Frances di Plino's Blog, page 3

Ten facts about … JJ Toner @JJToner_ya

When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?I was 13. I remember it was a wet Tuesday in November. I had just read a book of short SF stories and several ideas for similar stories popped into my head. I wrote 5 stories in a copybook. I still have those stories somewhere.
How long does it take you to write a book? The Black Orchestra , my first WW2 spy story, took six years from start to publication. The final version is the 27th full rewrite. In those early days I was querying agents, and one London agent took a fancy to the book, but asked me to rewrite it – twice – before giving up on it. My (wonderful) editor, Lucille Redmond had a lot to do with the subsequent revisions.
Each of the others has taken about a year: 3-6 months for the first draft. Lucille generally pretty much tears these to pieces and I then have to put them back together again. I don’t mind, really. She is an inspiration and her corrections and suggested plot changes are always invaluable.
What is your work schedule like when you're writing?That varies. Sometimes the words flow and I can write 3,000 words in a day, but other times it’s like pulling teeth. At the moment I’m working on the third in The Black Orchestra series and trying to keep my daily word count up to 1,000 words per day. I like to write in the mornings; I’m like a walking zombie after lunch.
How many crime novels have you written?I’ve written two novels that would fall easily into the crime novel genre: St Patrick’s Day Special and Find Emily. Both of these feature an Irish detective called DI Ben Jordan. My other two books are World War 2 spy stories. I suppose they could be classified as crime fiction if you include the atrocities of the Third Reich within the definition of crimes.
Which is your favourite and why?Of the crime genre books: St Patrick’s Day Special . This book was the ‘birthing pool’ for DI Ben Jordan. He and I struggled together for months to get his story on paper, and now it feels like he’s a real-life, breathing friend.
Where do you get your ideas?From the news and from my own life experiences, I guess. I am constantly amazed at what happens in real life, events that confound the mind and that no fiction writer could ever have dreamt up, or if he did everyone would say it was too fantastical and nobody would read it.
Who is your favourite character from your own work and why?In The Black Orchestra books, Kurt Müller, my hero. In the detective books, I’m tempted to choose Emily Carter the feisty 11-year-old abductee in Find Emily , but I’d have to choose DI Ben Jordan who has all sorts of heavy personal issues, but is morally as straight as they come. I wouldn’t last 24 hours as a police detective; the daily grind of dealing with human carnage and the criminal mind would be too much to bear. And boy am I glad they sorted out WW2 before I was born!
Which character from the work of others do you wish you’d invented and why?John Buchan’s Richard Hannay, Declan Burke’s Harry Rigby, Douglas Adams’ Arthur Dent, Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, Colin Bateman’s nameless bookshop owner in Mystery Man, Inspector Maigret… 
Oh, sorry, you wanted just one. I’d have to go for John le Carré’s Leamas in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, a brilliant portrait of a complete spy playing the part of a disillusioned drunken washout, while secretly maintaining all of his humanity right to the end.
If you could have been someone from history involved in crime (good or bad) who would that be and why?I would have to say a desperado highwayman like Dick Turpin. Was Robin Hood real? If he was, I’d like to be the Sheriff of Nottingham. My wife suggested Charles Ponzi, but I think I’d have to go for Ned Kelly, because he managed to get an Australian resident visa.  What are you working on now?I’m in the throes of book 3 in the Black Orchestra series. As of today, I have been writing for 42 days and I have 42,000 words on the computer, so I’m on target for 99,000 words first draft by January 1 next. The first book in the series, The Black Orchestra was Historical fiction with a capital “H”, the second, The Wings of the Eagle , is historical Fiction with a small “h” and a big “F”. I’m hoping the third one will have two capital letters – a good strong story firmly embedded in actual historical events.
Bio JJ Toner has been writing more or less full time since 2007. He self-published his first book in 2011. He has 4 novels on Amazon: St Patrick’s Day Special, Find Emily, The Black Orchestra and The Wings of the Eagle. He lives in Ireland, although a significant proportion of his family lives in Australia.Twitter: @JJToner_yahttp://www.JJToner.net/

Bad Moon Rising - great read #BookReview

When a review comes in, I tend to look through my fingers, praying the reviewer enjoyed the read. Fortunately, the latest review for Bad Moon Rising didn’t need me to peek through my fingers as the reviewer had some very positive things to say.
You can read the review at the Ebookwyrm Review Blog
Bad Moon Rising , the first in the D.I. Paolo Storey series, will remain at 77p/99c until further notice.

It's a #crime #99c

As a reader, I often feel like trying out a new crime series, but don’t want to spend a fortune on books I might not enjoy, which is why the first in the D.I. Paolo Storey series is permanently priced at 77p/99c, making it nice and easy to see if it is a series you might like to follow.
Why not download Bad Moon Rising and give Paolo a trial run? The most you can lose is less than a pound or dollar and that’s not even enough to buy a cup of coffee!
Download a copy of Bad Moon Rising here.

Who Won the Prizes?

The Quiz Results The Facebook LOOKING FOR A REASON launch day event was lots of fun and gave me a great opportunity to interact with some of my readers. I held two prize-winning quizzes on the day, both of which attracted scores of entries.

Here are the results and answers to the questions.

The winner of the grand prize - seven crime novels from seven best-selling authors - was Amanda Farrow-Wise, whose answers were:
1: The front of the Criminal Courts.
2: Gallows Heath.
3: The Horse and Panniers.

The winner of the Ted Bundy quiz was Tracey Walsh, who won a £10 Amazon voucher. The answers Tracey gave were:

Full name: Theodore Robert Bundy
Last words: "Jim and Fred, I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends,"
Date of execution: 24 January 1989
Place of execution: Florida State Prison, Bradford County, Florida
Religion: Mormon
Writer: Elizabeth Kendall
Married: Carole Ann Boone

Paperback NewsLOOKING FOR A REASON is already available on Amazon and there will be a live launch held over two days at The Bookshop in Sabinillas, Spain. From 10:00 to 14:00 on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd November I'll be on hand to sign copies, and chat about crime, books and writing. If you're in the area on either day, why not come along and enjoy a glass of wine or soft drink? I'd love to see you there.

If you are not able to get to the Costa del Sol next month, the paperback of LOOKING FOR A REASON is already available on Amazon worldwide, clicking here should take you to the Amazon store in your country.

The First ReviewLOOKING FOR A REASON received its first review and it's a five-star cracker! You can read it here.

If you've read any of the D.I. Paolo Storey novels, please take a few moments to leave a review. It's always wonderful to hear what readers think of the series - good and bad.

Frances

It's Off to Kill I Go

To help celebrate the launch of Looking for a Reason , a number of my writing friends have asked me to visit and chat about writing and other matters. The ever-lovely Jane Bwye hosted a post from me this week on the pros and cons of writing a series. I tried to be serious, honest I did, but a touch of humour inevitably crept in.
To find out what I had to say, you can read my post on Jane’s blog: I’m a Serial Killer

Launch day and party

It’s here at last – the official launch day of the fourth in the D.I. Paolo Storey series.
There is a party going on over on Facebook between the hours of 10:00 and 16:00 (UK time) where there will be quizzes to test your crime detecting skills, manic music and a few party games.
Why not drop in? You might even win seven crime novels from seven of today’s best-selling crime writers.
Facebook event page – all invited
Looking for a Reason, the latest in the D.I. Paolo Storey series provides Paolo’s biggest challenge so far.
Someone is subjecting men to systematic rape and torture, but who? More to the point – why? After three days of cruelty, starvation and water deprivation, they are released.
Detective Inspector Paolo Storey has many questions, but the biggest one of all is this: why, to a man, do they refuse even to admit they were held captive?
As if the hunt for the elusive abductor wasn’t enough, Paolo has to spend time finding out if money has been pilfered from public funds poured into a new youth centre. He upsets a few local bigwigs in the process, but ruffling feathers is the least of his worries.
His most important task is to work out why the attacks take place. If he can do that, he'll be a step closer to knowing who is behind them; but can he uncover the answers in time to save someone close to him?
It isn’t easy Looking for a Reason .

Grilled by @SimonDuringer #interview

Anyone who has faced a set of Simon Duringer's fiendish interview questions will sympathise with me. For everyone else, they make for an entertaining way of passing a few minutes watching the interviewee squirm just a little.

In all seriousness, I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the latest 10Q interview challenge. Thank you, Simon, for inviting me.

To read the interview in full, click here.

Red Ribbons by @LouiseMPhillips #reviewshare

Red Ribbons, the debut novel of Louise Phillips, is the first in a series featuring Dr Kate Pearson, a criminal psychologist brought in to assist police with the profile of a child killer. The policeman heading up the investigation, the prickly but endearing O’Connor, comes to rely on Kate’s insights into the killer’s motives more and more as the investigation wears on and a second body is discovered.
The red ribbons of the title are the link tying two historic crimes with the present day murders. The fact that the killer is known to us almost from the outset adds to the tension, rather than diluting it. Add into the mix Ellie Brady, a psychiatric patient locked away for murdering her daughter, and yet another layer is interwoven into the main plot. It’s hard to say too much more without giving away details that will spoil the read, but suffice to say this is an intelligently written thriller with an intriguing and multi-layered storyline.
I enjoyed this novel so much I started the sequel, The Doll’s House, almost immediately on reaching the end.

Interviewed by the weird and wacky @seumasgallacher #interview

The seriously mad Seumas Gallacher sent over a set of interview questions which really taxed my brain. Great fun to answer and (I hope) enjoyable for you to read.
To give you a flavour of the Q&A, here is a sample of the interview:Your novels are gripping and psychological in certain aspects. On a scale of 1 (low) to 10, how unhinged are you? Reasons for your answer?I would say I’m about a 15 or thereabouts. I always tell my husband as long as I’m writing crime he doesn’t need to worry, but the moment I hang up my keyboard he should run and never look back.
Full Q&A can be read here.

Grand Prize to celebrate book launch #crimewriters #giveaway

For the launch of Looking for a Reason, number four in the D.I. Paolo Storey series, I have a fabulous prize on offer. The competition is free to enter and doesn’t require a purchase of any kind.

Would you like a bumper pack of fabulous crime fiction from some of today’s top authors? One lucky winner will receive all the novels mentioned below absolutely free.
In surname alphabetical order:
Rachel Abbotthas donated an e-copy of Only the InnocentDebbie Bennetthas donated an e-copy of Hamelin's ChildSheila Buglerhas donated an e-copy of Hunting ShadowsJJ Marsh has donated an e-copy of Behind Closed DoorsLouise Phillipshas donated a paperback copy of Red RibbonsMel Sherrat has donated an e-copy of Somewhere to HideOliver Tidyhas donated an e-copy of Dirty Business
So, how do you win the above goodies? Simple, you just have to answer the three questions below (you can find the answers by reading the free sample of Bad Moon Rising on Amazon, Smashwords and other online outlets).
Question 1: Where is Paolo standing when he first appears at the beginning of Bad Moon Rising?
Question 2: What is the green barrier between the haves and have-nots of Bradchester called?
Question 3: What is the name of the pub where Barbara Royston meets her friend Leanna?
As you can see, the prize is well worth the effort. Send your answers between now and midnight on 28th October 2014 to: frances@francesdiplino.com
Every email containing three correct answers will go into a draw and one lucky winner will be chosen out of the hat to receive the books mentioned above.