Something simple today. The cover for the Delamere Files Book Ten, ‘A Depraved Indifference,’ as created by the wonderful Andjela K.
All being well, the book will be published this week, so keep an eye on your Amazon notifications and my Facebook page.
UPDATE: 29th October. The Kindle version of the book is now available. Click here.
If you have not yet subscribed to my newsletter, you can do so here and be among the first to receive news of my books and other authors’ work in special free-to-browse promos. Talking of which, I have another for you after the cover reveal, which I will do after reminding you of the blurb:
A Depraved Indifference
The Delamere Files Book Ten
Jack Merrit longs for a case more challenging than burglaries and missing jewels, and when someone finds a skeleton inside a pipe organ, his wish comes true. At first, the strange discovery in the church of St Clement Danes seems like a prank, but when Jack’s next call is to a crime within earshot of the bells of St Martin’s, an uneasy pattern emerges.
Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement’s You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St Martin’s
And then, the murders start.
If the first is chance, a second becomes a coincidence, but a third? That’s a pattern, and these are no ordinary murders. They involve diabolical contraptions that kill seemingly random victims. Asked by both London police forces to investigate without being told why, Jack and his men embark on an investigation knowing where the killer will strike next, but not when.
When the killer invites Jack to join his game, a contest of intellect begins, and knowing failure will lead to disgrace, he pits himself against his most cunning adversary so far.
PROMOS
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.
LGBTQIA+ Characters in Romance (All Pairings Welcome)
There are all manner of pairings within the realm of queer romance. KC Karmine is doing things with tentacles, Ann Lister is Pitch Perfect, and I have the Mentor of Lonemarsh House in the list. It’s a trifle awkward that on the row below that book is another using the same model in the same pose (it’s the same stock photo). Strangely, the book is called ‘Without Respect,’ which I find strangely fitting for the placement of our two novels.
I have the blurb for ‘A Depraved Indifference’, the Delamere Files, Book Ten. The MS is with the proofreader, who has already attended to the blurb and author’s notes for me, and I am also talking to Scott about a map for the front of this one – so, as they say, it’s all go!
I also have another great collection of thrillers and mysteries to share with you, and I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.
Meanwhile, here’s the blurb:
A Depraved Indifference The Delamere Files Book Ten
Jack Merrit longs for a case more challenging than burglaries and missing jewels, and when someone finds a skeleton inside a pipe organ, his wish comes true. At first, the strange discovery in the church of St Clement Danes seems like a prank, but when Jack’s next call is to a crime within earshot of the bells of St Martin’s, an uneasy pattern emerges.
Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement’s You owe me five farthings, say the bells of St Martin’s
And then, the murders start.
If the first is chance, a second becomes a coincidence, but a third? That’s a pattern, and these are no ordinary murders. They occur in churches named in the rhyme, and they involve diabolical contraptions that kill seemingly random victims. Asked by both London police forces to investigate without being told why, Jack and his men embark on an investigation knowing where the killer will strike next, but not when.
When the killer invites Jack to join his game, a contest of intellect begins, and knowing failure will lead to disgrace, he pits himself against his most cunning adversary so far.
Thriller, Mystery & Suspense – Huge promo
You can click on either or both of these links; they will take you to the same place, but either James or Jackson will get the kudos (and score) generated by your click.
The 51 titles in this promo take us mainly into the world of straight adventure, mystery and thrillers. I had a look, and I think my ‘Finding a Way’ is the only gay and historical offering, but you never know, it might pick up some new readers.
The same goes for my ‘The Saddling’ which is in here. (Note: I must get Andjela to design me a new cover.)
I am very nearly at the end of editing ‘A Depraved Indifference,’ and will be sending it to be proofread and checked in a day or so. Meanwhile, I am waiting to hear from Adnjela about the cover ideas, and Neil is beta-reading it for me. His comments so far include, ‘This would make a great horror film.’ I know what he means, but it isn’t a horror story, though some of what takes place is horrific, as you will see. I have one major change to incorporate today, and about 30 pages to read through, but as I have very little else on my plate today, I should be able to round this one off and start thinking about the next one tomorrow.
It’s been an interesting ride. If I turn to my ‘A Depraved Indifference’ folder, I can see some of the research materials I have collected while writing the book. These include a cover of the Police Illustrated News from 1888, various articles from London newspapers of 1893, a map or two of the city with churches marked on it, a map of the Old Nichol rookery in Shoreditch, plans of various London churches, and a photograph of a now destroyed pipe organ.
I’ve shown you this before. It is where the investigation begins with the finding of something very unusual…
I hope to have a cover idea for you soon, and I am aiming to have the book out around the end of the month. Fingers crossed!
PROMO If you like a spicy MM read, then this promo is for you.
Spicy MM Books in Kindle Unlimited
All these titles fall under the ‘spicy’ heading, which means there’s nookie in them, and that’s fine. That’s what this promo of 55 books is focusing on. My Mentor of Wildhill Farm is in there, my spiciest novel outside of writing for the adult industry, and there are plenty of different niches, all with spicy MM romance involved.
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.
The work in progress news this week is that I am now up to 63,000 words of the first draft of A Depraved Indifference. The mystery has thickened, and finding a solution has become more urgent because there have now been two major incidents to which Jack and Baxter have been called. So far, they have visited four churches around London, and if you want a clue as to why, then take a scroll down to Saturday’s post. We have also met a couple of new characters from the City of London Police who may survive the story or who may not, and we have also met our villain. Sort of.
We still don’t know who he is, but we know why he is doing what he is doing. I wanted a subplot for this story; otherwise, it’s simply a mystery, and wouldn’t have enough depth, so I thought the subplot could be the villain’s backstory, and the explanation for why he is doing what he is doing. I want the reader to feel sorry for him, yet not. To empathise with him, but wish they didn’t, because of the things he does. That’s the idea I am playing with, yet I still don’t know his name. Maybe we never will. Maybe I will save that for a future story.
That’s the joy of ‘making it up as you go along’ aka writing; you can do what you want because, after all, you are writing a novel, and it is meant to be novel.
So, I shall get back to it and keep you up to date in future posts.
Meanwhile, my Wednesday suggestion for additional reading has to do with stories where characters start off as friends and end up as lovers. Your kind of story or not? Why not check out these:
MM Friends to Lovers. This much-loved and classic MM genre is getting an airing at this promo with 24 cute titles where mates become more than mates. Included in there are my Students and Mentors of Barrenmoor Ridge, one of my best-selling titles (Mentor), and, with Students, I think my only F-to-L book… Then, I just remembered ‘The Blake Inheritance’ and ‘The Stoker Connection,’ which are also F-to-L, so maybe I should consider adding them next time.
The good news is that Snake Hill is doing well, which means people must have enjoyed the previous books in the series. The ongoing news is that the paperback is not quite ready, but I hope to have the full cover in the next day or so.
This is off to a good start, and I even know what is to happen and when. The idea came to me very quickly, which is often a good sign and a warning sign. I warn myself to slow down and not rush ahead, and then I tell myself I can because I am creating this, so I can always uncreate it and change things, though, this time, I haven’t had to. Yet.
Without giving too much away, so far, Jack and Baxter have been called to a famous London church where something mysterious has been discovered. It could be 300 years old or three months, but the thing should not be there. Doctor Markland gets involved briefly, and Ned comes along with his scientific bits and pieces, and the next thing you know, we’re having lemonade on the back terrace at Delamere, where Will asks Ronny to sing some nursery rhymes. You can imagine the reception that gets. Later this morning, I will finish chapter six, that’s how well the storytelling is going. So far.
The research is happening as well. Here, for example, is the only image I can find of the church of St Clement Danes (Strand, London) before it was bombed in WWII. This is the original organ, which was built in 1690.
I also did some digging around Trafalgar Square and discovered that where we now have South Africa House was once Morley’s Hotel. That was a handy find as I needed there to be a hotel there in 1893, and lo! Here it is.
Photo is early 20th century
That’s my Wednesday update. If you haven’t joined my newsletter yet, please do, as there’s a heap of hot books coming your way in several September promotions. And, if you’ve not started sharing my BookBub and other links around your social media, please do! (Top of the right-hand column) Back on Saturday with another update.
That should take you to your appropriate Amazon site, and all will be well. The paperback version should be out next week. We’re just organising the full cover, which is something we can’t do until we know the page count, which we now know. So… In case you have missed it, here’s the blurb.
Albert Arbon collapses at Delamere House after a three-day trek. His only son, Robert, has vanished after seeing a strange light in the Suffolk sky, and Arbon is desperate to find him.
Detectives Jack and Baxter, with young Simeon, accompany Arbon back to his remote Suffolk farmhouse, only to find themselves faced with a combination of rural legends seemingly tied to a series of unsettling events. A body lies inexplicably in the middle of an untouched wheat field. Other children have gone missing. There is talk of a ‘fire snake’, and no-one dare share the secrets of what can be seen from Snake Hill.
As the investigation deepens, Jack must navigate more than the mystery. He must also face the burdens of responsibility — not only for uncovering the truth and doing the right thing, but also for guiding Simeon, a boy on the cusp of manhood, who’s willing to risk everything to prove himself.
What Next? Delamere Ten.
You might not be surprised to know I am already working on Delamere 10, and it has the title of ‘A Depraved Indifference.’ I am working with the idea that will combine:
Murders past and future.
A nursery rhyme.
Several London churches.
A Church organ.
So far, it starts on Simeon’s 17th birthday, so it’s set in August 1893.
My original idea for Delamere was to see where Jimmy Wright had come to, following his entry into the Clearwater world back in ‘Twisted Tracks’ in 1888 (although his first appearance is in Deviant Desire, but it’s very brief). I soon discovered that Jack and Will Merrit were to be my leads, and so, the series has become their story, and I, for one, am enjoying exploring their lives. I was going to write one book for each of 12 months of their lives, but that’s kind of gone by the by. Having said that, we’re on book ten (almost) and the series started in June 1892 and we’re only now in August 1893, so I haven’t done too badly. A lot has happened in that time.
I often wonder if it’s too much and how long a series should run for. I think, as long as I am writing a good, entertaining read, and as long as people are still enjoying the stories, i.e. buying them, then I’ll carry on until it feels right to finish. If you have any other ideas, let me know.
Meanwhile… It will soon be September promo time, so get ready for a new list, but in the meantime, there’s a new one just started up a few days ago, and we’re in it, so if you want to boost my kudos, hit the banner. This is a collection so thriller and mystery reads that are available on a variety of platforms.
While we eagerly await the publication of ‘Snake Hill’ (any day now), I have come up with a working title for the next instalment of the Delamere Files, ‘A Depraved Indifference.’
I was doing some legal research the other day, as you do, when I came across something I’d not seen before. There was no reason why I should have done because a) I am not a lawyer, and b) it’s to do with American law, but I liked the term and what it implies. The paragraph was this: If the risk of death or bodily harm is great enough, ignoring it demonstrates a “depraved indifference” to human life and the resulting death is considered to have been committed with malice aforethought.
A depraved indifference to human life… I wondered if there was an English law equivalent in 1893, and I am still researching that, but the story I am now embarking on may not have anything to do with law or that phrase in the way it is meant. What I might do is use that expression/term/whatever to inspire the rest of the story. In Delamere 10, Will has already cited it (and I’m only on chapter two) while settling a case for the CID. Anyway, the point was to let you know I have started on some ideas for the next book, which has had me locked into this view for a while…
And this is the first draft text for chapter one of the next book, in case you want to zoom in and read.
I will be interrupted soon by the arrival of the files for number nine, which I will check through and upload as soon as we’re all happy that Snake Hill is good to go.
Meanwhile, you may have noticed I put three new links at the top right of the page, just beneath the newsletter sign up. My Facebook page, my BluSky profile, and now, my BookBub link, so if you use that service, you can follow me there. I ought to add my Goodreads link too, I suppose. (Note for later.) Meanwhile-meanwhile, a new promo has just arrived, so if you want to be among the first to see these new spy, mystery and suspense titles, just click the banner.
Delamere Nine, which is nearly ready for the proofreader, now has a title and I will get to it after we’ve had a quick look at the other titles in the series. These are my reasons for those titles, and the process may help other indie authors when trying to think of a title.
Finding a Way
When I set about starting the Delamere series, I had no idea what the title of book one should be. I knew I wanted the series to be about the detective agency, and for us to see James Wright at work, and I knew something else: The best way to put the reader into a situation is to do it through the eyes of someone new to that situation, that way, we can explore the new world as they do. Enter Jack Merrit, a man who needs a change in life, who craves love (but doesn’t know it), and a man who is doing everything he can to see himself and his brother through hard times. There has to be a way out of one life and into the next, surely? Yes, and Jack accidentally finds it via Larkin Chase and Jimmy Wright. Hence, the title of the book, ‘Finding a Way.’ I also wanted something that tied in with Jack being a cab driver and finding a route to happiness, adventure, and eventually love, but ‘Finding a Route’ sounded like a gardening magazine.
Other Titles in the Delamere Series
A Fall from Grace. A shameful downfall was never far away from the Victorian homosexual. The upper classes and the rich could often get away with being found out if they fled abroad or had enough standing (I am thinking of Lord Sommerset et al in the Cleaveland Street scandal), the poor would be the ones to get locked up, but the middle classes could fall either way. That’s one of the Falls of the title; the other, clearly, is the physical fall that starts the story way back in the past. The fall from Grace Tower at Sinfords School.
Follow the Van. A play on words, a ‘van’ being, in this case, the prize Jack must find, and to find it, he must follow the clues. It is also a line from a music hall song, and this story takes place in and around the music halls of London. The first line of the chorus of the song is ‘My old man…’ Jack is also on the trail of his father, his ‘old man’ in English slang. Hence: My old man said follow the van…’
Where There’s a Will. Not the most inventive of titles, but I wanted this one to be almost tongue-in-cheek. Will Merrit leads the case, which is to do with finding a missing will before the midnight hour.
A Case of Make Believe. Again, a play on words. The story concerns magicians and a disappearing boy, Ronny Felman, who was meant to disappear, but also meant to reappear, and didn’t. In this story, we have many make-believe magic tricks as the magicians make us believe one thing, but we’re actually seeing another. We also have the villains and their ‘make-believe’ Grand Guignol murders, which are actually real. Then, we have Jack coming to believe in himself more. He makes himself believe he can do this job.
Grave Developments. Well, there’s a body in a grave that shouldn’t be there, and things develop from that sticky situation. The detectives also use photography, so as the images develop, so does the story.
Acts of Faith. I can’t give you too much about this one for it will give the game away, but it’s to do with murders being committed on particular saints’ days throughout a few-year period. But who is committing them?
Holywell Street. And now, things become more straightforward. Holywell Street is the name of the street where the main action happens, i.e. the crime, the investigation and the resolve/climax, which is slightly different to others in the series.
Delamere Nine
Which brings me to number nine and the title. I was racking my brains for a few days about this one. It has a background subject (boys to men, coming of age), it has a ‘gimmick’ which I shan’t tell you about, but it’s something that was popular in Victorian times and still relatively new, and it takes place out of London, so we’re all out of our depth. Neil started reading the first draft the other day and more or less immediately came up with the title. ‘Why not call it Snake Hill?’ he said. ‘It’s the main feature of the story.’
So, just as Holywell Street is Holywell Street, so Delamere Nine will be titled ‘Snake Hill’ for reasons that will become apparent when you read it. This, I hope you will be able to do by the end of the month.
And now, the promos begin!
I am taking part in a few more free-to-browse promos this month, so the more views you can give these, the better (for me and for the other indie authors in the promo). Here’s the first – more will be announced along the way and in next week’s newsletter.
LGBTQIA+ Characters in Romance (All pairings)
There are 63 titles in this promotion, all with various LGBTQIA+ pairings. I have my mentors and students from Barrenmoor Ridge in this promo. The cover that most caught my eye? ‘Two Souls and A Pocket Watch’ by Inka York (Victorian vampires). I may have to grab a copy.
