David W. Robinson's Blog: Always Writing, page 45

Summer of Love

 

You could be forgiven for thinking that Crooked Cat exists purely to publish the STAC Mysteries. In fact they publish more than twenty authors (more if you count those who contributed to the FEAR anthologies) in a range of genres from crime and mystery through historical, to YA and fantasy.

One such is Michela O’Brien, whose second novel, Summer of Love is released today. Michela, a smashing Italian lady who now lives in Hampshire, is one of those authors who puts her heart and soul into her writing. A diehard Stone Roses fan, I’ll bet music plays a big role in the lives of her characters, too.

A couple of weeks back, we also saw the release of Shaman’s Drum, by Ailsa Abraham, the tale of a world where mainstream religion has been banned, and Jeff Gardnier’s Myopia, the story of common, but often overlooked bullying of boys who wear glasses. Looking ahead, we have Amy Elliot Smith’s A guide to Becoming Distinctly Average, Jane Bwye’s breath of Africa won’t be too long in arriving, and on the crime front Catriona King’s DCI Craig will be making his next appearance in the spring. Along with historical novels from Mark Patton and Cathie Dunn, and Maggei Secara’s fantasy trilogy, Crooked Cat’s profile is as varied as any you’ll find anywhere on the web.

And if I missed anyone from the Crooked Cat stable, apologies.

For the full range of titles, go to Crooked Cat’s online store.

Summer of Love by Michela O’Brien is released today, January 25th and you can check it out at the Facebook launch party

Here for the Long Haul

Someone once told me it takes about nine months for a book to dawn upon the consciousness of the reading public.

The Filey Connection was released on March 2nd 2012. That’s almost 11 months ago, so perhaps the advice I received wasn’t that far out.

I got up this morning to learn that it sits at number 16 in the Amazon UK Kindle British Detectives top 100. On the 6th of January, just 17 days ago, it was at number 80.

It had help. A part of the success was down to the rapid release of two seasonal titles: A Murder for Christmas, set quite obviously, at Christmas, and Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend, which was set over the New Year. These titles made the public aware that the STAC Mysteries were not just a couple of hyped winter novels, but part of a growing series. They succeeded as expected, thanks to the millions of new e-readers/tablets bought as Christmas gifts, whose owners were eager to begin reading.

Filey, and to a lesser degree, The I-Spy Murders and A Halloween Homicide rode on the back of those two books.

The Filey Connection was the very first STAC Mystery. Written in the depths of a nasty British winter, it’s a summer title, all the events taking place over a weekend on the Yorkshire coast in the middle of a heat wave. It’s an area I’m very familiar with, and I could have chosen any of the major resorts there; Scarborough, Bridlington, Whitby. I chose Filey because I met my wife there 30-odd years ago, and it’s a place we’ve always had a particular fondness for.

As an introductory novel, Crooked Cat decided to keep the price lower than the rest of the series. It’s permanently on sale at 75p. How’s that for a bargain? A full length novel for less than the price of a loaf of bread.

When we put Filey out, we had no idea how successful the series would be, yet here we are a year later, and the 6th STAC Mystery, My Deadly Valentine, is due in two weeks.

Naturally, this has less to do with me than you, the wonderful readers. Without you, it couldn’t happen, and so my sincere thanks go to you. The STAC Mysteries will be there as long as you want them.

Six Sentence Sunday – The Handshaker

Today it’s the turn of The Handshaker, released last Friday by Crooked Cat Books.

In the short extract, Detective Inspector Millie Matthews is seeking hypnotist Felix Croft’s help on the Handshaker murders and Croft has just handed her an account of the notorious Heidelberg Case.

“That’s an overview of the case,” Croft said, “and what Walter did with her after their initial meeting. It puts a little meat on the bare bones.”

Millie gave them a glance, folded them in half and half again, and tucked them into her bag. “Hypnosis,” she said, bringing her own agenda to the fore. “If it’s so easy to overpower a person with it, how come more rapists, sex offenders, and killers don’t use it?”

“Because it’s not easy.”

***

Whetted your appetite?

The Handshaker by David Robinson 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

 

Happy Birthday to Me

I’m 63 years old today.

I made that announcement not because I’m trying to elicit any form of congratulation from anyone, but because no matter how hard I try to keep it quiet, other people shout it from the rooftops… well, all over Facebook, which amounts the same. So this year, I thought I’d beat them to it.

There it is. I’m 63 years old and I don’t feel a day over 80.

There’s a biblical quote; as ye sow, so shall ye reap. I must have been bad bugger then to suffer all this pain. Knees are shot, hips hurt, I struggle to get my breath and I live permanently next door to flat broke.

But do I feel sorry for myself?

Yes. If I don’t, no one else will.

To be absolutely truthful, I don’t number self-pity amongst my failings (I have enough failings to be going on with).

It’s not all bad news, mind. Amongst the better birthday things which have happened are the release of The Handshaker under the Crooked Cat imprint last Friday.

And I had some good news last night from the Amazon Kindle UK British Detectives top 100. For several hours, all five STAC Mysteries were in the top forty.

If I’m the one responsible for all the crap in my life, it’s you, the readers who are responsible for the success of the STAC Mysteries.

So it’s a big birthday thank you from me to you.

Out Today – The Handshaker

Who is really in control during a hypnotic session? The hypnotist or the subject?

Every practising hypnotherapist in the world will say it is the subject. Many others, however, disagree. They say it is the hypnotist. My argument has always been that the subject controls the initial process. It is his/her decision whether hypnosis will take place. But once hypnotised, especially in the deeper states, control rests with the hypnotist. And if this is the case, who can say what the hypnotist will do when his subject is under control?

Despite the hypnotists’ denials, there are countless cases of the criminal abuse of hypnosis, and from there it’s a short step in the novelist’s mind to a full length work of fiction: The Handshaker.

Re-released today with a fresh cover under the Crooked Cat imprint, it’s been about for a year or two now, and what never ceases to amuse me is the debate it has occasionally created.

IT’S A WORK OF FICTION!

Aside from the thin descriptions of Scarbeck, all based loosely on the area of North Manchester where I live, The Handshaker has no basis in reality. It’s hard and gritty, it pulls no punches, but it is a product of my imagination, and probably has more to say about me than hypnosis.

I’ve said before that this is not a cosy STAC Mystery. The whole ambience is dour. The sex and violence are graphic, the language representative of 21st century Great Britain. Described as a “compelling, rollercoaster of a read”, by one reviewer, and with “an ending that will leave you gasping for breath” by another, it is as dark as the cover suggests.

It’s not a police procedural, it’s more of a thriller than a mystery novel, but it’s one that asks daunting questions.

The Handshaker 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

 

Chart Hits and a New Release

It’s eight o’clock on a bitterly cold, frosty and snowy morning here in Manchester, but the STAC Mysteries are glowing with warmth.

All five have established themselves in the UK Kindle Brit Detectives chart. Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend sits at 14, The Filey Connection is knocking on the door of the top 20, A Murder for Christmas is stable in the top 30, A Halloween Homicide has rocketed up the chart overnight to 37, and The I-Spy Murders is lagging slightly, but only as far back as number 56.

And naturally, my thanks go out to all the readers of these cosy, light-hearted whodunits. Last night, for a few hours, you managed to put all five in the top 50.

I have to confess, I have great fun writing them; finding new ways for Sheila and Brenda to wind up Joe, new puzzles to tax their joint intellect and powers of observation, and of course, it’s a different town in every book. I may be freezing here in Manchester, but Joe and the gang are enjoying themselves in Weston-super-Mare right now, and it’s not freezing. It may be raining but it’s not the middle of winter.

My Deadly Valentine, next in the series, is due out in February, and the current work in progress,The Chocolate Egg Murders, should see the light of day by Easter. Both will be shorter than usual. Owing to a string of circumstances, most of them of my own making, the deadlines were a little too tight. The length of both books will be more in keeping with A Halloween Homicide than The I-Spy Murders or Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend.

With all this in mind, this Friday sees the release of another title… but it’s not a STAC Mystery. It’s the re-publication of The Handshaker, coming out under the Crooked Cat Books imprint.

This is not a cosy whodunit. It’s a hard-bitten thriller, a story of serial abduction, rape and murder with paranormal overtones. Not for the faint hearted, it asks an age-old question: how far can a hypnotised subject be pushed?

Conventional wisdom says a hypnotised person is still in control of events. My research leads me to conclude that is not necessarily so, and from that starting point, the tale of The Handshaker developed

Originally conceived for television in the 1990s, after repeated rejections, I transcribed it as a novel at the turn of the millennium and touted round the publishers. I had one or two sniffs of interest, but nothing serious, and in 2011, I self-published it on the Kindle, where it did rather well. Crooked Cat looked at it, felt they could take it on, and that’s how we end up where we are right now.

The Handshaker is launched this Friday, January 18th, and there is the usual launch thrash on Facebook. You’re more than welcome to join us.

Six Sentence Sunday – My Deadly Valentine

The cover for the 6th STAC Mystery, My Deadly Valentine, was announced yesterday.

Here is the full wraparound cover for the paperback.

And next, the front cover for the e-book.

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(Blue borders added to make images stand out on this page.)

Due for release on Wednesday February 6th, the week before Valentine, I thought it would be fitting for this week six sentences to come from the novel.

It’s Monday morning at the Lazy Luncheonette, Valentine’s is two days away and Joe is even grumpier than usual.

***

“He’s narky because he hasn’t got a date for Wednesday,” Brenda called out from the kitchen.

The face on the driver Joe was serving split into a broad smile. “You’re looking for a Valentine, Joe? Take my missus… please.”

“One more word outta you and I’ll call your missus and tell her what you get up to first thing on a morning.”

“She won’t care, as long as I’m not up to it with her.”

“Just sod off,” Joe said, handing over change.

***

My Deadly Valentine, STAC Mystery number 6, from Crooked Cat Books is released on Wednesday February 6th, and there is the usual launch party on Facebook, where everyone is welcome.

***

Next week on Six Sentence Sunday: The Handshaker.

It’s Friday and the News is Good

Outside, the weather is gloomy, there’s a cold snap on the way, with heavy snow forecast, and I’ve a dentist appointment looming on Monday, but I’m not letting any of that get to me.

Late yesterday, just for a couple of hours, Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend became a top ten title. By this morning it had slipped back to number 12, but there was better news on the UK Kindle British Detectives chart:

All five STAC Mysteries were in there. From MMW at number 12 to The I-Spy Murders at number 81. And I have you wonderful readers to thank for their popularity.

I’ve seen the cover artwork for My Deadly Valentine, which is the next in the series, due out in about four weeks. It’s slightly darker than the usual STACs, and that’s all I’m saying for the moment. More news on the cover image in a few days.

The STAC Mysteries are not the only books I write. I also turn out much grittier works. One such is The Handshaker, which is due for release next Friday. My advance copy arrived yesterday evening. And here you can see it propped up against the computer on which I turn out all my work.

A dark tale of serial abduction, rape and murder, when I self-published it, The Handshaker proved remarkably popular with women, which considering its content, surprised me. I’ll be detailing more of this next week, but the launch will be celebrated on Facebook and you’re welcome to come along.

And talking of launches, I’m not the only author in the Crooked Cat stable. Today sees the launch of Shaman’s Drum the first Crooked Cat novel by Ailsa Abraham. Described as a fantasy adventure, there’s a party on Facebook to help launch the book. Pop along there and ask for an invite. Everyone is welcome, and it’s a Crooked Cat title, so you know it will be well-written and presented.

Finally, we have a title for the seventh STAC Mystery. It’s not written yet, and e don’t know how many killings there will be in it, but at least we know what it’s called. Due at Easter, keep your eyes open for The Chocolate Egg Murder(s).

In the meantime, have a great weekend.

The Science of Crime Writing

I found an interesting snippet on the Beeb this morning on the science behind crime novels, and how, despite the best of intentions and the most diligent of research, so many get it wrong.

My scientific knowledge is legendary. I’m not bad on astronomy. I can recognise the planets and the constellations and I know something about the stars which form them, but that’s not a lot of use when it comes to telling you how and when a body was murdered.

Chemistry? I know that water is H2O and that salt is NACL. And on body chemistry, I know that I’m a diabetic and I can’t have sugar because my crumbling body doesn’t handle it properly.

That’s it. That’s all I know.

It’s for this reason that you’ll find a marked lack of forensic bits and bobs in my novels. Obviously, I could research it, but come on… I have a life to lead.

What may be come obvious to readers of the STAC Mysteries is that Joe, Sheila and Brenda don’t solve crimes… well, they do, but it’s their observations which lead to police to a successful arrest, confession and (hopefully) prosecution. And they do it without the aid of forensic evidence. Their “proof” is based on observation and making those observations fit the facts.

It means Joe, Sheila and Brenda don’t have to worry about forensics, and by default, neither do I. The police can deal with the nitty-gritty while we all move on to the next murder.

And talking of the next murder, My Deadly Valentine is due out on February 6th. There’s a huge party on Facebook if you’d like to come along. You’d be more than welcome.

***

The STAC Mysteries now have their own website. To learn more about the characters and backgrounds to the tales click here. To download Kindle editions of any of the STAC Mysteries click on the cover images. For other formats go to the STAC Crooked Cat page.

Further Success

These are exciting times for the STAC Mysteries.

I got up this morning and learned the Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend had reached a new high in its genre chart: number 18. Better than that, over the last 48 hours, it had collected no less than two 5-star reviews.

Thank you Kareen and Helen.

It’s only yesterday I was saying I don’t look for reviews. It’s perfectly true. I find it gratifying when readers take time out to comment on one of my books, but I don’t solicit such comments.

Other authors have a different attitude to reviews. They crave them. Some even go so far as to tweet “please review my book.” To those authors, I would say it’s the surest way to guarantee that I will NOT review your book.

Others submit their books to review sites and blogs. Nothing wrong with that (depending on the track record of the reviewers) but these things are best done before a book is released. In addition, most of these sites have such a backlog that you can wait months for the review to happen. The speed at which I turn out the titles, I could be three books ahead of the review by the time it appears.

The best reviews are those from the readers who want to say how much they enjoyed the read… or how much they didn’t enjoy the read.

When it comes to the latter, authors have different approaches. Some suffer pangs of doubt, others get into a rage. My personal feeling is… “Okay. You’re entitled to your opinion.” I don’t aim to please all the people all the time. I aim to entertain the reader and if someone is not entertained, then they’re perfectly entitled to say so. Do I not do the same when I read a book or watch a movie and I feel let down by it?

What effect do reviews have on sales? Take last year’s mega-selling 50 Shades of Grey. It has over 5,000 reviews on Amazon and an average rating of three stars. Forty percent of those reviews are 5-star. But 33% of them are one-star. Did that stop it selling by the million? It did not.

The best form of advertising is word of mouth. “Hey, I just read Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend by David Robinson. You should try it. It’s great.” After the sockpuppet scandal of last summer, anyone seeing that on Amazon might have grounds for being suspicious, but if a best friend emails the suggestion, isn’t that a more reliable recommendation.

I leave the last word today, to reviewer Helen, who said of Murder at the Murder Mystery Weekend: if this is what a Murder Mystery Weekend is all about, then forget it. I want to live.

She does go on to say, she couldn’t put the book down.