Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Works in Progress...

Often don't progress. 

I'm a Plotter. Writing murder-mysteries practically requires it. I have to know whodunnit, why, where, how, and when. It's not the kind of thing IMO that can be done using the Pantsing method without needing a lot of refining, head-scratching and rubbing out in many subsequent drafts.

I write an outline before I start on any Veronica Nash story, filling in details as they occur to me. The process can take weeks, sometimes months, but I think it's worth it as it makes writing the manuscript that much easier.

That's not to say plotting out a story beforehand is foolproof.

For my current manuscript I wrote an outline as usual then set to work. It pootled along quite nicely for the opening chapters then hit a snag. The characters were going places and doing things that jarred with what I had in mind. Fixing it required a lot of thought - often subconsciously - and a bit of time. I let it be over the holidays then returned to it afresh. 

And that's when I saw the problem was in the outline, not the manuscript. By rearranging where the principal characters are and what they're doing I overcame the stoppage (Writing is similar to plumbing: Discuss). Once that was solved everything began to flow again.

Moral of the story - Outlines are never set in stone, nor should they be.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Death on the Rocks ~ Coming soon!

Death on the Rocks ~ Book #8 in the Veronica Nash murder-mysteries - will be released on October 21st!

Death drops in... 
 
Veronica and Claire’s delayed honeymoon on the French Riviera is interrupted when a man falls onto their beach. Did Hollywood mogul Solly Myers fall—or was he pushed? He’d plenty of enemies, but negotiating the tangle of friendships and betrayals to uncover the truth is no easy task—especially after one fateful night in the casino.

Friday, September 17, 2021

Chimes at Midnight ~ Out now!

 

Chimes at Midnight

Death and blackmail walk amongst the Dreaming Spires...

A year-end tradition at St. Barbara’s College Oxford ends in the death of a controversial professor. Royce Sheridan had enemies—but which one killed him? A weekend at a stately home may enable Veronica and Claire to uncover the culprit, but as a snowstorm engulfs the house and the body count rises, they may find more than they bargain for.

https://www.extasybooks.com/Chimes-at-Midnight

Sunday, August 01, 2021

eXtasy Books ~ Revamped website

To celebrate eXtasy Books new revamped website they're offering 40% off sale price on certain books!

Head on over to check out a new author or title!


Friday, January 08, 2021

A Fool in the Marketplace ~ Out now

 


Murder’s afloat on the River Thames.

A pleasant Summer day hobnobbing with lords and ladies at Henley Regatta turns into a nightmare for Veronica and Claire. Someone has poisoned Claire’s oldest brother—and a dreadful secret makes her a prime suspect.

A Fool in the Marketplace - Out Now at Devine Destinies Books.

 

Tuesday, September 01, 2020

Not long now...

Today saw the final touches made to the cover art for A Dangerous Quality, the first book of the Veronica Nash murder-mystery series. Thanks to the cover artist, the talented Martine Jardine, the cover looks pretty much as I imagined my heroine to be. The publication date is due this Autumn. Watch this page for an announcement soon.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Edit to the Limit...

The edits for A Dangerous Quality, the first book of the Veronica Nash murder-mysteries set in the 1920s, are complete. The galleys have gone through a thorough check and returned. All that remains is for the cover art to be approved and a date for release set by my publisher, Devine Destinies

This series has been a labour of love for a long time, through the trials and tribulations of everyday life - and I think everyone knows how that's so unsettled these days. I look forward to sharing the release with you all soon. In the meantime, stay safe!


Thursday, April 23, 2020

Writing 'The End.'


It's always satisfying to write those words on the first draft of a novel! The shelter-in-place order we're living under is a mixed blessing for me. Yes, we can't go out unless for essentials, but it also allowed me plenty of time to write. Appropriately enough for Shakespeare's birthday, a volume of his works features prominently in the new story.

Sunday, April 05, 2020

Life in the Time of Coronavirus


This isn't the most regular of blogs. I see the last post I wrote here was three years ago. Ouch! So, I'll try to update at least every week or so from now on.

The Corvid-19 pandemic afflicting the world is a mixed blessing to writers and artists. Many people are finding the enforced quarantine and restricted movement a burden, for which I sympathise. Not being the most extroverted of people I'm tolerating the isolation better than most. It allows me a bit more time to work on manuscripts without distractions, and even time to create a blog post now and again. I'll also have a nice piece of news to share later regarding a new book series, but more of that anon.

In the meantime, I hope everyone stays safe. Hunker down, observe the measures against the pandemic, and see you on the other side.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Strange Tides - Out now at eXtasy Books!


Cover art by Valerie Tibbs.

A journalist, an islander, and an aviatrix set out on a mysterious quest…and end up saving the world.

The South Pacific, 1937...

When journalist Lynne LaRoche gets mixed up in a bar fight she plunges into an age-old mystery. Sexy islander Sinful Patrice and his sexy black partner, aviatrix Jessie Willard, have trouble on their hands from a trio of hoodlums. Lynne intervenes - and they embrace her in a ménage-a-troi, as a way to thank her.

Togther they set out on an adventure to seek Patrice’s inheritance on a volcanic island and run across a corrupt gendarme and an evil priest who conspire to take over the world. Only Lynne, with the help of Patrice and Jessie, can stop them.

Strange Tides - Out now!
                                                               ~~~
Read Lynne's earlier adventure, Awake in the Sun, in the Sizzling Summer Shorts from eXtasy Books!

Wake Island, the Pacific Ocean, 1937.

Liberated journalist Lynne LaRoche helps her new lover to trap the killer on his tail. When the Navy gets involved in the shape of rugged Lieutenant Greely, the heat level rises!

Monday, July 10, 2017

Thursday, March 17, 2011


My apologies for the long absence in posting here, but I've been rather busy with an exciting new development.

The Hetzenberg Chronicles has been accepted by Summerhouse Publishing for worldwide release in eformat!

Not only that, as seen above, the cover art for the first volume of the Chronicles, Prelude to War gets a spiffy new makeover! The original version is still available through Amazon subsidiary CreateSpace.

The second volume, The Heat of Battle is now going through pre-production and will appear in print sometime this spring.

Meanwhile, the adventures of Mary Amadeus et al will continue here as I find time.

Watch this space!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

The print version of
the Hetzenberg Chronicles, vol 1: Prelude to War
will be on sale from tomorrow!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Hetzenberg Chronicles is a thrilling tale of adventure and derring-do in an imaginary 18th century Europe. Read how a far from innocent novice nun and her companion are swept up in events beyond their control as two nations prepare to go to war! The first chapter starts here...