Saturday, 31 December 2016

Thoughts for the New Year

As members look back fondly – and sometimes not so fondly - at the year’s achievements, it’s time to look forward and wish our readers...


And so the door is closed on the old and the door to the new stepped through.

April Taylor plans a busy few months. The third Georgia Pattison Mystery (Laid In Earth)  is scheduled for publication in Spring. There are also a couple of standalones, more romantic thriller than pure detective novels, to be finished, as well as writing the fourth full-length Georgia (Say Goodbye Now) and another Christmas Georgia short story – which she tells us after this year’s experience will be written in July!

Stuart Aken has already begun the follow-up to his Sci-Fi novel Blood Red Dust. Life on Mars is going to get complicated as the decades go by. He'll be completing the second in the series and turning his imagination to some shorter pieces for the literary press and some writing contests.

Penny Grubb expects to see publication of her seventh Annie Raymond novel in 2017 which is also Hull’s City of Culture year, not that Annie ‘does’ culture, but that doesn’t stop her becoming entangled in the darker side of East Yorkshire’s world of fine dining. Penny is also looking forward to the release of a short Sci-Fi / Fantasy story in audio. On the academic front, she hopes to publish more on the use of innovative teaching techniques to unlock the value of the written word in healthcare education.

Linda Acaster will be finishing the final novel in the Torc of Moonlight trilogy, Pilgrims of the Pool. [Members hereby note the term will and intend to keep her to it.] There is also a Horror novella to complete, a Western novella to write, and a new project to research.

Elaine Hemingway is far more businesslike. Having managed to keep one 2016 Resolution – to complete NaNowWiMo – she is chalking up four new goals:  to write between 100-1000 words daily; to complete at least one piece per month for submission; to attend Faith Writers weekly as well as Hornsea Writers fortnightly; to revise her work-in-progress Exiled.

Karen Whitchurch insists that 2017 is her 'Year of the Dog' with her goal set as launching her Cosy Crime dog-whisperer trilogy in e-book and paperback formats. Dogsbody, Dogwatch, and Dogdays are straining at their leashes, desperate to run free and socialise with their own kind.

Madeleine McDonald plans to concentrate on short pieces. In 2016 she had flash fiction, essays and poetry published in various print anthologies and on websites, including a commended poem in the 2016 UK Carers' Anthology.

Annie Wilkinson’s plan is to fight her fictional Cod War to the bitter finish, and hope it results in a publishable Women’s Saga to add to her others.

Joy Gelsthorpe will be finishing the rewrite of Reighton, based on church records of the late 1700s, and making a start on its sequel which will be lighter in tone. And with fewer deaths [Members will believe that when they hear it!].

Keep up to date with odd ruminations and new release information from members by following this blog by email (see the bottom of the page). And enjoy your New Year!

Saturday, 24 December 2016

Christmas short stories and other adventures

It is now the fashion for authors to write a seasonal short story featuring their series characters. Having written my first Christmas short story for the Georgia Pattison Mysteries, I have learned a few lessons I feel compelled to share. Hopefully other authors will take note and readers will understand the complexities of the unplanned writing life.

To my fellow writers, I say write the blessed thing in July and get it all prepared ready to upload. Make sure the cover is done and sorted. Don't be like me who didn't and, were it not for the immense kindness of Karri Klawiter who designs all the Georgia Pattison Mystery covers, I would even now be tearing out what few handfuls of hair remain on my head.

Electing to have a new kitchen put in on Christmas week was not my finest decision, either. However, I have not done as some do and decided to move house. The up-side of the kitchen chaos is that we are eating out for a few days, which is fine by me.

Back to the story. I have decided it is high time our Georgia found a bit of romance. Only a bit, because after all, she is a singer and part-time detective. In this story, she meets the dysfunctional Broome family who own Gunmere Hall. Needless to say, there is murder and mayhem and music.

If you enjoy a skilfully plotted mystery, The Midnight Clear, the latest instalment in the Georgina Pattison Mystery series, is for you. And, to enhance your enjoyment, links to the music featured in the story are included.

For more information, go to: www.apriltaylorauthor.com/blog

For more information about April Taylor, go here:

Saturday, 10 December 2016

Book Trailer Anyone? #4 Native American

FantastiCon may have been and gone, but its echoes are still being felt. Participating authors who elected to have book trailers created as part of their package have had them delivered. Needless to say, Linda Acaster was first in the queue.

Historical novels are notorious in having a remit difficult to fulfill, Native American even more so. But the trailer for Beneath The Shining Mountains hits all the right notes, even down to the music. See for yourself on YouTube

This is the second of Linda's works to have a book trailer, the first being Scent of a Böggel-Mann, which can be viewed HERE.

Enjoy!

Saturday, 3 December 2016

Have You Got Your Copy Yet?



When readers react like this, the book must really be good:

From Glen Donaldson on Goodreads:
Enjoyed? I positively feasted on this book!
Move over Isaac Asimov.
Stand aside Arthur C. Clarke.
Tip your hat Frank Herbert.
There’s a new voice and a quite robust imagination lighting up the sci-fi literary cosmos; and one that speaks with a mythically crisp British accent. (read the whole review here)

Cary Grossman rated it 5 Stars. It was amazing.
In Blood Red Dust, Stuart Aken skilfully creates a sobering view of Earth's last days, as reported by the first colonists of Mars. His Orwellian description of an environmentally uninhabitable Earth sounds chillingly prophetic… (read the entire review here)

These comments are from reviews of Stuart Aken’s new novel, Blood Red Dust, which was launched at Fantasticon 2016 on 19th November. The publisher’s stock ran out over that weekend, but more books are now available. 

You can get a copy direct from Fantastic Books Publishing, here. Or, from your local Amazon store, here. It’s also available through most retail booksellers.

What’s it about?

As people struggle to survive in an increasingly hostile climate on Earth, plans are afoot for the preservation of the human race. Mars, already occupied by commercial mining interests, is the only viable option. The Chosen are sent to colonise the new world and germinate the seeds of their new Utopia. But dark forces not only want to halt the plan, they want to see the end of all human life, everywhere. If mankind survives the divinely inspired crusade of death from dogma-driven martyrs, will The Chosen’s new Utopia be the real route to salvation?

As Stuart Aken would say, ‘Enjoy the read’.