A Snapshot of Snapshot

Posted on 25/09/2024 by Jack Marsh

Here’s where I am with Delamere six, which currently has the working title of ‘Snapshot.’ I am approaching 30,000 words of draft one and, although I am enjoying the ride, I may have given myself a case that’s far too complicated for one book, or which may be all mystery and no emotion. So, yesterday afternoon, I sat down to list what should happen next in logical order and was surprised at the results.

This is me working out my action plot, the mystery, the clues, and within that, the ‘Why’ of the matter. The ‘Who’ came pretty easily – who is the villain, and who is the hero (the Delamere boys collectively for this one), then there’s the ‘What’ does the hero want? To crack the case, and the ‘How’, by proving the Who did the other What (the crime), and there we have a complicated but perfectly explainable action plot.

Next is to weave in the emotional who, why, what and how throughline, and, in this case, there isn’t one. There’s no falling in love, friendship breakup or anything like that, yet there should be, otherwise, all we have is he did this then he did that. So, I need to consider what emotional issue my main hero, Jack, should deal with. It may be the temptation for more adventurous sex with Larkin Chase, because of something Jack sees while breaking into a mausoleum in Abney Park Cemetery late at night with Jimmy Wright in order to view a…

But that’s the story so I won’t give too much away.

Usually, when I get to around 30K words, I go back to the beginning to reread from chapter one. This reminds me where I am and how I got there, brings up anything that might need changing – because I often start with one idea and then change to another and there are subtleties to bring out or get rid of. That should take me today and tomorrow, and then, I can press on with the rest of chapter eight. I have passed the quarter mark, the end of act one, where everything is set out, and I am into the friends, adversaries, twists and obstacles section heading towards a twist/change around 50K words – but with no idea yet what that will be,

This is called being a ‘panster’ and flying by the seat of your pants and it’s how the last new novels have come about, so I’m not worried. What I am, is late for work, so I’ll leave you with a reminder that the current promos are running until the end of the month, and here’s the link to September’s LGBT Romance and Fiction promo with loads of new authors and titles for you to browse.

Nearly There

Posted on 11/09/2024 by Jack Marsh

Once again, I find myself typing ‘Nearly There’ as a title, because ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is nearly ready to be released. It’s currently with the guys at Other Worlds Ink who do the layout for me, and I hope to have it back for checking in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I’ve started the next one, and have drafted the first chapter and a half. As per usual, I have an idea for a scene and have started with that with no idea where I am going or how this one will end. Sometimes I know the whole story, other times, I know how it will end. In this case, I know it will have something to do with early photography and murder, but apart from that…

Here’s the current opening line:

Of all the things Will Merrit imagined he would do as an investigator, locking himself in a pitch-black bathroom with two other men was not one of them.

If you were wondering about the opening of ‘A Case of Maker Believe’, then here’s the opening line of that one (which follows the date, January 5th, 1893)

She stood beneath the stage petting a rat and wallowing in the gasps and groans from the audience above, while through the dust-shedding boards came the sound of her lover’s footsteps as the story neared its climax.

And, to tease you further, the final line of the story:

The box of gifts still to be distributed, he watched, smiling, and could think of nowhere else he would rather be than home.

So, all I need to do now on the Delamere Files Book Six is to find a story and write it into 100,000 words. Meanwhile, as soon as book five is published, you will be able to find it here:

Update: A Case of Make Believe

Posted on 21/08/2024 by Jack Marsh

Here’s the good news: I have finished the initial draft of the Delamere Files book five, ‘A Case of Make Believe’, and am now working on the tidy-up draft. Meanwhile, Andjela has made me a cover and here’s the title…

I will show you the rest of the excellent cover nearer the release date which should be next month. Andjela is just about to have a baby so we’re sending her her all our best wishes from Greece, and I know you will too.

While I’ve been doing that, and she’s been doing the cover, Daz over in India has done me a sketch of the new Delamere detective, which is something else I will hold back for now – we can’t have all the goodies released at the same time, I must whet some appetites.

What I can reveal, though, is that ‘Make Believe’ is packed with historical detail that’s true not only to the period but also to the day on which the story starts. I have used messages in newspapers that appeared on January 10th, 1893, and I have used a programme from Maskelyne and Cooke’s Egyptian Hall mystery and illusion performances of the time, plus other headlines and details I found in the newspaper archive. Also, a couple of scenes take place in the London sewers, so I have been down there (on a virtual tour), I’ve poured over the maps, looked into the founding of the London County Council, the Board of Works and other such organisations, and have used my 1888 street atlas of the city to locate an opium den and a molly house (boy brothel). If you thought ‘Where There’s a Will’ was heading towards dark territory, you wait until you see what ‘A Case of Make Believe’ is all about. You may have to make yourself believe such things actually went on in 1893.

Remember, the promos that keep us afloat.

While you’re waiting for ‘Make Believe’ to come along, be sure to check out this month’s promos to find some new authors and new titles to read. Here are both banners with the links built in.

Starting Again

Posted on 10/07/2024 by Jack Marsh

This week’s Work In Progress blog update.

Bobby, a Life Worth Living, is doing well, and I have had some great feedback already. It’s wonderful to hear that his story resonates with so many people, and they have volunteered their own snippets of older relations’ stories. I am waiting for some leads so I can try and copy some of our interviews onto the PC and from there, to this website, so readers can hear Bobby talking about his past. That’s a project for the future, and I’ll let you know if I am successful.

Where There’s a Will is doing brilliantly in the charts, and has already gained some four- and five-star ratings. Good old Will!

A Case of Make Believe

Well now, this is the working title of Delamere book five, and Make Believe is written that way for a reason. The idea is to have someone be made to believe something and it’s all to do with magic acts and the Victorian passion for macabre shows, the famous decapitation tricks of the Egyptian Hall, and the weird and wonderful of Maskelyne and Cooke’s entertainments.

But not everything is going to plan, so the title may change, although the subject of this mystery won’t. I have already changed the first 14,000 words. Let me explain…

I began on the story, setting it in January 1893. On James Wright’s 30th birthday, actually, January 10th. By then, Delamere House has a housekeeper and a new detective. I started the story from Will’s point of view, and immediately had Jack and Jimmy setting off for Paris to solve an urgent case at the Paris Opera House.

This was to set things up for book six, which may well have something to do with a phantom at the Opera House (left), and thus, become the inspiration for the novel by Gaston Leroux, which he will publish in serial form, starting in 1909… but that’s another story.

Back at Delamere, we were introduced to the new housekeeper, and the new detective, and then a new case arrived at the end of chapter one, and in chapters two and three, Will said goodbye to Jack, and was left in charge of the agency and… It didn’t work. As soon as Jack and Will were separated, the thing fell flat. Add to that, too many new faces and too much domestic detail, and I knew I was off to a false start. So, I have set those first 14,000 words aside. (There’s a good idea in there for a short story, and I might well do another ‘1892’ for Christmas, maybe ‘1891’, I’ll see.)

Now, I have started again with the same villain in mind, and the same background, but I’m coming at it from a different angle. The story now opens with a piece by Larkin Chase, and he’s describing a theatrical event that, later in 1897, would become Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, specialising in naturalistic horror shows. My version, in 1893, is a forerunner, if you like, and it’s a bit of make-believe itself because I am sure the mystery shows of the time didn’t go as far as Grand Guignol, but like the Phantom of the Opera, the Delamere case might well be the inspiration for creatives of the future.

So, that’s where we are.

This week’s promo to click on and check out for more reading, is all about MM Romance novels. This is running all month, the books are all available through Amazon, and there are plenty of your favourite niches and tropes included. Have a click and enjoy your reading!

A Second Book in a Month

Posted on 02/07/2024 by Jack Marsh

Following hot on the heels of ‘Where There’s a Will’, I have another book almost ready to release, and that will be the second within four weeks (assuming it doesn’t get held up like last time).

However, I have been working on this one off and on for 20 years. It’s only been in the last couple of months, since losing two paid jobs and finding myself with loads of time but no money, that I’ve finally finished the editing and fact checking.

Here’s the blurb and front cover.

“Variety is the spice of life, they say, but to me, variety was the life of my vice.”

Robert Charles Thompson was many things in his life. Among them he was a teenage sex worker, a gunner in the Royal Navy, and head housekeeper at a prestigious London hotel. He was also gay, and his story gives us a fresh insight into a well-trodden path of British social history.

This is the biography of one gay man, born in 1919 in Tooting, South London. There are, no doubt, many others, but maybe not many led such a diverse life. Bob’s path crossed with those of Hollywood actors, prime ministers, and royalty, but he came from the underclass of the homeless, drag queens, and illegal lovers.

Caught up in pivotal moments of the gay 20th century, this previously unknown gay man’s richly fascinating career has previously slipped under the radar but is now getting the limelight it deserves.

The files are with the guys who do the layout, and as soon as they are back and checked, I’ll send them up to be published, and then, I’ll tell you more about the story behind the book and what’s in it.

Meanwhile…

As you may have seen from the monthly newsletter, I have four promos running this month. Here, again, are the details. Click the links to see loads of new titles and authors with most books being in KU and some being on audio.

Happy reading!

Searching for your next MM romance? There are 49 titles to check out at this BookFunnel promo.

All the MM Feels

49 titles. Running all month. Includes The Mentor of Barrenmoor Ridge

All Crime Past, Present and Future

KU and Audio. 44 books. All month. Includes Deviant Desire – Guardians of the Poor – Finding a Way

Riveting Reads PROMO

Horror, Mystery & Suspense / Crime, and Mystery & Suspense / Thriller

All on Kindle Unlimited and/or $0.99. 68 books including box sets. Promo running all month. Includes Deviant Desire – Guardians of the Poor – Finding a way

Journey Through the Past: 19th Century Historical Fiction PROMO!

Historical Fiction, General Fiction / Historical Fiction, and Mystery & Suspense / Historical Mystery

18 books. Running July 1st to 20th. Includes Deviant Desire – Finding a Way

A Simple Update

Posted on 19/06/2024 by Jack Marsh

Hello! Today’s work-in-progress update will be a simple one. ‘Where There’s a Will’ should be ready for you in a few days. As I write this (yesterday) the guys have it and are doing the internal layout. That usually takes me a day or two to check and approve, and I hope to have it back this week. Andjela is working on the full cover, but I can release the Kindle as soon as I approve the internals. So, watch this space for this:

Click the cover, and you will find the existing Delamere Files series page.

As for the other work in progress, ‘Bobby’, I am about to start on the proofs of that and the final checking process. I’m not able to release this one until July due to funds, but I’ll commission a cover in the next two or three weeks, and keep you informed about progress. It’s not a novel, it’s a true account of my gay godfather’s life as told by him and edited by me, spanning the years 1919 to 2007, and it makes for incredible reading.

More about that soon. Meanwhile, it’s back to editing for me and, I hope, back to reading for you.

Pride Month

Posted on 12/06/2024 by Jack Marsh

Hello, everyone! It’s Pride Month around the world, and there’s much to celebrate.

Find your next LGBTQ + read is a promotion showcasing over 100 books from a wide range of authors, and I’m in it with Deviant Desire, Finding a Way and Guardians of the Poor. You can find the full list of books by clicking this banner image:

Guardians of the Poor

I mention this book in particular because it’s one about which I shall be writing a little more later today. I have an interview to undertake and have been asked about this title in particular, my research methods, and other things, and I’m looking forward to starting on that as soon as I’ve had this cup of tea.

Guardians is the first of the Larkspur Academy series, and if you’re into Academic romance, there’s another promo showcasing the first books in academia-themed series – mixed genre – and you can find that by clicking here.

Once I have done some work on the interview, I shall be returning to Templar Isle and ‘Where There’s a Will.’ It’s back from proofing, so I am giving it my final eye, and the cover is 80% completed. I need to finalise the blurb so we can make up the back cover, and then I can show you what we have. You can see that Andjela has again used the Clearwater font, and the background is going to be in keeping with the others; dark, mysterious, stormy… More cover in future WIP updates.

Once the interview is written and Where There’s a Will is released, I can return to ‘Bobby’, the life story of my godfather which I am also working on. Yesterday, I dug out the original interviews which I recorded on Minidisk years ago. I have the machine I can replay them on, but I want to work out how to get them from the disks to the PC. The idea is to upload some voice clips here, somehow, so when the book is released, interested parties can listen to him talking as well as read the book. Luckily, there are two people living near me who may have the suitable equipment and expertise, so I shall ask if I can hire them when I am ready to proceed.

For now, it’s onwards to the interview and I’ll tell you more about it if they accept it for publication. Watch this space, as they say, and meanwhile, watch the promos because there is some great reading to be had there.

Back on Saturday – see you then.

Where There’s a Finished Will

Posted on 05/06/2024 by Jack Marsh

Well, maybe not exactly finished… It’s still to be proofread, and then I need to have another look and maybe tidy up before I go to layout, but… ‘Where There’s a Will’, the Delamere Files book four, is now drafted and ready to be typo-checked. Hopefully, if all goes well with the cover and any rewrites I might do, I will have it available by the end of the month. Watch this space, and, as usual, my Facebook page.

Meanwhile, I am also closing in on a book I’ve been trying to get out there for about 20 years. I mentioned it before, I think, the biography of my gay godfather. I have now been through the version I compiled several years ago, and while doing that, I had a choice. I could either rewrite the thing as I might write it now, and it’s around 50,000 words, or I could leave it as it was. I decided to leave it, because it is more authentic. Okay, so it’s not brilliantly written, but that’s because all I’ve done is copy my godfather’s words from the tape recordings to the page. I’ve done some tidying up and some fact checking, but otherwise, what you read is more or less how he used to tell his stories to anyone who would listen.

I’ll give you more news on that soon.

Meanwhile, meanwhile, there’s another promo that might interest you if you’re up for books set in an academic setting. They look to be mainly straight romances, but Guardians of the Poor is on the list too, because these books are all book one of a series. So, if you fancy sending the page to anyone you know who might like some suggestions for new reads, then feel free. The three others are also still running, so here’s the full list of this month’s promos for you to choose from. Remember, it costs you nothing to click and browse, and by doing so, you’re helping a lot of indie authors (and me).

Academy Series Starters

LGBT Reading Party (only until 8th June)

Mayhem and Motives

Pride Month

Mildly Excited

Posted on 29/05/2024 by Jack Marsh

I’m mildly excited for two reasons. Firstly, I have almost finished editing ‘Where There’s a Will’ and aim to send it off to be proofread next week. That leaves me now having to work out the blurb, author’s notes and front cover over the weekend. The story has appeared more smoothly than I imagined, and I am rather pleased with it. It’s quite funny in places, because of Will’s character, and my only concern (as I rework the climax slightly) is that there’s not enough tension, and the climax almost comes out of nowhere. I’ll have to let the reader be the judge in due course. Maybe in another couple of weeks, and it’ll be on the shelves.

The other reason I’m excited because I am only a few Euros off having my best sales month ever. I am happy to say sales and KU reads have gone up over the last few months, and I think that’s mainly to do with joining the author cross-promos on Book Funnel. I am still in this one for a few more days:

Click through, and check out some of the books – all available on KU

I have three promos lined up for June, and news of them will be in a newsletter at the start of the month. If you’ve not yet joined my occasional newsletter group, then here’s the newsletter Page.

Closing in on the Last Chapters

Posted on 22/05/2024 by Jack Marsh

Just a quick update. I am now at 85,000 words of the first draft of ‘Where There’s a Will,’ and it’s all starting to kick off. We’ve had a long trail of seemingly random clues, and now, they’ve all got to tie up and tie in, so I can tie up the draft and get to the really fun stuff, the editing and rewriting.

The other day, someone said something which warmed me old cockles. It was either in a review or in a group, but they were saying how much they like my transformation scenes, as I call them. I also rather like them because they are good for the passing of time and place, and they are relatively easy to write. I just picture it in my head and out it comes. What am I talking about?

One of the times that stands out for me happens in ‘The Clearwater Inheritance’, and it’s more or less the beginning of the climax. Jasper and Fecker are on the Orient Express, and Jasper has something of a crisis, but we leave his scene in their compartment and see them through the window. Then the ‘camera’ takes us along the train, through the steam and smoke, over the snowy fields lit by moonlight, across France, over the Channel, across London and down to Larkspur in one take, as it were. I’ve used the technique in other novels. In ‘The Larkspur Legacy’ I do it on the back of a storm in one place, and another train in another case, and there is often an owl at Larkspur that sees things while moving us around the Hall and grounds.

As Jack Merrit would say, ‘Anyways…’ I’ve just done a similar transition scene in ‘Where There’s a Will.’ Just thought I’d let you know.

Don’t forget to click over and have a browse through the historical novels and academia-based romances in the KU promotions.

Jackson Marsh Author

Gay Historial Mystery

Category Archives: WIP