The Brent Street Haunting etc etc

The Brent Street Haunting is my new novel. It is a paranormal thriller and will be about 75k words long. I started this on 30 October and now I have 50k words. I hope to do most of the remaining 25k over the Christmas holidays. It's hard work writing fiction part-time and that is why I have been so tardy in publishing my existing work. I have delayed publication of Summer Soldier, and hoped to publish on 22 December. However, I realise with the workload from Brent Street I have not been able to attend to all the issues with Summer Soldier. Therefore, I have delayed publication again until I finish the novel. Expect to see it free of charge on Smashwords and on Amazon in the New Year.

Summer Soldier is the fourth in the Lucy Harlow series, which was an attempt to write a series of crime short stories. All these stories with, the exception of TV Torment do not have a paranormal element, deliberately so. But from these came what I consider the best short story that I have done for some time - Double, and this almost certainly has a strong supernatural theme. Because of Brent Street I will only publish the last Lucy Harlow - Northern Star - probably in late February/early March. Double, which is an important story for me, will be out in the late spring, probably May. I intend to write an unconnected short story of about 3 - 5 k words with a paranormal theme in quarter one of 2013. I hope to get this out quick in June/July in order to pave the way for Brent Street which will be out in summer (late July/early August).

The Brent Street Haunting is by far the best thing I have done to date, and I think settles me into the paranormal mystery/thriller genre for the forseeable future. I feel comfortable with this kind of fiction, and will try to produce something every year, God willing.

As a writer, I don't blog as often as I should. I am focussed entirely on the work. I suppose marketing is everything, but if you don't have novel you ain't got anything to market. A catch 22 of sorts. Nevertheless, once Brent Street is out the way and into its review and revise mode, I do intent to make more of an effort with social media, publicity, book covers and everything else that goes with promoting my work.

For those of you who download Summer Soldier I hope you enjoy.

To everyone, most of all my readers, I wish you all a joyous and peaceful Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

And speaking of Christmas, I have a little house party to furnish with a buffet and beer, so I'll dash off now.

Best wishes

Saul

Summer Soldier

Hi folks,

I was going to publish Summer Soldier as a freebie on Smashwords on Saturday 22 December 2012. However, I feel that there are on or two issues that need attending to. Therefore, I have decided to delay publication while I revisit the text. With hindsight, I have attempted to publish while I am fully occupied with Brent Street and consequently missed one or two things. Even though it is a free story, I would much sooner it be right, hence the change of heart. Expect to see it in the New Year.

Here's a synopsis.

After two particularly audacious attacks in May 2008, a lucky break brings about a sea change in the life of a serial rapist. The attacks stop and the trail goes cold. A bounty of fifty grand attracts Lucy Harlow to the case, but soon she’s as frustrated as the police. Meanwhile, a young woman on holiday in Spain proves a temptation too much for the latent rapist. But now he can’t run away from the scene and thus the trappings of his new successful life, and so the latest victim pays with her life. The murder seems totally unconnected to the rapes, but a foray into the macho world of carp fishing gives Lucy a new angle and puts her on the trail of Summer Solider...

 

Summer Soldier is the fourth in the Lucy Harlow detective series of short stories.

Opera Flowers - behind the scenes

Hi,

Opera Flowers was published last week in midweek. I usually publish at the weekend to maximise exposure on Smashwords but decided to have a go on a weekday. This was my first title to be published after a while away over the summer, although the story was written in the spring, and out of laziness I gave it little publicity. Of those that have downloaded the story, a high proportion have retained it in their libraries so it must have some merit. As they say marketing is everything.

An interesting point about this story which hit me when I re-read it on my i-phone today (yes, it's out in the Apple store already!) is that it could be construed that Stella Grice knew about her husband's (Jack's) crimes and had contacted Lucy (of the Cambridgeshire murders fame) to get him nailed. Of course fit and tanned forty something Stella could then get about spending Jack's fortune and take the younger lover she craved.

I didn't write the story this way. I set out with the view that Stella believed Jack was cheating. But it's one of the great mysteries of writing fiction how things work on a subliminal level and how a story (or at least in this case a sub-plot) can be created in the subconscious.

I like this short story as it is, and can recommend it to you as FREE on all platforms, however, I can see how the plot could be adapted to introduce a scheming wife ready to get rid of her criminal husband and, as a result, could well lead to a longer treatment.

Anyway, here's the link again to this tale, the third in the Lucy Harlow series.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241828

Best wishes

Saul

Opera Flowers - Published

Hi folks, I've published this little tale on Smashwords free of charge today

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241828

Here's the synopsis,

Opera Flowers is the third in the Lucy Harlow detective series.

Rich bored housewife Stella Grice hires Lucy to investigate her husband Jack, who she believes is cheating. But Lucy uncovers more than a platonic relationship with a local solicitor based upon a mutual love of opera, and is drawn into a race against time to save Susannah Young from a grisly fate at the hands of a sadistic killer.

Hope you enjoy it

Best wishes

Saul

 

 

 

Autumnal Equinox

Hi folks,

Goodness, I just looked at the date I last posted - 19th May - doesn't time fly! During the late winter and spring I wrote a number of stories that I intended to publish more or less over the summer - these were Lucy Harlow detective stories to follow Oxygen Restriction and TV Torment - Opera Flowers, Summer Soldier, Northern Star and a mystery using some of the characters in the Lucy Series - Double. Rather than publish these new stories straight away, I had a change of heart and decided to take my time and see how the already published stories did. This also meant a break from writing, which I filled in by keeping busy in all other respects. I have been writing now for probably the best part of 20 years and have had breaks of months through to a couple of years but have always returned to what is my most enduring interest. So, after enjoying a summer break, and with the autumn equinox now upon us, it is time to get rolling again. I will therefore publish the aforementioned stories over the winter and spring, starting with Opera Flowers - a nasty little murder mystery. Look out for it on Smashwords and Amazon over the next couple of weeks - Free of Charge, of course!


Best wishes and regards

Saul

TV Torment Free for a limited time

Hi folks, I've made this new story TV Torment Free on Smashwords for a limited time.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/163810


Best wishes

Saul

TV Torment available on Amazon

The new story TV Torment is available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/TV-Torment-ebook/dp/B0084M4YGC/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337444102&sr=1-16

Best wishes

Saul