Encouragement

Posted on 10/04/2024 by Jack Marsh

I am currently at 27,000 words of ‘Where There’s a Will’ and the story is falling into place nicely, as are the characterisations, the mystery – which is a slow build – and the atmosphere. There are also some light moments, and there’s to be very little angst, although there is a love story subplot going on.

Meanwhile, I was checking out some information about the others in the Delamere Series and was interested to see how many rates Finding a Way the first book in the series has received so far. I was pleasantly surprised, and happy that they were all five or four-star ratings, but even better were the reviews. Not many, but enough, and some very glowing words from honest and happy readers. I liked the one titled, ‘Don’t Dilly dally, follow this author,’ because its title clearly resonates with the setting of ‘Follow the Van’, book three in the series. Like the rest, it was honest, pointing out what the reader thought was both good and not so good, and both sides of the coin are useful for the author to know. The other reviews, from Anthony Pisacano, Tony Wiliamson Jr, and CM are also well-written and honest, and I am not just saying that because they say nice things about me and the stories.

These reviews really encourage authors to keep going. Writing my books is now my full-time job and has been for some time, and the income I receive from them is what we live off. Here in Greece, over the winter when my husband isn’t working, it’s all we have, so reviews that attract more readers are more than welcome.

I must slip in this line from a review of ‘Follow the Van.’

Jackson Marsh uses this insight to give us a wonderful historical glimpse into how the early tubes ran back in the 1890s, the pollution, the danger, the 3 class travel system. This is one of the many things the author adds to these books which make them more than the sum of their parts and some of the most incredible reads out there.

Maybe I should change my end-of-novel tagline from ‘You keep reading and I’ll keep writing,’ to ‘You keep reviewing, and I’ll keep writing.’ I’ll keep writing anyway because it’s what I love to do, and these days, what I have to do if I want to eat. On which note, I must get back to chapter 10 of ‘Where There’s a Will.’

I will leave you with a photo I took yesterday showing the entrance to our harbour. I show you this for no other reason than to show off, lol. Then, there’s a not-so-subtle reminder of the current promo. Clicking over there and exploring other authors’ work really helps me and my sales as much as it helps theirs, even though it doesn’t cost you anything.

Taken during a good walk and a good plot & plan session in the open air.

I’ll be back on Saturday with other news and updates.

Mardi Gras LGBTQI+ Romance Promo

Posted on 14/02/2024 by Jack Marsh

Yup, I have another promo to tell you about, and this one is the Mardi Gras LGBTQI+ Romance Promo.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/lgbtromancemdp/mxgjqlwf49

There are 75 titles in this promo, with all books being available on Amazon, Kindle, and some on other platforms too. Each has an info page that you find by clicking the book cover, and those pages come with a summary or blurb.

I have two series starters in there, Deviant Desire, and Guardians of the Poor. I expect most of you have read them already because you are lovely, loyal readers, but there must be plenty of titles and new authors in the list waiting for you to discover. Looking at those covers, you can see there is an eclectic mix of niches, including friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, contemporary, fantasy, MM romance, FF romance, and, of course, historical fiction. Among the authors, you will find Addison Albright, Anne Barwell, and Ann Lister.

There is even one that features a model I used on one of my covers. T.L. Travis has ‘A Little Christmas, Orion’s Secret’ in the promo, and the guy on the cover is the same one who appears on my Dracula-related mystery, ‘The Stoker Connection.’ We share the same taste in tasty main characters!

Check out the list, click a few covers to explore further, and recommend your favourite authors on my Facebook Page.

There’s another massive promo coming next month, and I’ll be sending out a newsletter about that at the start of March.

Follow The Van

As Wednesdays are my work-in-progress update day, here’s a quick update on Follow the Van (The Delamere Files book three).

This novel has probably given me more hassle than any other I have written. Why? I am not sure. One reason is because of interruptions, but another is having too many ideas. There are so many threads, I am worried they have led to a lot of repetition. That will all be fixed, and the repetition is me reminding myself of what happened when I last picked up the pen two weeks ago, or even yesterday.

Fear not! It will be fine in the end, and the end is what is in sight. I have started on the climax/finale, though I have left the build-up to it until I have finished the climax, so I know how to start it… You see? It’s one of those that needs a good, long re-look once I’ve stumbled to the end. I’ll keep at it and am aiming to finish the first draft (in whatever form) by this time next week.

December Book Promo

Posted on 02/12/2023 by Jack Marsh

Queer Reads Book Promo

Hello, everyone

This is just a quick newsletter update to let you know of another book promo I’m taking part in all through December. This time, it’s a ‘Queer Reads’ promo with loads of titles on special offer and up for some attention, and all titles are, in some way, a ‘gay’ story.

I’m more than delighted to be in the company of some author friends, including some who have appeared on my blog. Check out the titles from Rebecca Cohen, Beck Grey, K.C. Carmine, and Glenn Quigley, among others. Head to the Queer Reads Promo page, and you’ll find plenty of titles to choose from, some reduced in price. It looks like there are some Christmas stories, MM Romance, Sci-Fi, thrillers, and general gay lit, as well as some historical mysteries.

Mind you, three of the historical mysteries are from me, with Deviant Desire, Guardians of the Poor, and Finding a Way on the list. These are the series starters for my three series of Victorian mysteries.

And while we’re on that subject, this is your last chance to get a free copy of my Christmas feel-good volume of shorts, ‘1892.’ Join my Facebook Group, Jackson’s Deviant Desires and in the next couple of weeks, everyone there will be able to take a free e-copy of this new set of short stories set in the Clearwater world of 1892.

‘1892’ will be on sale before Christmas and makes for a warm aside from the usual struggles of the Clearwater, Larkspur and Delamere books as five characters from those stories share a train journey from London to Cornwall on Christmas Eve 1892.

What with that, and with the Queer Reads promo taking place, you’re well positioned to stock up on Christmas reading, so I’ll take this opportunity to wish you an early Season’s Greetings, and leave you with the link to the book promo, which you can find here:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/queerreads/a46ac0114v

Jackson Marsh

Follow The Van

Mardi Gras LGBT Promotion