busty wench on the front cover falling out of her clothing and into the arms of a swarthy lord of the manor, I don’t know, but there you go. Still, there are more to indulge in, such as today’s recommendation, which is:

Fall In Love: MM Romance in Kindle Unlimited

If you simply hanker for good, old-fashioned MM Romance, and you’re on KU, then this is the one to check out. You can add up to 30 new titles to your library.

You can do so by clicking the banner, as always, and having a browse. I’ll be back on Wednesday with an update on ‘A Depraved Indifference,’ which is coming along very nicely (well, it’s a bit gruesome in places, but otherwise, it’s quite nice).

Banyak & Fecks

I had to pick up a spare pair of glasses for Neil on Thursday, and this involved a walk, a boat, another walk, another boat and a climb. Our nearest optician is on a different island, Rhodes, and the only way to get there is by boat. So, I set off down the hill to catch the 10.15, and off I went. This boat takes about 90 minutes (others are faster, but I was in no hurry), and it’s a gentle, smooth crossing at this time of year, so I took a book to read.

Banyak & Fecks

I don’t often reread my own work, not unless I am fact checking within the story world, but I keep coming back to this book as one of my best. I won’t give you a synopsis, because it’s there on the Amazon page, but I will explain how the book came about and what it does. It is the prequel to all of The Clearwater Mysteries, and ends the day before ‘Deviant Desire’ begins. It tells how two of the main characters meet, Silas and Andrej are already friends at the start of Deviant Desire, but how come? That was how I started out, and that’s what the book takes us through. There are many trials and tribulations on their journey.

Andrej walks across half of Europe to escape Russian violence in his home, Ukraine. On the way he learns to perform circus tricks on horses, later turns to renting, and, desperate, finally finds passage to England. Silas leaves his home city to travel to London to raise money for his sisters after their mother dies. We experience a night in a casual ward at a workhouse, a house fire, the Bloody Sunday riots, slumming, and delve into the world of being gay in Victorian Britain.

It’s not a mystery, it’s a story about friendship in a horrid world, and I think that’s why I am so fond of it. I was able to concentrate on the relationships and characters without having to tie up clues and find solutions.

Anyway, I’d already recently read the first half, and managed to read the second half during my crossings there and back. All in all, on Thursday, I walked for six miles and did about 13,000 steps. In the book, Fecker walks from near Odessa through the mountains to Genoa. Mind you, it takes him three years, and as for his boat trip…

Apart from Silas and Andrej (Banyak & Fecks), we meet other characters in this book who come back later in the series. Doc Markland makes a cameo, there’s the evil photographer whose work comes back to haunt Silas in ‘Negative Exposure, we meet Eddy Lovemount who speaks of fancying a young telegraph boy called James Wright. There’s also Captain Kent of the Valentine who turns up in The Larkspur Legacy, and some of the boys who fall to the Ripper in Deviant Desire. Click to read the blurb.


Promo Today’s promo is for the Book-Mojo collection of mysteries, thrillers and adventure stories, with some of mine in there as Jackson and as James. Click the banner for a free browse.

Mysterious Variety

Hello! The world is full of mystery and always has been, and that’s what makes the mystery genre so exciting. It offers so many possibilities to escape from the real world and dive into all manner of thrilling situations. And some that are calmer. Cosy mysteries such as ‘Home from Nowhere’, for example, where there’s no race to the finish line, or a slow-build mystery of self-discovery as found in ‘Guardians of the Poor.’ That book is currently in a collection called July Kindle Unlimited Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, & Crime Reads. It’s a bit of a title, but it leads you to 95 titles all available on KU.

The Witchling

I am two people in that collection, Jackson and James, and you’ll find my ‘The Witchling’ is in there. This is the second book in the Saddling trilogy, and part of the blurb reads: Six months after the life-changing events of The Saddling, Tom Carey must solve the witchling mystery and risk his life to save his lover.

I guess it was while writing this one, and the one that came after, that I started to realise it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to write. Maybe that’s why I never finished the quartet. Each of the Saddling books takes place in a season at the time of an equinox or festival and has an elemental theme. So, the Witchling, for example, is set in summer, the climax is at the solstice, and the element is fire. The Saddling (book one) is winter solstice and water, and the third, the Eastling, is autumn equinox and wind. The Needling was to be number four, set at the spring equinox with earth as the element, and was to lead to rebirth for the troubled village.

While writing what I did write of The Needling, I realised that what I wanted to do was write stories with central gay characters, and hence, Jackson Marsh was born.

A quick stop to admire the view from my office window this morning…

Honestly, it’s Free!

Before then, though, came ‘Remotely’, a straight/gay body-swap comedy, with a mysterious, timeless kind of enchantress as the protagonist, known only as Miss P. People liked Miss P and wanted more of her, so I started on another story called ‘Unforgivable,’ which was about Miss P saving the West End musical, but soon put that away in favour of a short novella, called ‘Honestly.’ There are now eight chapters of this here on my sit,e and the final four should be up within the week. You can read it all for free here, or splash out $0.99 and buy the eBook, or read it on KU. It won’t take long. Basically, it’s about what happens when people are made to be honest with each other, and it takes the form of a kind of Tom Sharpe style farce… almost.

Honestly – it’s free!

Meanwhile…

… back in mystery-land, I am doing well with Delamere Nine, which, for some ungodly reason, I have mainly set in a Suffolk village. Jack, Bax and Simeon have gone to the aid of a farmer whose son went missing not long after seeing strange lights in the sky. The first half sets us up nicely for a dangerous second half (I hope, I’ve not written it yet), the villains are the protagonists as well as the antagonists, but apart from that complication, it’s all coming along nicely in first draft form.

Newsletter

If you are on the mailing list, you should receive a newsletter later today listing all the promos and other news. You can, as always, help us all along by having a click and browse of these promos, and here, as a reminder, is the link to the July Kindle Unlimited Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, & Crime Reads. Have a good weekend, stay safe, and I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Delamere Nine and July Promo News

Delamere Nine is, as yet, untitled, but it is coming along. I am up to 33,000 words of draft one, and I know what’s been going on (though the detectives don’t as yet), and I know what the halfway point twist will be, and I have an idea for the climactic ending, I just need to get from 33% to 50% so the story can take an unexpected path, then from 50% through to crisis to climax to 100% done.

I’ve not completed the blurb for Delamere Nine as yet, I’ve not even completely mapped the story in my head or on paper, but I can give you a rough idea of what’s happening, without giving away any spoilers.

One night, a young storyteller sees strange lights in the sky over Suffolk. The next day, he retells the story to his dad, the local PC and others. They laugh at him, and he storms off, never to be seen again. A few days later, a woman’s body is found in a field. A few days after that, the dad arrives at Delamere House, having walked for two days and two nights to get there and begs for Jack Merit’s help. Jack, Baxter and Simeon head off to the depths of rural Suffolk, where they discover the dad’s house has since been ransacked, the boy is missing, and people are living in fear of the rural legend of the Fire Snake…

The writing continues as soon as I have posted this. Meanwhile, it’s a new month, which means new promos for you to either yawn at, ignore, click on or whatever. There will be a newsletter out on Saturday with all the links, but I’m going to start with this one as it comes first on my list of six. This one is called:

LGBTQIA+ Characters in Romance (all pairings)

A quick scroll shows me cabin romance, historical (Anne Barwell), topless hunks, fantasy romance, Jem Wendel’s ‘Resisting the Urge’, MM, FM, DD (Deviant Desire), and many other niches within the genre of nor under the umbrella of LGBT etc. romance.

As usual, if you feel able or interested, click the link and have a scroll through the titles. I now generate around 90% of my sales this way, and the more I promote, the more I get promoted (for free), so everyone is happy, especially me.

Click the banner to view all the titles