The mystery of the missing Mystery – Out now! The paperback of THE FOREVER HOUSE

 

Global Link to The Forever House in paperback & ebook, and free to read with Kindle Unlimited

The paperback of The Forever House is finally live. It is a psychological suspense novel, 

 “...a gripping mystery full of twists and turns…”

Caroline Haynes and her husband are serial house renovators, never enjoying the fruits of their labours, always selling on their completed properties to start afresh on a new project. The Forever House was built in the early 1920s, and was to be their final project, their true home.

But life happens, and things don’t quite go according to plan. While scraping away wallpaper in a bedroom, Carrie uncovers a poignant message from the past. Yet, the more she thinks about it, the darker the connotations become. Family members believe she’s making something out of nothing. Carrie believes otherwise and determines to discover the truth of it. But who is there to ask, except the house itself? She starts with the Deeds, if she can find them.

...Reading the inked imprints of a manual typewriter was like going back in time: the conveyance between the builder and the first buyer, the landowner and the builder, the faded copperplate handwriting of a previous land conveyance, J. Tunstall, Esq, Farmer. The names of vendors and purchasers were all present, just as they would be on the deeds to this house. So where were the deeds to this house?

As anyone who has bought a property in the UK will know, the Deed of Title is kept electronically by the Land Registry – there is no need of the historic documents marking its journey through time. When we bought our 1950s house, our solicitor asked us, almost as an afterthought, if we wanted the historic conveyances, otherwise they would be destroyed.

Destroyed?! Apart from my intake of breath being heard in the next town, I couldn’t get my hands on them fast enough. And I was right to claim them. The depth of information they hold is fascinating.

When Carrie Haynes is gifted information about The Forever House, more questions are generated than answered – some causing echoes closer to home, and far closer to the present.


The Forever House is now available as an ebook to purchase, is free to read within a Kindle Unlimited subscription, and finally to read in good old, dependable, paperback.

Enjoy your reading - Linda Acaster

Newsprint and Coffee

Photo by Ron Porter on Pixabay

Newsprint and coffee are my way of waking up to the world. When my husband was alive, we took two newspapers. This allowed early mornings to be a companionable time of rustling the pages, refilling the coffee pot, and grunting comments to each other on what we read.

Apart from providing a relaxing start to the day, newspapers are a treasure trove of ideas for writing. I read the paper cover to cover, absorbing not only the headlines but the snippets of information contained in the filler paragraphs.

A robot lawnmower escapes through a hole in the fence, council workers dig up the wrong driveway, a householder is fined for an extravagant display of Christmas lights. The list goes on.

Fact is often stranger than fiction, but facts provide a springboard. Disputes over wills, parking wars, over-zealous officials, there is no shortage of material to inspire stories or scripts.

That’s my excuse anyway when the postman or milkman finds me perusing the paper, still in my dressing gown past nine in the morning. 

 Madeleine McDonald

 

Madeleine has work in a plethora of fiction anthologies as can be seen from her Amazon page. 

She also writes historical & contemporary Romantic Suspense. Her ebook Enchantment in Morocco is now available via Kindle Unlimited.

The Value of Community Journalism.

 

Often overlooked, hyper-local newspapers, journals, zines and radio provide a vital information source to rural communities. With the aim of providing access to local news, these often free publications boost the voice of clubs, grass root projects, art events and community groups.

They’re important to communities because they raise awareness of local issues. Many focus on good news and informative articles. With editors adhering to a code of conduct and avoiding dramatic, misleading headlines, they build trust with their listeners and readers.

Advertising within these pages allows businesses to harness this for their own benefit, too. By aligning themselves with a positive message it supports the production costs.

For authors, it is well worth sending press releases to editors of these local sources. It can reach a readership who, for whatever reason, don’t use social media. Radio stations will often have a book feature interviewing authors or discussing book club novels.

But these outlets are also another way to see publication.

Hornsea Writer Karen Wolfe provides knowledgeable monthly amusement and anecdotes for Hornsea Community News exploring everything relating to dogs. Her articles regularly lift the spirit with a smile. As well as being informative, they are topical and naturally tie in with her Dogsbody novels.

Shellie Horst writes for Just Beverley, giving voice to the fictional antics of two beavers Bev’n’Ley. These short, locally researched pieces are designed encourage reading with children. They fit nicely around her other commitments. 

REMEMBER!  Hyper-local news outlets are not to be confused with advertising booklets. These can often be thrown away without consideration, meaning it's a waste of author’s funds.

Here's a few local to Hornsea outlets for you to consider.

Hornsea Community News

Seaside FM

https://hullisthis.news/

https://holderness-gazette.co.uk

Just Beverley

Beverley FM

An Undeserved Accolade

 

Oof! My book is finally live on Amazon Kindle, at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B2S8NPL2

After the rights reverted to me, I tackled the fiddly process of commissioning a new cover, proofreading my original Word document, and formatting the lot in accordance with Amazon’s rules.

Time to relax, and raise a glass to myself.

But – what’s this?

Amazon has ranked my book number 5 in ‘Caribbean and Latin American Poetry’, ahead of Derek Walcott, no less. In fact, I asked for it to be included under ‘Historical Caribbean and Latin American Fiction’ and some poor, underpaid pen pusher in Amazon’s sprawling empire has ticked the wrong box on his list of categories.

According to the marketing gurus, picking the right categories and keywords is vital to self-publishing success. Yet navigating the maze of 4000+ categories is no easy task. I congratulated myself on unearthing strings identifying ‘Women’s Fiction’ by theme, only for Amazon to inform me that those categories applied to print books, not ebooks. Go figure.

A celebratory half-glass then, before I ask Amazon to correct their error, and lose my undeserved number 5 ranking.  

 

 

 

Announcing #psychologicalthriller THE FOREVER HOUSE

Member Linda Acaster’s novel, The Forever House, is now available for pre-order via Amazon – global link: https://mybook.to/ForeverHouse

The Forever House is Linda's eleventh title. She has used psychological suspense as an element in other works, but this is her first novel to fully embrace its genre.

Resisting family pressure to sell the too-big house Carrie and her late husband began to renovate, she is determined to carry through their shared project to prove she can manage alone.

And she can, until a discovery beneath old wallpaper chills her to the bone.

As her need to know more becomes all-consuming, Carrie’s family fears she's tipping into irretrievable obsession. Can she be dissuaded, or must she take that final step?

How far is too far to right a wrong? 

Early readers are calling it ...deeply moving...  ...an enthralling read...

The novel launches on 30 May in ebook format to purchase, and to read via Kindle Unlimited if a subscriber. A paperback will closely follow.

Asked how the idea for the novel originated:
"Simple. I was decorating, removing old wallpaper, and..."

And...? Ah, that would be telling.

Reserve your copy now: https://mybook.to/ForeverHouse

Okay, if you want to know a bit more, hop across to Linda's website.

A Writer's Journey Through Covid

Follow the trail of a writer's journey through covid:

• DAYS 1-5
• DAYS 6-10
• And finally an unexpected accolade

Happy Easter to everyone.

READ MORE from Penny Grubb

Writers - Are Your Books Available in Libraries?

If you are a writer with books available for loan from public libraries, you are eligible for payment.

In order to access this payment, you need to register your books with a PLR (Public Lending Right) scheme, or for overseas libraries, with a Collecting Society.

To learn how to access PLR, CLICK HERE.

Kings of A Dead World - Exclusive Online Event

 

This Feburary 22nd Hornsea Writer Shellie Horst will be chatting with Jamie Mollart, the author of  Kings of a Dead World.

 

In a relaxed and informal online event, interested writers will be able to learn about Jamie's writing processes, influences and challenges of writing the Speculative Fiction novel Kings of A Dead World, published by Sandstone Press. 

 

Set in a world where climate change has caused drastic measures to maintain life, the  novel took five years to write. An Amazon Rising Star of 2015, Jamie Mollart used all of his experience from self publishing to create a story that binds literary and genre styles into a gripping read.

Follow this link to register for free. https://www.crowdcast.io/e/kings-of-a-dead-world-book-launch/register

 

 

A Reminder to Writers - Don't Miss Out

If your work has been published in a magazine, a journal, a book, it is potentially earning secondary royalties, and there are people and organisations all around the world who are out there collecting that money for you.

They will try to find you but it's much easier for you to find them and tell them about your work.

CLICK HERE  to learn about Collecting Societies and how to access your secondary income from writing.

RICK SUMNER: a charitable man.

Christine & Rick Sumner

In 2021, we said goodbye to Rick: friend, fellow-author and founder member of Hornsea Writers.

A former miner, trawlerman and community leader, Rick and his wife Christine moved to the east coast supposedly to retire. Which didn’t happen. Before you could say ‘miners’ strike’ both were heavily involved in projects within their adopted community. 

Christine and her fellow volunteers established lovely gardens from neglected areas. Following the closure of the Hornsea lifeboat station, Rick, inspired by his lifelong love of the sea, was instrumental in the creation of Hornsea Inshore Rescue, an organisation which has saved many lives at sea. Dedicated fund-raising over the years has enabled the volunteers to purchase, crew and maintain the lifeboat, along with its boathouse and popular visitor centre.   

Always good company, and with a wealth of jokes and stories derived from his eventful past, Rick was politically active, a champion of the underdog and a man with a social conscience. Rallies and fundraisers apart, he hit upon the idea of harnessing his writing ability in aid of a cause: sales of his ‘Kilby Welfare’ cassettes raised thousands for ex-miners and their communities. This most amiable of men had little time for politicians, and he never forgave Margaret Thatcher for the pit closures. Hopefully he’s still giving her hell! 

The 2020 HRI Charity Swim - fancy dress optional.

Each New Year’s Day, we remember Rick, one of the Ideas Men behind the event, as the annual Hornsea Inshore Lifeboat charity swim gets underway. Viciously cold mountainous seas would daunt the bravest, yet hundreds take part (282 swimmers in 2022.) The event is always fun, a showcase for the rescue services, attracting hundreds of visitors and raising incredible amounts for the HIR. A lasting tribute to Rick and his hard-working friends.

So thank you, Rick, for the jokes, the stories, the fun…and for making our little piece of Yorkshire a better place. 

 

A bit more on Rick and his life can be found HERE.