David W. Robinson's Blog: Always Writing, page 44

A Very British Blog Tour

Author, Nancy Jardine, has invited me to take part in ‘A Very British Blog Tour’ by visiting and supporting the websites of authors who are involved in the tour, and who are dedicated to turning out some of the finest books available in Britain today. Each author, named at the bottom of the page, has been asked the same questions, but their answers will obviously all be different. You merely click on the author’s link at the bottom of the page to see how they have answered the same questions.

So here are the questions together with my answers:

Where were you born and where do you live at the moment?

I was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and I now live on the outskirts of Manchester.

Have you always lived and worked in Britain or are you based elsewhere at the moment?

I’ve lived and worked here for the whole of my life.

Which is your favourite part of Britain?

That’s tough question to answer. Before I became a teacher (and after I quit teaching) I was a trucker and I spent most of my life covering the country. There is nowhere I haven’t been in England and Wales, and only a few areas of Scotland that I haven’t visited. If I had to choose anywhere, it would probably be the North Yorkshire area around Scarborough, Filey and Whitby, but South Devon comes a close second.

Have you ‘highlighted’ or ‘showcased’ any particular part of Britain in your books? For example, a town or city; a county, a monument or some well-known place or event?

LOL. The STAC Mysteries are set everywhere in England. When I first devised the series, I decided I didn’t want a normal whodunit with all the action taking place in a single city or county. There are currently six STAC Mysteries and they’re set in: Filey, Chester, York, Leeds, Lincoln and finally the fictitious town of Sanford. The seventh, which is due for release on March 20th, is set in Weston-super-Mare and Bath, and the eighth will probably be set in the Lake District. I also have two very dark thrillers on sale. The Handshaker is set in the Greater Manchester area and Voices takes place primarily in Manchester, but concludes in Northumberland.

There is an illusion – or myth if you wish – about British people that I would like you to discuss. Many see the ‘Brits’ as ‘stiff upper lip’. Is that correct?

I don’t know that it’s as true as it used to be. My parents grew up through the great depression of the 1930s, and survived World War Two. They had it really tough. My generation had it easy by comparison, and we learned how to protest, how to demand and secure improvements in living standards. We simply refused to endure unnecessary hardship. The modern generation don’t have it as good as we did. Opportunities, particularly in employment, are thinner on the ground, but conversely, they refuse to suffer quietly, and I see no reason why they should. If that means the decline of the ‘stiff upper lip’ then so be it.

Do any of the characters in your books carry the ‘stiff upper lip’? Or are they all ‘British Bulldog’ and unique in their own way?

One or two, but they’re really caricatures. The STAC Mysteries are generally light-hearted, and Captain Les Tanner can be seen as a figure of fun. He’s certainly the butt of much of much of Joe Murray’s cynicism. Felix Croft, hero of The Handshaker is public school educated, and he is of the stiff upper lip brigade, but he’s also a rebel in whom I instilled a level of basic human emotions. He endures hardship without feeling sorry for himself, but he’s also quite vocal on the injustice of it. Finally there are people like Major Cochrane and Colonel Thompson in Voices, who represent the British Establishment, uppercase E, at what I consider to be its militaristic worst.

Tell us about one of your recent books?

My Deadly Valentine is the sixth STAC Mystery, released on February 6th, targeted at a Valentine audience.

It’s a slight departure for the STAC Mysteries in that the entire story takes place in the fictitious town of Sanford, West Yorkshire, and for once the prime suspect is Joe himself. Suspected, not only of the current murder, but also of a string of murders perpetrated by the Sanford Valentine Strangler. We see sides to Joe that we haven’t seen before, include his need for female company. In keeping with all the STAC Mysteries, there is no sex and the violence is only hinted at.

My Deadly Valentine leapt into the Amazon UK Crime/thriller/mystery/British Detectives top 100 on the a of its release and its been in the top 40, peaking at about number 22, ever since.

What are you currently working on?

As I write, I’m putting the finishing touches to the seventh STAC Mystery, The Chocolate Egg Murders, which will be released on March 20th, in time for Easter. Beyond that, I’m planning the eighth in the series, and also toying with a possible sequel to Voices.

How do you spend your leisure time?

I don’t have a great deal of free time, but such as I had, I’m usually to be found watching whodunits on TV, or reading whodunits. I also enjoy pottering in the garden (I can’t do much, I’m disabled) or out on the moors with my dog and camera. My wife and I tend to travel quite a lot, too. We take one or two continental holidays a year, and throughout the year we take days out at the seaside or other towns and cities within what I call ‘shopping distance’.

Do you write for a local audience or a global audience?

The STAC Mysteries are described as traditional British detective stories. From that point of view, they are more popular here than anywhere else. The Handshaker and Voices would probably have a greater international appeal, but while I write for a global audience, it has to be said that the vast bulk of my sales are here in the UK.

Can you provide links to your work?

STAC background information

Amazon UK: (Kindle)

Amazon Worldwide (Kindle)

Smashwords (all formats)

Crooked Cat Books (MOBI, EPUB, PDF)

 

Many thanks to Nancy Jardine for asking me to take part in this blog hop. Here are a few other authors currently taking part.

Nancy Jardine

Jeff Gardiner

Paula Martin

(More authors will be added as their pieces are posted)

A Cover Reveal and a Guest Post

It’s another day for announcements.

First and foremost, I can reveal the cover for The Chocolate Egg Murders, the seventh STAC Mystery, which is due out on March 20th.

Here, first, is the full, wraparound cover for the paperback.

And next, the front cover, which will be used for the e-book.

Brilliant artwork. It made the missus want to rush out and buy chocolate. My thanks go to Laurence Patterson and the crew at Crooked Cat for their efforts.

While you’re anticipating the release of the next in the series, people keep asking me how I write them so quickly. Well, today I’m discussing that very subject in a guest post hosted by another Crooked Cat author, the fantastic Nancy Jardine, the lady who gave us The Beltane Choice and Topaz Eyes. My thanks go to Nancy for giving me opportunity to shout.

Why not nip over there and see what all the fuss is about.

The Dark Side

Although I’m better known for the STAC Mysteries, there is a darker side to my work; longer, more detailed novels looking into the murkier side of human nature.

I don’t write many. I don’t have time, for one thing, and they are incredibly draining. They compel the writer to look at those parts of humanity most of us, me included, would rather not. Either that or they force us to confront to machinations of The Establishment, political or military, and the terrible power they wield even in a democracy.

An example of the latter can be found in Voices. Part horror, part sci-fi, mostly thriller, whilst it is a product of my febrile and busy imagination, the subtext asks some searching questions, particularly in the shape of Colonel Thompson, who makes his first appearance at the very end of the tale.

Without giving anything of the plot away, this man is a “defender of the nation” and he will use whatever means he can to carry out his work.

Do we who are comfortable in our lives, seriously believe that if such powers as are depicted in Voices, were a reality, that the Colonel Thompsons of The Establishment would not use them? They would. And do we believe that the Colonel Thompsons would give tuppence for the lives they would ruin in such usage? They would not. And they would be quite happy to hide behind their stock response: Defence of the realm, old boy.

Half a century or so back, the USA and the old Soviet Union carried out experiments into remote viewing, the near-telepathic ability to “see” what is or is not at a distant locations. The USA discontinued the experiments citing poor results as the reason.

The odd thing is that British Intelligence also carried out similar experiments… but this was around the Millennium, over twenty years after the Americans had declared remote viewing useless.

Why? Ever since World War I there has been an agreement between the US and Great Britain on shared intelligence. They tell each other everything… or that’s the principle.

If the British Government had the results of the American experiments, and they were a failure, why, then, did the UK run them again?

Or could it be that the experiments were more successful than anyone is prepared to admit?

***

Voices is published by Crooked Cat Books and available for download from:

Amazon UK

Amazon Worldwide

Smashwords

Crooked Cat Books

And in paperback from

Amazon UK

Amazon Worldwide

Voices: you can’t escape what is in your head

We Have Winners

The winners of the Valentine competition have been announced and congratulations go to:

Sally Jenkins, who wins a paperback copy of My Deadly Valentine.

Runners up were:

Jane Bwye and Glynis Smy, both of whom win e-copies of My Deadly Valentine.

You can read about their perfect Valentines in the comment section of the competition post.

My thanks go to all entrants on this site, on the STAC Mysteries Facebook Page and on Goodreads. Thanks also to Maureen Vincent-Northam for judging the entries.

There a hint of spring in the air. Fine, sunny days and frosty mornings, and dawn is showing noticeably earlier. One of my favourite times of year, and yet, in a month or two, I’ll be writing new STAC Mysteries set in autumn and winter. It goes with the territory.

And talking of new STAC Mysteries, STAC readers, make a note in your diary. The 7th title, The Chocolate Egg Murders, is due for release on Wednesday March 20th. With a title like that, you don’t need three guesses to work out that it’s set over the Easter weekend.

This time, the gang are off to sunny (and rainy) Somerset, and Weston-super-Mare, where they’ll find themselves involved in… well, you’ll have to wait to find out what they’re tangled up in, but there’ll be the usual mix of grumpiness, gags and murderous mayhem.

The cover image will appear here, once it’s finalised.

A couple of announcements now.

Crooked Cat had new books launching in the coming days. This Thursday, sees the launch of Helen Howell’s tarot based, novel, I Know You  Know.  Then on Friday, March 1st, it’s the turn of Zanna McKenzie’s contemporary romance, How Do You Spell Love. There are Facebook parties for both launches, and all you have to is ask for an invite.

Finally, are you a writer? Can you cut the mustard as a novelist? Crooked Cat Books are open for submissions and they’d love to hear from you. If you think you have the novel they’re looking for, check submissions page on the Crooked Cat site and get in touch.

The STAC Hit Parade

Half past six on a chilly February morning, the first glimpse of dawn barely showing over the rooftops, outside temperature is one below zero, and the sky is heavy with the threat of rain and/or snow.

And yet, it’s a grand day, thanks to the STAC Mystery readers.

All six books have been wobbling around the Amazon UK Crime and Mystery/British Detectives top 100 ever since the New Year. Naturally, that doesn’t apply to My Deadly Valentine, which was released only last week. Over the last few days, one or two of the titles have disappeared off the radar, when dropping below the 100 mark.

This morning, however, I woke to find major movement in the series. Permit me to spell it out the STAC Mystery Top of the Pops.

The I-Spy Murders is an oddity. For me, it’s one of the best of the STAC Mysteries, yet it often struggles to sell. Yesterday, it dropped out of the top 100 altogether, but managed to creep its way back in at number 58 yesterday evening, where it remained this morning.

Biggest mover overnight was A Murder for Christmas, climbing a massive 37 places from number 78, where it threatened to slip down and out of the chart, up to number 41. Not a title you’d expect to do well in February, but still proving popular.

My Deadly Valentine was released on Wednesday last week. It entered the Brit Detectives top 100 on the day of its release and although it’s wobbled quiet seriously at times, it’s never been out of the chart, and overnight it climbed 12 places from 50 to 38.

Next biggest mover, and another surprise, A Halloween Homicide, up from 55 to 35. Again aimed at a specific holiday, which doesn’t come round again for another eight months, it’s holding its own quite nicely.

The Filey Connection was the very first STAC Mystery. It’s been in the top 30 since the beginning of the month, and it shows no sign of moving out. Up this morning from 25 to 26.

And finally, Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend is the morning’s highest placed title at 22: exactly where it was last night. Another title which has remained consistently in the top 30 since its release just before Christmas.

Obviously, I find all this quite pleasing, but I insist it has nothing to do with me. I write the books, I let people know they’re there. Other friends help in letting people know they’re there.

It’s you, the readers, who are responsible for their success. You read them, you pass judgement on them, and I’m sure you pass recommendation on them to your friends.

Thank you. What more can I say?

Well, I’ll tell you what more I can say. There are still two days left for you to win a paperback copy of My Deadly Valentine in a free to enter competition. Check it out.

Win a Paperback Copy Of My Deadly Valentine

Valentine’s Day is next Thursday. Between now and then, one lucky winner will pick a copy of my latest STAC Mystery, My Deadly Valentine, in this simple, free to enter competition.

All you have to do is tell us who would be your perfect Valentine and why. Your answer can be any person, real or fictitious, from any time in history (or even the future) and the competition is open to anyone over the age of 18. You can be serious, funny, eccentric, even saucy, but please keep it clean.

You have until midnight GMT, next Thursday February 14th, to post, and you can do so either as a comment here, or on the Sanford Mysteries Facebook Page (you will have to “like” the page to comment there).

The competition will be judged over the weekend of 15-17 February, and the winners will be notified by email.

The winner will receive a paperback copy of My Deadly Valentine.

Two runners-up will receive e-copies of My Deadly Valentine in the format of their choice.

Maureen Vincent-Northam, editor of the STAC Mysteries, will judge the competition.

To learn more about the STAC Mysteries visit the site at https://sites.google.com/site/sanford3rdageclubmysteries/

If you’d like to learn more about My Deadly Valentine, check the book page at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B9HHF8I

So come on. Who is your ideal Valentine, and why.

The Day After

It’s no secret that I don’t like launch parties. If I’m going to a party, I prefer the real thing to the virtual version.

Yesterday’s launch of My Deadly Valentine was no different. I was on call from just after six yesterday morning, took an hour out to collect the dog from the boarding kennels where he’d been while we were on holiday, then took another hour out for a bit of sleep early in the afternoon. Aside from that, I was at the computer all day. I even monitored the launch party while England played Brazil.

And normally, they’re a bit of a flop. The titles tend to make more impact in the days following a launch do.

Yesterday’s thrash, however, was encouraging. At lunchtime, My Deadly Valentine was hovering around the 15,000 mark in the Amazon overall chart. At about 6:30 last night, it moved into the UK Kindle British Detectives top 100 at number 80. When I got up at six this morning, it had moved up to number 60 and when I checked it again just now, it had climbed another notch to 59. (I wouldn’t like you to think I’m obsessive about the charts. I’m monitoring them for a reason, which will only be divulged in the summer.)

The purpose of any exercise is not to sell books. I stand firm in the opinion that you cannot sell novels in the way that you sell mobile phones, TV/satellite/cable packages, home improvements and so on. No matter how hard you push, you cannot persuade someone who reads only romance to buy a whodunit and vice versa.

Books are not sold, they are bought, and the idea behind launch parties, excerpts, giveaways, competitions, is to raise the book’s visibility.

My Deadly Valentine is now visible, and it’s made a more profound impact than any of its five predecessors. Each book crept into the top 100, then dropped out, crept in, dropped out, and so on, before finally making the chart and staying there. My Deadly Valentine appears to have moved into the chart and stayed there.

I’m grateful to the readers. It means they’re enjoying the work I put out, and aside from the satisfaction it gives me, it also encourages me to write more STAC Mysteries.

Watch this space.

My Deadly Valentine, STAC #6 is available for download from:

Amazon UK (Kindle)

Amazon Worldwide (Kindle)

Smashwords (all formats)

Crooked Cat Books (MOBI, EPUB PDF)

And in paperback from:

Amazon UK

Amazon Worldwide

This Is Number Six

My Deadly Valentine, the 6th STAC Mystery, is published today by Crooked Cat.

I’ve mentioned before that it’s a departure from the usual STAC titles. It’s also shorter (and cheaper) but the gang are all there, falling out amongst themselves in places, pulling together in others.

I have a number of people to thank for this title and the moderate success the STAC Mysteries are enjoying.

Up front is Maureen Vincent-Northam, the smashing lass from Hereford who suffers the torment of editing my raw manuscripts. You’ve never seen my typing, so you should feel sorry for her, yet she tackles every job with patience and good humour.

Next there’s the team at Crooked Cat. Laurence and Steph have the same patient approach as Mo, and they need it when I come up with last minute changes to matters which I only spot when it’s too late.

Then there are the other authors in the Crooked Cat cradle. These people are pleasant, good-humoured and supportive, and enjoying similar success with their own works.

Finally, most important, there are the readers. The books are written for you, and I’m happy that so many of you find them entertaining. I’ll keep on writing as long as you want to read them.

And now I’d better get over to the Facebook launch party before all the booze disappears.

***

My Deadly Valentine is available for download from

Amazon UK (Kindle)

Amazon Worldwide (Kindle)

Smashwords (all formats)

And in paperback from

Amazon UK (Kindle)

Amazon Worldwide (Kindle)

Back In The Nick Of Time

We left the seventy degrees and glorious sunshine of Malaga at half past twelve yesterday afternoon, and we’re now back in the glorious snow and freezing temperatures of Oldham.

We got back in the nick of time, too. We arrived home at about half past four, and the snow started to fall in the evening. We also have a book launch tomorrow, and I have to prepare for that today.

My Deadly Valentine is the 6th STAC title, and as I’ve pointed out before, it’s a slight departure from the norm in that it takes place entirely in the fictitious town of Sanford, and Joe is in the thick of it even more than usual.

Just to whet your appetite for tomorrow’s grand launch, here’s a snippet. Letitia Hill has been found strangled, and Joe was on of the last people to see her alive. Here he is being questioned by Chief Inspector Vickers and Detective Sergeant Gemma Craddock.

“Did you go to Mrs Hill’s last night with the intention of pressing her for another date?” the chief inspector asked.

“That’s a leading question or I never heard one,” Joe complained. “If I say, ‘no’, you might well ask why did I go there, then. So let me make it clear. I did not go anywhere near Letty’s place last night. I haven’t seen her since I left, about one o’clock yesterday. And we had already planned to meet again on Saturday.”

“But you have been to the bungalow before, Mr Murray?” Gemma asked.

“Yes. I spent the night there on Wednesday.”

“So we will find traces of you in there?”

“I should think so.”

Vickers frowned. “Why did you stay the night?”

Joe fumed. “Because she wanted me to paper the hall ceiling. Why do you think I stayed, you idiot? She invited me.”

Intrigued? Want to know more, then cut along to the Facebook launch party tomorrow.

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My Deadly Valentine STAC Mystery #6 is released by Crooked Cat Books on Wednesday 6th February on Amazon for the Kindle and all other formats on Smashwords, and in paperback from Amazon.

For more details check out the Facebook launch event.

Holliers Are Upon Us

No six sentence Sunday this week. I’m too busy with other, more domestic affairs. At this time tomorrow, I shall be on an aeroplane descending from 30-something thousand feet into Malaga airport for a one-week break on the Cost del Sol.

Why, you may ask, am I taking a break when My Deadly Valentine, the 6th STAC Mystery is due out in a week and a few days? It’s because I am a good husband… I do as I’m told, and the missus told me we were going to southern Spain for the week. End of debate.

The weather helps. British weather, I mean. It’s appalling and the chance to get away for a week of sun, sand and s… yes, well never mind. The chance to get away from this cold little island and its nasty winters, to soak up a bit of Mediterranean ultra-violet is not to be sneezed at. You would be sneezing at it if you stayed put. Colds, flu, bronchitis; they’re par for the course here. Not to mention anything up to a foot of snow (last night) turned to flood waters (this morning) by a shift in the winds.

The only trouble with Spain is getting there. We have to be up at ridiculous o’clock tomorrow morning to get to the airport for our flight, and of course, we have to fly there. And I don’t enjoy flying.

I used to; but that was in the days before my knees packed up. Nowadays, crammed into a narrow seat for the better part of three hours, tends to lock the knees up solid, as well as my back muscles (such as they are). If you add to that my near-deafness, it complicates matters, especially when the aircraft begins to descend. I may be all right at 33,000 feet, but by the time the pilot is on final approach, I can’t hear a damn thing. When we came back from Tenerife last January, it was almost five days before I got my hearing back to normal (which is never better than about 20%).

Still and all, courageous little soldier that I am, I put up with the inconvenience for the sake of enjoying a week in the sun.

The blog will like a ghost town for the coming week, but I shall be back on February 4th with tales of terror from Torremolinos, and just in time for the My Deadly Valentine launch party.

Until then, be good. If you can’t be good be careful. If you can’t be careful start checking nursery wallpaper.

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My Deadly Valentine the 6th STAC Mystery is published by Crooked Cat Books on Wednesday February 6th. Check out the Facebook launch party.