Tag Archives: Victorian

Home From Nowhere

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Home From Nowhere

Hello everyone. I thought it was about time for another blog post, just to check in and let you know what I am up to.

As usual, I have been writing. In this case, I have been working on a new Clearwater mystery, ‘Home From Nowhere’ (book seven). I don’t know how long a series is meant to go on for, but I am enjoying writing this one, so I’m carrying on regardless. However, I felt the murder and mayhem, wild adventures and on-going battles of the Clearwater Crew needed a breather, so book number seven will be different.

This chap reminded me of Thomas Payne, Archer’s best friend and butler.

I thought it was time we saw the crew from someone else’s point of view, and experienced life at Clearwater House from a new character’s perspective. So, ‘Home From Nowhere’ breaks from the two-word titles from the past and starts us on a different kind of mystery; no ‘meet a deadline or be dead’, no nasty villain, just a gentle mystery and the start of a love story that will continue in part eight. The sort of story you can put your feet up and relax with, and come away from with a sense of feel-good, like watching an episode of Downton Abbey.

This doesn’t mean there’s no mystery to solve, and Archer, James and Silas are the ones to take the mystery and work out the clues, but they are doing it on behalf of the new character who, if you have read ‘Artful Deception‘ you would have briefly met at Kingsclere House.

As usual, I have mixed real people, times, events and facts with some fictional ones, and there is a background theme, in this case, it’s music.

‘Home From Nowhere’ is currently in draft one stage, which means I’ve told myself the story on paper and now need to rest it for a few days before I return to it and a) check the mystery ties up, b) check consistency generally, c) see to as many of my typos as I can find, and d) improve, edit and cut.

Clearwater House ground floor (click to enlarge)

Meanwhile, my cover designer is working on a cover image and, to give myself a break from typing, I set about drawing a floorplan of Clearwater House. As you will see, I am no technical drawer or architect, though I based some of the details on a book I have that gives floorplans and elevations of Victorian houses – none of which fitted Clearwater House exactly. I doubt that if a house was built to my plans, it would stay up for very long! Still, I thought I would share my amateur attempt to give you an idea of how I see the house laid out (sorry about it being a bit squiffy and blotted with smudged felt-tip pen). I’ve only done the ground and first floors so far, I still have the basement and top floor to go. The shaded areas are the servant’s department, the backstairs and servery etc.

Clearwater House 1st floor plan (click to enlarge)

As for other news… Over here in Greece, the island on which I live is very quiet. We are starting to see a few tourists arrive, and we have had no cases of you-know-what, so people are worried about visitors coming from more infected countries. My husband, Neil, is working back at the bar he looks after seven afternoons per week until October, but so far, has had only local customers, while I am carrying on as usual, at home, writing. Which is what I will get back to now.

There’s no definite release date for ‘Home From Nowhere’ yet, I’ve only just let ‘Artful Deception’ out of its cage, but I am going to try and be more regular with my blog posting, so there will be updates as we head deeper into the year.

Stay safe, stay well and most of all, stay reading (and putting up helpful reviews on Amazon and social media if you possibly can).

Thank you for reading
Jackson

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Thank you, suzunh, for the 1st review of ‘Artful Deception’

I love this series
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2020
All of them are good. Sure, they’re a little wild sometimes but they are a heck of a lot of fun. I like that the same characters return for every book and I’m excited they are going into business together. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Clearwater’s London

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Welcome to Clearwater’s London

It has been a while since I posted on my site. That’s because I was away for a while and spending much of my time working on the sixth instalment of The Clearwater Mysteries.

Book six is now going through its second draft, and it’s a bit of a belter. A twisting tale of deception as Archer battles to outwit his arch-enemy and stay one step ahead of the game. Titled, ‘Artful Deception’, this one brings back some of the more popular characters from previous books such as the barrister Creswell and young Jake, half-brother to Silas’ sisters. The action takes us from Kingsclere House in Berkshire to Clearwater House in London and on to the Netherlands where Archer has no option but to release his murderous brother and reinstate him to the title of Viscount Clearwater.

Or does he?

There will be more information about the book’s release in time.

Meanwhile, as I was passing through London earlier this year, I took some photos of locations used in the Clearwater Mysteries and thought I would share them with you. They’re not the best photos, sadly, but I thought it was a fun exercise to see places Archer and his comrades have trod. Things look very different now to 1888 and 1889 when ‘Artful Deception’ is set, but you can still feel the original Victorian grandeur of these places.

So, just for amusement, here are some of the locations I found when I was there.

The Royal Opera House where Silas nearly dies in Unspeakable Acts.

Bow Street police station opposite the Opera House. Fallen Splendour.

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square. This appears in Artful Deception.

The National Gallery

The Criterion. Now a theatre, Silas and Jake had lunch here (Piccadilly) in Bitter Bloodline.

The Ivy, Seven Dials, which in my books is called ‘The Grapevine’ at Five Dials. Archer and Quill lunched here in Deviant Desire.

The side of the Lyceum Theatre from Bitter Bloodline. Silas found Jake homeless on this street corner.

The side of the Lyceum Theatre from Bitter Bloodline. I imagined Stoker’s office was at the top/back (round window), but I have no idea where it really was in the building.

Charing Cross railway station will appear in Artful Deception

The Garrick Club, Archer’s club in Covent Garden. It is mentioned in several of the books.

This street doesn’t appear in the books, but it is called Archer Street. Perhaps it was named after the viscount? The Windmill revue theatre beside it is famous for its nude revues. Silas would have approved; Thomas would not have done!

Bitter Bloodline

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Bitter Bloodline

Book five in The Clearwater Mysteries series is now available on Kindle, in KU and in paperback. (Links below.)

This is the first story set at Larkspur Hall, Archer’s rambling country house in Cornwall, but even down there, the ‘crew’ are not safe from the conspiracies against them and their friends, as you will see.

 

 

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZXD5KXS

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1704638399

Remember, if you like one of my books, please do leave a review at Amazon, mention it on Facebook pages and share the news around your FB readers’ groups if you belong to any. Your support means so much! You can also follow my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/jacksonmarshauthor/

Welcome to Larkspur Hall

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Welcome to Larkspur Hall.

Hi. Sorry I’ve not posted much of late, I have been working hard on part five of the Clearwater Mysteries, ‘Bitter Bloodline.’ It’s now done and going off to be proof read this week. meanwhile, my cover designer is working her magic on the cover, and I am writing the fourth book in my ‘Saddling Mysteries’ series, under my name, James Collins.

Larkspur Hall‘Bitter Bloodline’ should be available in November. Meanwhile, here is one of the images Andjela K is working on for the cover. It is the closest stock image I could find to show Larkspur Hall. I imagine it will look a lot different when she is done with it! Meanwhile, can I try out this draft blurb on you? This is what I have for the back of the book and the Amazon pages:

Following an accident, a schoolboy and a tattooed Romanian find themselves unexpected guests at Clearwater’s country house, Larkspur Hall.

But what if their presence is no accident? What if Mr Smith is Protectori, a member of an ancient order of assassins bent on destroying anyone who sullies the name of the Szekely people of Transylvania? And what do a runaway boy and an assassin have to do with Clearwater’s famed Easter dinner party and its guest of honour, the actor, Henry Irving?

Ancestral feuds, a pocket watch and a rare Romanian wine are seemingly random connections until Silas breaks into a London theatre, and James rescues a boy from drowning. Then, it’s a race against time to prevent a hideous murder and Archer’s ruin.

The Clearwater Mysteries are best read in order. Bitter Bloodline is a no-heat mystery that sees Archer’s loyal servants become their own band of Protectori.

Clearwater Mysteries

Fallen Splendour

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Fallen Splendour

Part four of The Clearwater Mysteries, ‘Fallen Splendour’ has just been released on Kindle and KU. There will be a print version available in the next few days.

For me, it feels like I’ve finished a sequence of four books, but there are more to come. The first four in this series take place in London 1888 and introduce us to the main five characters, Archer (Lord Clearwater), Silas (his lover), Thomas (his butler), Fecker (Silas’ bestie) and then, in part two, James (his footman).

Things laid down, mentioned or seen in one part lead to bigger things in the next, as the stories develop, usually taking two of the MCs as the main POV characters in each book. Book one, Archer and Silas, book two, James and Archer, Book three Silas and James, book four James and Archer (and Fecker), and so on.

Without giving too much away, here are the mysteries you can expect.

Deviant Desire: ‘The Ripper’ is killing rent boys as a way to lure Archer to a confrontation.
Twisted Tracks: The team of five must decipher a code to reach the endgame in time
Unspeakable Acts: A murder, on stage during an opera house gala, is threatened.
Fallen Splendour: The clue is in a verse by Alfred Lord Tennyson…

Actually, there are two stories running in Fallen Splendour, two connected theatres that must be dealt with and I’m rather thrilled with what I’ve done with the story. Some of it comes from a poem I fell in love with at school, and the clues in the story are wrapped up in one verse. Basically: Where is this location?

The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
[Alfred Lord Tennyson]

You will have to read the book to find out and, as with most of my other novels, there’s adventure, tears, feel-good, a little sex and a lot of male bonding and strong friendships that are in danger of boiling over into romance. It’s all very romantic in the general sense of the word and my boys do love each other in one way or another.

Here’s the link to the .com and .co.uk pages. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please leave a helpful review!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V522JR3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07V522JR3

All the best
Jackson

The book blurb for Fallen Splendour:

“We have his sisters. Involve your catamite, and they will die before the shortest day.”

A kidnapping, a threat and a deadly showdown force Lord Clearwater and his coachman, Andrej, on a secret mission to save two innocent girls. But where are they? The clue to the location is wrapped up in a Tennyson poem, and time is fast running out.

Left at Clearwater House to crack the code, James finds himself with another ominous responsibility when Inspector Adelaide makes an arrest. With his master missing, it falls to the footman to crack the code, fight a court case, and save Archer’s reputation.

With only three days to find the answers, all evidence points to a location known only to Tennyson himself, and an enemy thought dead.

But what if James is wrong?

An interconnected double mystery, Fallen Splendour is the fourth in the Clearwater Mysteries series. The books are best read in order.

Research

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Research

My collection of research books for the new series I am writing is expanding. The Clearwater Mysteries series is set in Victorian times (1888) and set in a city which is clearly London, but because I need to take liberties with history, I have made it an ‘imaginary London of 1888’. When I say liberties, I mean, for example, in book one of the series, the Ripper is killing men, not women, and so I am mixing fact with fiction.

In my stories (The Clearwater Mysteries), as in truth, the identity of the Ripper is never known, except in my series, we do know who he is, and we see what he went on to do after those crimes ended. We also find out why. In other places, I have stayed close to the facts but not quite, using some real locations, basing characters and their names on people of the time or near the time. Example, in book four, ‘Fallen Splendour’ (still in editing and not yet published), I have a barrister called Sir Easterby Creswell. I took his name from a real judge in the 19th century called Sir Creswell Creswell (whose family name was Easterby), and so on.

Over the weekend, I received two more books to add to the collection of things to be read when I take time off from writing. So far, I have collected several actual books, which I prefer, and a few Kindles. I find Kindle good for when I want some information now and don’t want to have to wait two weeks for an online order to arrive. If the book is something I will keep and use again, I’ll then order a paper or hardback copy.

Off the top of my head (I am in the study at 4.30 a.m., and the books are scattered around the house, and I don’t want to make noise by searching for them), I have gathered books about the stately homes of England, Victorian buildings, the Cleveland Street scandal of 1889, life in Victorian London, Jack the Ripper (I already have several), a collection of writings by ordinary people of the time, first-hand accounts of daily life etc., a book on the railways, the history of the Ukraine, ‘The Sins of Jack Saul’ and Saul’s allegedly penned, er, ‘novel’ about the life of a male street worker in those days, a dictionary of Victorian slang, a Bradshaw’s guide (1886, reprint), and several railways maps from the time. There are others, but I expect you’re getting bored by now. What I am looking for next is a good Atlas of the country from around that time, something as detailed as the large, green-cover Readers’ Digest atlas we used to have when younger.

[Here’s the link to the first three books of the series, The Clearwater Mysteries]

Unspeakable Acts published

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Unspeakable Acts published

The good news of this week is that part three of The Clearwater Mysteries has now been published. Unspeakable Acts is available from Amazon Kindle, KU and in paperback. Here is the link to the .com listing, but the book is available through co.uk and other Amazon domains. Unspeakable Acts.

The Clearwater Mysteries runs in order, so if you haven’t read parts one and two, you are advised to do that first. Each book builds on the stories that have gone before as the world grows, the character count increases and the villains stack up to oppose Viscount Clearwater and his team of faithful friends/servants/lovers – there is some crossover between roles depending on who is with whom and at what time.

The next part of the series, ‘Fallen Splendour’ is currently in the typewriter, as it were. I am up to 50,000 words on that one, about halfway through, having spent a week on the Greek island of Tilos composing the story and clues, researching and writing. I was able to put down 35,000 words in five days there as I have no distractions. Well, none apart from the sea, but I am not a great swimmer, and the tavernas and village square. Now I am home, I am having to fit in daily life, distractions and paid work (only four hours a day, but still a nuisance) but the book is marching on. I’m aiming for an August/September release for part four, and there will be more about it soon.

Meanwhile, catch up with Archer, Silas, Thomas, James and Fecker by starting with ‘Deviant Desire’ and a hunt for the East End Ripper. Then move on to ‘Twisted Tracks’ for a “Catch me if you can” mystery thriller and a bumpy train ride, before heading to the opera house for ‘Unspeakable Acts.’ I won’t say too much about part four (no spoilers allowed), but so far, we have been to Bow Street police station, become lost in a blizzard and learnt a fair amount about the poetry of Tennyson, the Poet Laureate in 1888. More to come on this developing story before too long.

Jackson Marsh Author profile at Amazon for a list of all my titles

Unspeakable Acts is on its way

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Unspeakable Acts is on its way

Hi

I thought it was high time I updated you with what I have been doing. Writing of course! Actually, I have been away for a week writing a block of part four of The Clearwater Mysteries (which I will tell you about in a moment). While I was doing that, my wonderful proofreader was working through Unspeakable Acts, book three in the series.

This series launched in March with Deviant Desire, and that has already become my top-selling title, outselling even the Mentor series – more or less, in the last two months alone. It is followed by Twisted Tracks, another mashup romance, adventure, mystery, historical novel, and that will soon be followed by Unspeakable Acts.

 

I don’t want to give away any spoilers of course, and it’s hard to tell you what’s happening in parts two and three without spoiling the end of part one, Deviant Desire, so you will have to bear with me. Where Deviant Desire is about the Ripper killings of East London in 1888 – but not the real killings, they were just the inspiration as my story concerns rent boys as victims – Twister Tacks saw our band of four become a band of five. Archer (Lord Clearwater), his new, younger lover, Silas, his best mate the Ukrainian hulk, Andrej (Fecker) and the lithe and lush footman, Thomas (red hair, slim body, big dick, right up my street) are joined by the new love of Thomas’ life, James. Twisted Tracks takes them to the North York Moors and a chase involving a stream train; very exciting.

My writing desk at home

Part three takes place a few weeks later. Archer is launching his Foundation to assists street boys of the East End with a gala performance at the City opera house. There’s nasty work afoot though as a villain, or villains seeks to discredit Archer and his charity, expose his homosexuality and bring the house down on his success and fortune. His team, of course, have other ideas and in this story, it’s Silas and James who take the lead, bonding as new friends and perhaps finding themselves a little more attracted to each other than their boyfriends would like. I’ll say no more, except Unspeakable Acts will be out later in June.

My writing table while I was away

I was away on a Greek island called Tilos, where I sometimes go to write away from home distractions. I live on the next island across so it’s easy to get to. While there, over my six-day stay, I managed to write the first 35,000 words of the first draft of book four. I also had to invent clues for the mystery, research Victorian railways and times and do a lot of other research. When you have only the sea view and a few tavernas for company, it’s amazing how much you can get done. Book four, Fallen Splendour is still only a quarter first-drafted, but the story is plotted. I have my nephew staying with us at present, so writing is on hold for the rest of this week. After that, Unspeakable Acts will be formatted and released, and I will get back to Fallen Splendour, aiming to have it ready for you by August or September.

My morning view ( my home island is in the distance)

Thanks for reading the blog and the books and remember, if you like what you read, please post reviews and tell everyone in Social Media groups. Thank you.

Tilos

And home again

‘Twisted Tracks’ is ready for you!

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‘Twisted Tracks’ is ready for you!

Twisted Tracks, The Clearwater Mysteries book two

Part two of The Clearwater Mysteries, this adventure sees the viscount and his band of faithful servants setting off to the Yorkshire Moors to hunt down a killer. A new footman (hunky), an old crush, devious enemies and some twisted clues lead the way to a thrilling climax.

The interesting development for me is the way the servants are fast becoming friends, not only of each other, but also of the viscount. He’s a man who wants to cross social boundaries, the trouble is, where will it all end?

There’s no end in sight as I now go back to part three ‘Unspeakable Acts’ while plotting out future developments in part four, as yet untitled, and beyond to more action/adventure, friendship and love, mashup thrillers and romance.

As with all my books, Twisted Tracks is available in Kindle and comes free with Kindle Unlimited. The print version will be available soon. Available in all Amazon stores.

Kindle: $2.99
Print $9.99

Deviant Desire – Mickie B. Ashling

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Deviant Desire – Mickie B. Ashling

“I’ve been writing stories about men who love men since I discovered fan fiction in 2002. My first original novel, Horizons, was published by Dreamspinner Press in April 2009. Since then I’ve written over 35 novels in the m/m genre.”

This blog has been running for some time, so there are lots of posts to browse back through with links to hot MM Romance novels, reviews and information. The Mickie B Ashling blog is not listed as having an interview or review of Deviant Desire, but it will be interesting to see what is put there later today.

Deviant Desire, The Clearwater Mysteries book one – available now on Amazon, print, Kindle and KU

The book tour is going well. There was a lot of interest in Deviant Desire from the publication date and has already became one my personal best sellers. That’s not a term I give much notice to. Anyone can write ‘Number one best seller’ across their cover and blurb, and I could probably do the same for DD. It is one of my top sellers, but it’s not a worldwide best seller as we might understand the over-used term. It’s not a Steven King or John Grisham – not yet! Actually, it never will be, it’s not their kind of book. It’s mine and hopefully it will become yours too.

You should find the links and information on Mickie B Ashling today.

Deviant Desire- The Clearwater Mysteries book one
Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and print.
(Available in your local Amazon store)