Leopold Borstinski's Blog, page 2

How misogynist should a 1950s character be?

As I’ve been finishing off the editing of I Confess, I have found myself facing a simple question. The book is set in the 1950s when the average man had a very different attitude to the women he met compared to the average member of the modern liberal metropolitan wokerati of today. So to what extent should the novel reflect contemporary values as opposed to reflecting the values of the historical times in which it is set?

Jake Adkins, the private eye at the center of the story has a roving eye and a tendency to believe that the women he mets want to bed him. In that regard, he is like a scruffy, down-at-heel James Bond, without the charisma or fancy gadgets. Some of the early feedback I have received has left me wondering whether I should rein in some of his more unpleasant thoughts as they do not chime with how we expect characters to behave any more.

If you want to judge the results for yourself, then pre-order the book now. It is going to be released in the next month and you should make sure you get your copy on the day it is born.

I Confess is nearly almost with us

Like the arrival of the largest baby elephant, the gestation of I Confess has, I must admit, taken an inhuman amount of time. Well, the good news is that it is going to hit the streets in a matter of a handful of weeks. The manuscript has finally arrived at my editor and then when I get it back, there will be a small amount of polishing before I push it off the cliff and drop it on Amazon.

If you want to make sure you get it as soon as the private eye novel is available, then grab your pre-order today. Ignore anything that says the book won’t be out until July, because we are looking at early June at the very latest.

The novel is set in the 1950s and involves Jake Adkins, a down-at-heel private dick who has a chance to earn some green by proving his client is guilty of murder. And, yes, you read that correctly.

I Confess is over (bar the shouting)

I am pleased to tell you that I have completed the first draft of the first novel in my new private detective series, Jake Adkins PI. The novel is called I Confess and you should expect it to hit the streets in April.

It is set in Los Angeles 1953 and follows Jake’s attempt to prove his client is guilty of murder. Yes, that’s what I said. If you want to catch it as soon as it is ready, then I strongly urge you to pre-order now either direct from my website or on Amazon. Ignore the publication date as I will be dropping the novel in a short while.

At this point, I am not intending on publishing it on Kobo, Apple or B&N, even for a couple of weeks as my buying readership is on Amazon. If you feel strongly that you’d like me to put the book out on those platforms, then let me know and if there is sufficient demand, I’m open to changing my mind.

Fancy reading something this month?

Here’s a quick one for you.

If you are interested in getting your hands on some first books in crime series, then look no further than February First in Series.

This is a classic opportunity to get hold of some books with sequels in tow that have been discounted for your reading pleasure. And yes, you can get yourself a copy of The Bowery Slugger if you fancy.

Fill your boots.

Leo

Killing corpses kindly

I have been quite quiet about my latest manuscript, I Confess, which is the first detective novel based on the character of Jake Adkins from The Case.

Well, I am three quarters of the way through it and a funny thing happened yesterday. Jake was about to have a gunfight with a murdered character when I realized how bad that plan was. This followed the previous week when Jake was based in Los Angeles and I was going to send him to visit his former partner, Ed Cohen. Great, only Ed was buried in Chicago and it was meant to be a thirty-minute drive.

Why mention these mistakes? So that you can be assured that when the novel does get published around April, then you can be assured I will have ironed out all the narrative wrinkles and deliver you a smooth ride.

Have your say

It is time for my annual check to find out who about you and in what direction I think you should head.

Just take the survey to give your feedback. It should take you less than a minute to complete and I will be forever in your debt. More or less.

Thanks in advance

Leo

Crime in January

Here is a fantastic opportunity for you to grab sone criminally good books (see what I did there?) that will cost you none of your hard-earned cash.

For the record, this is a curated page of crime and detective novels which are only available this month. So download as many as you fancy as soon as you can.

And, yes, it is true that the Jake Adkins novella, Proof is on the list, but I encourage you to try as many as you can from all the authors.

Fill your boots.

Leo

Merry Festive Times

Ho, ho, ho.

For those of you who celebrate something special at this time of the year, I hope you have a nice time. The same is true if the festive spirit passes you by.

These are dark times indeed. Those people who have been following my story for quite some time will know that I tend to look back on the year in December, as many others do too. This has been one of my least productive years since I started writing with a mix of paternal death and Covid being the primary causes. I think it is fair to say that my full author energy has yet to return.

I say this fully aware that there are many people in far worse circumstances than myself, and I state this as a stone-cold fact.

As a result, I shall threaten a reader survey and you should expect me to deliver that before the end of January, but I make no promises. My main thoughts are to what I do after I finish the current set of books about Jake Adkins PI and, as ever, I like to get feedback before I reach any conclusion.

Although Christmas time is not culturally that significant for me, one aspect I do enjoy are the presents. So, I’d like to give you something. It is a second prequel novella to the Alex Cohen series and focuses on the time between Sarah arriving in New York and her meeting Alex. This is my gift to you and it is called The Bowery Belle.

I hope you enjoy it and I anticipate this will be the very last piece of the Alex world we see – unless I create a spin-off series, of course…

Enjoy

Leo

Guess which novel I’m working on now…

I should have run this post at the beginning of September, but the simple truth is that I forgot to.

There is a tradition (reaching back two books) that I announce the start with a numerical image. Well, traditions are important and here is my formal acknowledgement that I Confess is my fourteenth full-length novel and that I have started writing it. It is the first of a series of three stories spun off from the Amazon bestseller, The Case, and tells the story of private eye, Jake Adkins as he tries his best to prove his client guilty of murder.

And yes, you read that correctly. His job is convince the DA in 1953 Los Angeles that he’s not only found the right person but that Avril Langchamps should be sent to trial for a crime she has already said she did.

It’ll be out early next year, followed by two more stories landing in 2023 also.

Leo

Grab a Series Starters

An opportunity for those who want to check out some series starters on Kindle Unlimited called KU Thriller Series Starters. The name of the collection is a bit of a clue, but in case it is not obvious, here goes.

If you want to try some thriller box set book ones, then this is the set for you. Check it out now.

Fill your boots.

Leo