G.B. Ralph's Blog, page 14

The Bookshop Detectives come to town: vlog recap

Gareth and Louise Ward, Wardini Books booksellers and authors of The Bookshop Detectives, chat about a range of things in their second vlog, which you can watch on their Facebook page.

They discuss their latest book club book, spilling industry secrets, blue ducks (which feature in Poison at Penshaw Hall!), the mum network, the “seething metropolis of Palmerston North”, an evening at our wonderful library (which I covered in a previous post), some fantastic questions from Bing Turkby, dis...

An evening with cosy mystery co-authors Gareth and Louise Ward

I enjoyed a fantastic evening at the Palmerston North City Library with local author Bing Turkby interrogating Gareth and Louise Ward about their new co-authored book The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone.

An entertaining discussion with some fascinating insights into writing a book with your partner, running bookshops, being a part of the community, the publishing process, their days as police officers, and taking inspiration from the people and places around you.

I picked up a ...

The Bookshop Detectives will be live at the library

Gareth Ward and Louise Ward, former police officers turned booksellers and bestselling authors, will be in conversation with local author Bing Turkby at the Palmerston North City Library tomorrow night! See you there?

When? 6:00–7:30pm, Friday 6 September 2024
Where? Palmerston North Central Library (George St entrance)
Details: Library website / Facebook event

Source: Palmerston North City Library website

The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone is a cosy mystery set in New Zealand and co...

Beta reader feedback for Death in Douglas Glade

The comments are coming in for the latest draft of Death in Douglas Glade!

Plenty of excellent feedback from my wonderful beta readers. They’ve highlighted things that don’t quite work, but also everything they loved. I couldn’t help sharing a few of those little snippets here:

And now it’s time to make Death in Douglas Glade, the third of the Milverton Mysteries, even better. Just one month until publication day!

What’s the book about? OK can I read it yet?

Very soon! The...

Book blurb refresh 5 weeks out from release day

With the publication of Death in Douglas Glade just five weeks away, I’ve refreshed the book’s description (AKA blurb) to mark the occasion!

The previous version was a placeholder blurb for when I set up the pre-order just under a year ago. At that point I hadn’t even started writing the first draft yet! I had a few ideas about the mystery and how the characters might develop while solving it, but I was still months away from locking it all down.

As we close in on the finish line, I now ha...

How long is a chapter?

Who knows? I don’t! But carving up my latest book into chapters got me thinking about it…

While drafting and editing, I tend to work in scenes as opposed to chapters. My thinking is that scenes are segments of the story that’s being told, whereas chapters are breaks designed for the readers. Sometimes they line up and sometimes they don’t.

Very recently I reached that point in every book where I couldn’t see the forest for the trees and needed to get some fresh eyes on it. But before I pas...

500 Goodreads ratings for Murder on Milverton Square

I may have missed the precise moment Murder on Milverton Square passed the milestone, but I’m so pleased readers are still discovering Addison’s first misadventure in Milverton almost two years after it was first released!

I appreciate every reader who gives my books a go, and then even more so for taking the time to rate, review, or share with their friends, family, followers, librarians, and book clubs. It all helps to spread the word and ensures this book and its readers can find each othe...

Death in Douglas Glade: August progress update

Last week I hit THE END for the very first time with Death in Douglas Glade! Yaaay! Wooo! Celebration!

This draft took much longer than for the previous Milverton Mysteries, but it was a relief to find (upon reading back through it) that the draft was already in much better shape than my books usually are at this point.

I started this book with a stronger picture of the mystery (and the romance!) so was able to plan more beforehand, instead of having to chop and change quite as much in the...

The Milverton Mysteries available at Bruce McKenzie Booksellers

I am very pleased to report that Murder on Milverton Square and Poison at Penshaw Hall are now in stock at Bruce McKenzie Booksellers, my local independent book store! You can find the listings on their website:

Murder on Milverton SquarePoison at Penshaw HallThe new book table

Bruce McKenzie Booksellers is packed with a huge range of great titles, and I’m so happy they’ve carved out space for me and my books. Thanks so much to Louisa and Corey and the team for making this ha...

Recent reader reviews for The Milverton Mysteries

Stephen Horne of Reading with Stepphy has recently read and reviewed the first two books in The Milverton Mysteries:

Murder on Milverton Square

Poision at Penshaw Hall

It’s always so rewarding to hear from readers who’ve enjoyed Addison’s misadventures and spending time with Milverton’s many other residents! Special mentions go to Mabel the troublemaker, and Sergeant Jake Murphy who Stephen has dubbed Sergeant Hotty McHotty Pants!

I’ve also loved following along as Stephen live-p...