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Sara Jayne Townsend

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Brian F...
1,106 books | 481 friends

Sonya C...
892 books | 185 friends

Martin
1,822 books | 419 friends

Silvanna
12,047 books | 4,643 friends

Lucinda
4,194 books | 1,273 friends

City Press
311 books | 337 friends

Pamela
2,584 books | 2,235 friends

William...
185 books | 3,830 friends

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Sara Jayne Townsend

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United Kingdom
Website

Genre

Influences
Stephen King, Sara Paretsky, Jim Butcher, Mike Carey

Member Since
April 2010

URL


I am a writer of crime and horror. Someone tends to die a horrible death in everything I write.

I spent the first ten years of my life in the North of England, before emigrating to Canada with my family. I moved back to the UK after finishing high school, and now live in London with my guitarist husband and two cats.

When I'm not writing or working the day job, I like to travel, play video games and table top role playing, and practise my rock chick act with my Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass guitar.
...more

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Sara Jayne Townsend I do a lot of plotting before I sit down to write a novel, working out the beginning, middle and end and where all the major plot points are going to …moreI do a lot of plotting before I sit down to write a novel, working out the beginning, middle and end and where all the major plot points are going to occur. This means when I sit down to write the next chapter I know what's going to happen in it. This goes a long way in helping to avoid writer's block.(less)
Sara Jayne Townsend Read other authors, good and bad, and learn how you can improve. Sometimes even a badly written book can teach you where you might be going wrong.

Appl…more
Read other authors, good and bad, and learn how you can improve. Sometimes even a badly written book can teach you where you might be going wrong.

Apply backside to chair. A lot of people say, "I'd be a writer if only I had the time." But the reality is we all have the same number of hours in a day - it's what you do with them that counts. Make time to write. This might mean sacrificing something else - TV time, gardening time, sleep (in my case) - but you have to decide where your writing time will be, and protect it.

And finally, be persistent and develop a thick skin. Most writers collect a lot of rejections before the acceptance comes. Don't let it get to you. Pick yourself up, brush yourself off and send the manuscript out again. Eventually, that acceptance will come.(less)
Average rating: 4.04 · 49 ratings · 25 reviews · 9 distinct works
Nano Nightmares

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4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions
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Death Scene (Shara Summers #1)

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2011 — 3 editions
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Outpost H311

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3.50 avg rating — 8 ratings — 3 editions
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Suffer the Children

3.43 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions
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Soul Screams

4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions
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The Whispering Death

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4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions
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Former Heroes

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4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions
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Siblings

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions
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Dead Cool (Shara Summers #2)

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2014
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Best Books of 2025

Hello – I’m back.

I was going to launch into this year with a review of last year and resolutions for 2026. However, since last year was a bad one for a variety of reasons, and this year really hasn’t started well, I’ve decided to skip over the whole ruminating on the year just past and focus instead on the small pleasures in life – namely, books.

As always I keep a running tally on the books I read

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Published on January 17, 2026 11:46
The Swimming Pool
Sara Townsend is currently reading
by Louise Candlish (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
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Sara’s Recent Updates

Sara Townsend is currently reading
The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish
The Swimming Pool
by Louise Candlish (Goodreads Author)
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Our Beautiful Mess by Adele Parks
Our Beautiful Mess
by Adele Parks (Goodreads Author)
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This one had a promising start, and I came into it expecting the usual twists from a psychological thriller, but it felt like more like the plot of a soap opera.

There were some very tense scenes that had me turning pages, but too many of the plot poi
...more
Sara Townsend rated a book liked it
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
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Quite an imagination and well-written book that's appropriate for the Hallowe'en season, but definitely a children's book. ...more
Sara Townsend is currently reading
Our Beautiful Mess by Adele Parks
Our Beautiful Mess
by Adele Parks (Goodreads Author)
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Sara Townsend rated a book liked it
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
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Quite an imagination and well-written book that's appropriate for the Hallowe'en season, but definitely a children's book. ...more
Sara Townsend rated a book liked it
Not My Child by Jane E. James
Not My Child
by Jane E. James (Goodreads Author)
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Sara Townsend is currently reading
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
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Sara Townsend is currently reading
Our Beautiful Mess by Adele Parks
Our Beautiful Mess
by Adele Parks (Goodreads Author)
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Sara Townsend is currently reading
Not My Child by Jane E. James
Not My Child
by Jane E. James (Goodreads Author)
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His and Hers by Alice Feeney
His and Hers
by Alice Feeney (Goodreads Author)
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More of Sara's books…
Sue Grafton
“Thinking is hard work, which is why you don't see many people doing it.”
― Sue Grafton

Elizabeth  Taylor
“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.”
― Elizabeth Taylor

Douglas Adams
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

Douglas Adams
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”
― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Mike Carey
“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any day of the week; at least you can play chicken with him and know he'll stick to the rules.”
― Mike Carey, Vicious Circle

108 Horror Aficionados — 31088 members — last activity 7 hours, 38 min ago
If you love horror literature, movies, and culture, you're in the right place. Whether it's vampires, werewolves, zombies, serial killers, plagues, or ...more
19126 The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group — 32982 members — last activity 14 minutes ago
“It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. Rain spattered a mysterious, hooded stranger who peered over the ...more
34229 Page Readers — 18 members — last activity Apr 12, 2018 03:55PM
This group is open to friends who like the Page Readers Facebook page to share their reviews of books they read and the news of books they write.
25x33 TV for all supernatural/Paranormal series — 13 members — last activity Sep 03, 2011 01:02PM
I wanted to create this group for all of us who love supernatural/Paranormal tv series. Canceled or not. Plus I want to offer up any ideas on if there ...more
70802 The Genre Underground — 765 members — last activity 19 hours, 27 min ago
Fitting the right book with the right reader. Bringing you the most cutting edge Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror that you want to read.
127944 eBook Miner — 2161 members — last activity Sep 09, 2026 07:24AM
We run eBook Miner, a new and innovative site that aims to connect publishers and writers (especially indie authors) to avid readers. We sift through ...more
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Comments (showing 1-4)    post a comment »
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Savannah Sara, thank you for the friendship.


message 3: by Sara

Sara Townsend Carole wrote: "How do you manage to read so much?"

Commuting. I spent over two hours a day travelling to and from work on public transport. That's a lot of reading time.


Carole Tyrrell How do you manage to read so much?


J.M. (Joe) Thanks for the add, Sara. I don't play D&D anymore, but I love the influences you listed. Looking forward to "following" you on Goodreads!


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