New Flora Lively Mystery Out Now

I’m really excited to announce that Book 3 in the Flora Lively series of cozy mysteries is now available in ebook and paperback! Check out this gorgeous cover (and scroll down for the blurb and links if you’re interested).

I’m absolutely loving the purple vibe – thanks to Chris Howard for another excellent cover design. Chris is currently working on a complete overhaul of all my contemporary fiction, so watch out for that.

In The Sign of Seven, Flora has her most challenging mystery yet! The story is set in a spooky old museum of antiquities, and sees Flora and Marshall packing up a wacky collection of artefacts, ready to move them to the British Museum. But on the very first night … you guessed it! A dead body is discovered, and Flora is bang in the middle of yet another mystery.

Book Blurb:

When a priceless artefact goes missing, museum owner Jasmine White fears that an ancient curse has come to pass. Flora Lively is called upon to investigate, but her first ‘official’ case is set to be her most challenging yet …

Flora’s new job at the White & Co. Museum of Antiquities takes a deadly turn when a body is discovered in a packing crate that Flora herself sealed shut only hours earlier. Who is the murdered woman and how did she get there? As the stakes get higher, the threat moves closer to home. This time, Flora may be truly out of her depth.

The majestic lamassu

This is the lamassu, and you’ll get to know A LOT about these in the book! I’m fascinated with these creatures, and visited the huge statues on the British Museum as part of the research for The Sign of Seven.

As well as a twisty-turny mystery, the continued story of Flora and Marshall’s romance, and some very spooky museum exhibits, there is an additional – very personal – challenge for Flora. But you’ll have to read the book to find out more 🙂

So, if you’re interested, here is the Amazon link to download for Kindle or order in paperback: smarturl.it/SignSeven

Echoes of Time – WIN a paperback of brand new Guernsey novel

Regular blog readers will be familiar with ace novelist Anne Allen, author of the much-loved Guernsey novels, the fifth of which is out tomorrow.

If you haven’t discovered Anne’s books yet you’re in for a treat – and isn’t it awesome when you find a new author with a whole back-catalogue of books to catch up with? I just love it when that happens. The timing is perfect, as the first three books in the series are on offer for 99p/99c each from 12th-19th August.

What’s even more exciting is that Anne is giving away a paperback copy of her new book, Echoes of Time, to one lucky winner from my blog! All you have to do is share this post, on Facebook or Twitter, and leave a comment. (Paperback copy to UK entries, Kindle copy to rest of world.) The lucky winner will be picked at random in two week’s time.

Meanwhile, let’s find out more about the new book:

Betrayal, injustice and revenge echo down the years…

1940. Olive marries farmer Bill Falla. The Germans occupy Guernsey.All too soon Olive realises she’s made a mistake. Her life changes when she meets Wolfgang, a German officer- but there’s a price to pay. . .

Natalie Ogier returns to Guernsey to escape an abusive relationship – only to be plagued by odd happenings in her beautiful cottage on the site of a derelict and secluded farm. Disturbing dreams, disembodied voices and uncanny visions from the past.  She becomes increasingly ill at ease as someone else’s past catches up with her own…

Her only immediate neighbour, Stuart, is the grandson of the original owners, Bill and Olive. Thrown together in a bid to find out what really happened to Olive, can they each survive the repercussions of the past and move on?

Echoes of Time is out tomorrow, but is available for pre-order right now by clicking here. Anne’s off on a tour of Guernsey to promote the new novel, and she’s promised to come back and tell us all about it soon, with photos! Good luck, Anne.

Congratulations To Wyl Menmuir On His Booker Longlisting

Awesome news today – the best kind! The superbly talented Wyl Menmuir has had his debut novel, The Many, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016.

Wyl and I were on the same Masters programme at MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University), and right from the first workshopping session I figured him for a genius. My husband reminded me tonight that I came away from one of our online sessions – this was three or four years ago – and told him about this one guy, Wyl, who was clearly the most talented writer on our course and was destined for great things. And I was right! (I love being right.)

This is a beautiful book, one that deserves to win the coveted Man Booker prize, and this year I’ve actually read three of the longlist already. The Many is haunting, it gets under your skin, and it’s like nothing else you’ve ever read before. I urge you to rush out and buy it!  I hope the judges can see the genius that we all saw at MMU, and I hope Wyl gets the recognition and rewards his hard work, talent and dedication deserves.

Oh, and something else really cool – I’m mentioned in the acknowledgments! It’s the closest I’ll ever get to the Booker longlist, but it’s close enough for me. Congratulations, Wyl. You’re our winner already.

Do You Need A Guide To Indie Publishers and Small Presses?

This week my copy of the Mslexia Indie Presses guide 2016/17 arrived, and never has the publication of a new reference book been met with so much enthusiasm! What an awesome feat of collation and hard work – the team at Mslexia have been working flat out to put this up-to-date guide together, and I think it’s a brilliant resource.

 

Why is it needed?

Well, I’m glad you asked. Writers these days stand a far better chance of publication with a small press, but since the death of The Small Press Guide in 2002, there has been no single resource for writers to consult. Mslexia explains in their introduction:

“…there are literally hundreds of independent book publishers and literary magazines (…) but they are incredibly difficult to catalogue. As fast as a new book publisher is launched, another shuts up shop; new magazines appear every year and others disappear into the ether. The original Guide had to be updated every year, which was a truly daunting prospect in the days before websites, emails and smartphones …”

I’d add that trawling through the Writers and Artists Yearbook, trying to sort out which publisher might accept submission and which are only there as a standard listing, is no fun either. Thank goodness Mslexia decided to take up this project and run with it.

What does it include?

Detailed listings of around 200 literary magazines and 250 small presses, including advice on genres and how to submit. There is also a section on competitions, and a useful index. Many of the listings have an additional ‘We say’ section, with helpful comments from the Mslexia team about the press in question. And all of the entries are open to submissions and actively looking for writers at this time!

Who is it for?

You! It’s for all writers, whether you write prose or poetry, fiction or non-fiction, and it’s also a great resource for those working in the publishing industry as a freelance. As well as checking out the listings of small presses for my novel This Beautiful World (which is still looking for a home), I’m also planning to use this guide to target my pitches for indexing work. Win win.

Where can I buy it?

You can buy the guide from the Mslexia website here, and it costs £12.99 +p&p. In terms of the amount of effort and legwork this guide will save you, I think it’s a bargain!