Tag Archives: Holywell Street

Holywell Street Update

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Here’s an update on how Holywell Street is coming along.

I am up to around 65,000 words of the first draft, and it’s going along quite well, thank you. I was a little worried that I was about to peak too early, but I have sorted that. It’s a case of me wanting to write the exciting part asap, but not wanting to write it out of sequence. When that happens, I tend to rush the middle, so I have to either a) force myself to slow down, or b) write the exciting part out of sequence, which is what I wanted to avoid. By ‘exciting’ I mean the revelation, the part where I can let go of all the surprises I have kept in my head, and all those traps I have laid through the early part of the story, which I can now spring.

(Wych Street ran behind Holywell Street, and in yesterday’s writing, Jack and Ronny were parked here waiting for someone…)

Holywell Street doesn’t have so many surprises, and it’s not going to have an action ending as we have in A Case of Make Believe and Acts of Faith; it’s going to have more of the kind of ending we had in Gave Developments. What it does have, though, is a string of seemingly unrelated and random ‘clues’ for Jack and co. to solve, some information based on fact about a certain Victorian pornographer, a nod to the story of Jack Saul, and plenty of factual details about a few other matters you will read about before too long. Hopefully, you will find the book on the shelves and ready for reading before the end of June.

Meanwhile, can I tempt you to a click and a browse of some mysteries and thrillers that are all available on Kindle Unlimited? Have a browse here, and I’ll be back on Saturday with more news.

WIP: Holywell Street Halfway

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This week’s work in progress update is to let you know that I have just reached the halfway point in the first draft of Holywell Street, the eighth Delamere file. What can I tell you? It’s a complicated trail of seemingly unrelated clues left by a man who wanted a favour done for a specific group of people, and Jack Merrit is compelled to carry out the dead man’s last wish. While he and Baxter start on the trail, Will and Ned have some research to do, and the new detective is settling into life at Delamere.

There’s a little more of Ronny and Simeon in this one, so a little vulgar comedy from time to time, there are facts mixed with fiction as usual, and, so far, we have been taken to places such as the Old Bailey, Fulham, and, of course, Holywell Street.

What I can also share with you today is a shot of my research. This is a screenshot of a record from the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey from September 1876, and forms part of one of my clues. These records are online and available for anyone to trawl, and they make for fascinating reading. You can find them for free at Old Bailey Online.

Now, I must return to 1893 and chapter 14, where I will start at 48,500 words. I last left the team in the new boardroom, with someone having a revelation, so it will be interesting to see what happens next. By the way, there will be another newsletter soon, and a new set of promos to view and push, so keep an eye out for all that on Saturday.