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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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 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.
Good morning! Nearly the end of June already, it’s hard to believe, but there it is. I have three things for you today. Firstly…
Honestly
The serialisation continues, and there are now four short chapters up on the list. Check the page from the menu, and you will see a drop-down list of the chapter links. (You may need to refresh the page to see all four.) Each chapter has a link to the next, and there are another seven chapters still to be posted, which I will do in time.
Delamere Nine
So, what’s happening in the Jack Merrit world? Well, without giving too much away, Jack, Baxter and Simeon are currently in Suffolk investigating a case in the countryside. We’re getting rural for this one, which is a challenge for me, who has read mostly about Victorian city life. I’m doing my research, though, and delving into the world of the dairy farmer and village pub. Luckily, where I was brought up was still pretty 19th century in terms of farming, remoteness, villages and pubs, so I can draw on some of that.
I am up to 32,000 words already, the mystery is growing but now the investigation has started. Simeon is coming of age, kind of, there’s a these of father’s and sons which is giving Jack some pause for thought, and Baxter is, of course, being inappropriate as often as possible.
Promos
I will soon have another collection of promos to share with you. These are free-to-view collections of books on specific topics and from indie authors selling on Amazon and elsewhere. As from next month, though, I will add them not only to the newsletter, but also to their own page on the site here, so you never lose out.
Newsletter
You can subscribe to the newsletter from the top of this page, or from the newsletter page itself, where the privacy policy is also set out. I’ll be back on Wednesday with a proper update about Delamere Nine (still untitled), and any other news I have for you. Have a great weekend!
The news from the desk today is that I have just received the full cover for ‘Holywell Street’, and the files are with the guys who do the formatting for me. I used to do it myself using Adobe InDesign, but a) I am not a designer, and b) it was a nightmare, and now, c) Other Worlds Ink do a fantastic job for a reasonable fee, which includes as many later edits as necessary. For example, while I was setting out the audiobook version of ‘1892’, I noticed two typos had snuck through. So, I emailed the guys, and they made the changes within minutes. If you need to have your internal files set out (MS, front and back matter, etc.), then you need to check OWI’s author services.
Holywell Street should be available to you in the next few days. You’ll know when it’s there either by a message from Amazon, or here on my blog, or on my Facebook pages. Meanwhile, I have started on book number nine in the series, and I have an idea for the start and the end, the crime and the climax, but, as usual, not much else. So, I shall do what I do best and what I enjoy doing the most, and sit down to tell myself a story. How that story will unfold is yet to be seen… yet to be written.
In the meantime, I have also been working on publicity (because I don’t have anyone to do it for me), and so, I have set myself up in some more shared promos for July and must share the news of those that are running in June. These were also in my newsletter, and the usual plead applies: please click on them and take a gander. It doesn’t cost anything, but it gets me points that allow me to take part in more and bigger promos. The old income’s taken a bit of a hit this month, so the more publicity we can generate for old Jack Merrit and Co., the better. Thanks.
Here are a couple of promos specifically for MM Romance and Pride month.
Pride Romance 2025
General Fiction / LGBT and Romance / LGBT
As June is generally Pride Month around the world, we’re kicking off with a Pride Romance promo that features over 150 titles. There are loads of cute cover models, werewolves, fantasies, topless hunks, and the four Mentor books by yours truly are also listed.
Queer Romance Is Resistance – June 2025
Romance / LGBT
Back in the 80s and 90s, when I went on Pride marches, they were demonstrations. These days, it’s more of a celebration, but we still need to fight for equality and acceptance. Hence, June is also Resistance month. In this promo there are 70+ titles including work from our old friends Elle Keaton and KC Carmine, and Jackson Marsh (me) with The Mentor of Lonemarsh House.
I have gone all out with Book Mojo this month. Not only am I in their fantastic mayhem & motives monthly promo as Jackson Marsh, but also as James Collins. Added to that, they are doing a cover of me in their newsletter at some point during the month.
Finding a Way, A Fall from Grace, Follow the Van, Where There’s a Will, A Case of Make Believe
That’s the working title of the next Delamere Files mystery. Actually, it’s Eight, Holywell Street, because the file I have started is titled 08 Holywell Street, but I am not sure if there was a number eight in that street in 1893. There was a number 10, and it was inhabited by a bicycle shop, but I’ve not been able to find number eight on the 1891 census. I have the rest of the street and will be using some of the occupier’s names when I start to write the first draft, and that will be in about 30 minutes from now.
What’s it to be about? Well, that’s an interesting question. I know the subject, the background, if you like, but not yet the detailed story, except that I want it to present my team of mainly gay detectives with a moral dilemma. They are already solving cases and fighting crime while being inherently criminal themselves (as it was illegal for men to have sex with men), but now, I want them to pick up on another side of that subject. I can’t say more than that or else I will either give the story away or let you down by changing my mind later.
So far in my research, I have been trawling newspapers and publications of the time, looking through the census to get an idea of what businesses were in the street and the kind of people who lived there, and I have been reading some history sites about the area, the churches of St Clement Danes and St Mary le Strand which stood at either end of Holywell Street, and (here’s a hint) I have been reading some papers on male prostitution and the early days of pornography in London.
If you are interested in the former subject, I can recommend this well-written and easy-to-understand thesis on the subject:
So, that’s where I am with ‘Holywell Street’, and I shall shortly be typing the first words of chapter one. While that’s going on, I have seven different promos to tell you about this month, so bear with me. They will all be in Saturday’s newsletter, but let’s get the ball rolling by telling you about this one:
