Tricia Sanders talks about Death, Diamonds & Freezer Burn and Murder is a Dirty Business

 

Welcome to amazing author Tricia L. Sanders!

Tricia L. Sanders writes cozy mysteries and women’s fiction. She adds a dash of romance and a sprinkling of snark to raise the stakes. Her heroines are humorous women embarking on journeys of self-discovery all the while doing so with class, sass, and a touch of kickass.

Tricia is recent transplant to Texas, but she’s still an avid St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, so don't get between her and the television when a game is on.

A former instructional designer and corporate trainer, she traded in curriculum writing for novel writing, because she hates bullet points and loves to make stuff up. And fiction is more fun than training guides and lesson plans.

Visit her:

Website: www.triciasanders.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authortricialsanders/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tricialsanders

To keep up-to-date on her current books, new releases, exclusive giveaways, and other news and events, sign up for her newsletter, Sleuth Scoop https://mailchi.mp/23a87d715dc3/tricia-l-sanders-sleuthscoop

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

My characters and the dialogue that I write. My characters have been described by readers as best friend material. I love that. I really strive to make my main characters likeable and hopefully people we can all see a little of ourselves in.

When I write dialogue, I try to imagine conversations real people would have about similar circumstances. I’ve even been known to sit in coffee shops and eavesdrop on neighboring conversations for inspiration. If you see the lady with the giant iced tea and she looks a little too intent on your conversation, move away slowly.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

I write for 20 minutes every morning with a writing friend. Other than that, I don’t have a strict routine. I tend to write in spurts. Though, I do try to write every day.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Currently I have one series out with another one releasing early 2021. In five years, I’d love to be continuing these series along with two others I have planned. I also have a stand-alone women’s fiction that I want to release. And in my wildest dreams, I would love for Hallmark to come knocking for my Grime Pays series. How’s that for dreaming?

If you could offer one piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Don’t let others squash your dream. If you want to write, then write. Take the time, make your goals, and tell your story. There is never a better time to write than right now. You are never going to have more time, less distractions, more ideas, etc. Do it now while you have the passion.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

The best compliment I’ve received is a reader telling me they wanted Cece Cavanaugh, of my Grime Pays Mystery series, as their best friend. That bowled me over. I knew I had struck a nerve with that character.

I also love when readers say they couldn’t put one of my books down. Though, I hope they will savor my stories and not rush to finish them.

Series Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YNXVXPL

                                                 

DEATH, DIAMONDS AND FREEZER BURN

An unwelcome visitor, an unrequited love, and a dead body create chaos in a middle-aged woman’s plan for a productive summer.

Despite a looming divorce, an empty checkbook, and a struggling cleaning business, Cece Cavanaugh is determined to land on her own two feet. Adamant about staying a safe distance from the handsome detective who has her fantasizing about violating the morals clause in her prenuptial agreement, Cece dives headlong into her work.

Even though she has no free time to spare, Cece finds herself guilted into cleaning a hoarder’s home. Her discoveries in the condemned house are too shocking to ignore. Diamond-laden pachyderms, a secret cache of money, and a dead body lure Cece into launching an investigation that places her in direct contact with the one person she’s desperate to avoid--hunky Detective Case Alder.

With clues in hand, Cece runs down leads and eliminates suspects one by one. Her conclusion and brave accusation put a friend’s life in peril forcing Cece to hatch a plan to outsmart the killer. A daring move could either save Cece and her friend or lead to their demise.

 

MURDER IS A DIRTY BUSINESS

Between hot flashes and divorce papers, a middle-aged woman reconsiders her outlook on life when she butts heads with a hot detective during a murder investigation.

When Cece Cavanaugh’s husband empties their joint bank account, steals her designer luggage, and runs off with a younger woman, Cece must decide whether to ask her manipulative mother-in-law for a handout or get a job. Choosing the easier path, Cece lands a job cleaning a crime scene where a high school coach was murdered. When his wife is implicated—a young woman Cece practically raised—Cece finds herself mopping floors, balancing an empty checkbook, and ferreting out a killer.

Amid all this messy business, Cece bumps heads with a handsome detective. She tries to ignore her growing attraction to the detective, but he gives new meaning to the term “hot flash.”

After she stumbles onto a clue that could vindicate her friend, her elation turns to panic when she haphazardly confronts the killer. Through the danger and romance, Cece discovers self-reliance and inner strength.

And that crime—at least, someone else’s—does pay the bills.

 

Ekiuwa Aire tells us about Idia of the Benin Kingdom

 

Welcome to children's author Ekiuwa Aire, whose book cover I totally adore!

Ekiuwa Aire was born and raised in Benin City, Edo, Nigeria. She moved to England when she was nine and it was here, away from all she had grown up with, she discovered her passion for writing. Ekiuwa co-wrote her first book while finishing high school and continued developing her craft while earning a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Business Administration. She is passionate about African history and incorporates the richness of many cultures into her books. Now a mother living in Canada, Ekiuwa hopes that her books will help kids develop an appreciation for African history, and to value the wisdom and pride that will come from this knowledge.

 What is your latest release?

Idia of the Benin Kingdom. It is a children's book a true African Warrior queen who lived over 500 years ago.

What are you working on now?

My next book is a children's book on Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba.

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

My 2 daughters inspired me, my husband encouraged me to keep going.

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

My passion to get these stories told. I believe that there are socio-economic impacts to the books that I create.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

I write children's books. My books are 1300 words long. When I'm working on a new story, I power through it every day for about a month. Then I send it to my editor for feedback. I go back and forth with my editor for a few weeks, then the work goes into the illustrations and communicating my vision with the illustrator. At this point, though I am still working on the book every day, I am not necessarily writing every day.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

I see myself heavily involved in teaching about African History.

Website and Social:

Website: www.our-ancestories.com

Instagram: @our_ancestories

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/our.ancestoriess/

Twitter: @ancestories

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/OurAncestoriess/

  

IDIA OF THE BENIN KINGDOM (9781777117900)

Idia of the Benin Kingdom takes readers on a beautifully illustrated journey to the 1500s in ancient Africa. Readers are captivated as they watch Idia transform herself from the young and curious daughter of a village warrior to becoming the Queen of the Kingdom of Benin.

This book teaches about perseverance, hard work, devotion, kindness, generosity, and love, it speaks to how we can be inspired to strive for our goals as long as we believe in them. Idia of the Benin Kingdom is a precious storybook that empowers a young girl to create a vision of who she wants to be as she creates limitless possibilities for her future.

Link to buy: https://our-ancestories.com/product/idia-of-the-benin-kingdom/ 

 

IDIA OF THE BENIN KINGDOM: Coloring and Activity Book (9781777117931)

Treat your little one to a uniquely creative way to learn all about the African Kingdom of Benin with this coloring and activity book specially designed to cover ancient African history for kids 4-8.

On every page, you’ll find new exercises, challenges, and creative tasks that will spark their imagination into life by introducing them to a world unlike any other. Just what you need when you want them to see the rich history and culture the world has to offer as they learn African history the creative way.

Link to buy:  https://www.amazon.com/Idia-Benin-Kingdom-Coloring-Ancestories/dp/1777117933/ 

 

J.E. Barnard's new release Why The Rock Falls

 

Welcome to fellow Crime Writers of Canada author, J.E. Barnard! 

                                       

JE (Jayne) Barnard has 25 years of award-winning fiction to her name. Her bestselling women’s wilderness suspense series, The Falls Mysteries (Dundurn Press) follows contemporary amateur detectives as they face death both murderous and medically assisted, along with their individual struggles with PTSD and ME/CFS. Her newest book, ‘Why the Rock Falls,’ delves into the dysfunctional family lives of Hollywood directors and Alberta oil dynasties.

 J.E. Barnard

http://www.jaynebarnard.ca/

www.laceymccrae.com/

Find The Falls on

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Buy Links for ‘Why the Rock Falls’ by J.E. Barnard

Indiebound http://ow.ly/ugX850Cbns4

Amazon  http://ow.ly/9RxI50Cbnxf 

What genre do you write?

Women’s wilderness suspense. My work has been described as ‘small town psychological thrillers’ but the small towns are out in the wilderness and my heroines must deal with wild animals, rough terrain, and natural phenomenon like floods and blizzards as well as deadly human predators.

Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices?

As a child I read extensively of mystery series such as The Three Investigators, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden. As I grew older I wanted to understand not only what crime occurred and how it was solved, but why the people involved acted as they did. Interestingly since I started writing the Falls Mysteries, I don’t enjoy reading crime as much as before. I keep seeing through the surface to the bones, the author’s structure and choices, instead of becoming immersed in the story. So now I read more fantasy fiction for enjoyment.

Which type of characters are your favorite to write?

Dogs. Any scene with a dog in it has a great personality to play with.

Actually, it’s the main character in whichever scene I’m working on that day. The Falls Mysteries have two main point-of-view characters: ex-cop Lacey, who is burnt-out, cynical, and suffering PTSD from both her job and her marriage to an abusive fellow officer; and Jan, who has a good marriage but a chronic disabling illness, ME/CFS, which has stolen her art history career, her plans to travel & have children, and generally robbed her of the life she expected. These women don’t talk the same or think the same; they don’t bring the same skills to the investigations. I’m very attached to both of them, and it’s constantly interesting to me to watch their personal growth and healing while keeping their investigations moving.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Write from what you know. Yes, you’ll have to do research along the way. But if you start from a solid base, your writing will reflect your confidence in that part of the project. If you start from a shaky base, not only will your characters’ knowledge of that topic seem forced but readers will be less willing (on a subconscious level) to trust the character, and by extension your whole story.

An example: a woman I once worked with on a manuscript wrote a heroine who was writing a cookbook. Yet this heroine was rarely in a kitchen & never noticed food. She plodded through uninspired writing in scene after scene, not quite coming alive.

Whenever the character called upon a suspect, however, she noticed – and could name – every plant in their garden, the health of the grass, and so on. The writing in these sections was purposeful, flowing, laden with details that were interesting as well as related to the mystery.

I asked the writer whether the character would be better off writing a garden book. She admitted she loves gardening and dislikes cooking, but thought a mystery with a cookbook author would an easier sell. She was writing about something she didn’t know or care much about, and the writing revealed it.

Write from something you already know, and spread out from there.

Do your characters come before or after your plot?

As I’ve been writing series for the past six years, using the same two sets of characters, it’s hard to recall from those. My new project is a standalone, though: a teen thriller about a foster child. This one definitely started with the character. Before I started writing I knew what she looked like, how she sounded, what she loved, and what she most deeply feared. The plot worked itself out later.

What are you working on now?

My teen thriller follows a foster child whose best friend gets her entangled with a sleazy drug dealer and the crooked politicians who protect him. I’ve just sent the manuscript off to my agent and now I simultaneously have complete confidence that she’ll adore my vulnerable-yet-fierce young heroine as much as I do and am about equally terrified that she’ll hate the girl & the story.

WHY THE ROCK FALLS : The Falls Mysteries

 Danger lurks in the wilderness of the Rockies. When a Hollywood director's wife dies during a local movie shoot, filming is suspended. The death also spells the end of ex-Mountie Lacey McCrae's latest temporary job. At loose ends, Lacey volunteers to help in the search for an aging oil baron and his son who have disappeared in the foothills of the Rockies. As drone operators scan the forested valleys from the air and rock-climbers rappel down narrow chasms in search of the pair, Lacey dons her Victim Services' cap to ease tensions among the missing oilman's four adult sons and three ex-wives. As the squabbles over the possible inheritance intensify, Lacey uncovers a surprising link between the missing oilman and the big-shot director. But an unexpected event sends Lacey out on a risky trek across an unstable mountainside on the trail of a murderer who is bent on killing again.

 

Sharon Daynard talks about Murder Points North

 

Welcome to debut author Sharon Daynard! Have fun!

Sharon Daynard’s writing runs the gamut from light and quirky to downright dark and troubling. Her debut novel, Murder Points North, takes a humorous spin on murder in a small town. Her short stories include “The Boss of Butlers Square” which received Honorable Mention for the Al Blanchard Award and “Widows Peak” which was nominated for a Derringer Award.

https://www.facebook.com/Sharon-Daynard-Author-115008529900120/

https://twitter.com/sharondaynard?lang=en

What would you say are your strengths as an author?

I’d have to say my greatest strength as a writer is the ability to write both humorous and downright creepy. Sometimes it’s hard to pick one specific genre for my work. My stories are humorous, twisted, dark, and sometimes a combination of all three. I like venturing into the dark side to keep the reader off guard. I don’t know what it says about me, but there’s always at least one scene that makes me laugh.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?

With a fulltime job, I find it almost impossible to stick to a strict writing routine. I make use of what little time I have during the week and those few precious hours I can snag on the weekends. Because my time is limited, I always have a notepad and pen handy to jot down ideas. I don’t set a word count goal when I sit down to write. I’d find that incredibly stressful, unless of course I constantly exceeded my goals. Some days I’m happy just to add 100 exceptional words to a story. Other days I’ll top 2000 far from exceptional words. But in the end, it all evens out.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Five years from now, I’d like to see myself as established as a cozy novelist with a few more installments in the Liesl Alan series under my belt. I’d also like to have at least one standalone in another genre.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

The best piece of advice I could give is don’t give up. Overnight successes are often years in the making. Listen to your gut when it comes to editing and never lose your unique voice.

What would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?

The best compliment a reader could give is in the form of a book review. I don’t think many readers know how important reviews are to writers. There’s nothing quite like reading a book review from a reader who stayed up past their bedtime to finish my book, or one who thought solving the murder was going to be too easy only to find out it wasn’t.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on the sequel to Murder Points North that takes place right around Valentine’s Day. For my amateur sleuth, Liesl Alan, what starts out as a harmless night of speed dating spirals into murder. I’m also working on a darker standalone set on a fictional island off the coast of New Hampshire.

 

MURDER POINTS NORTH

With one week until Christmas, picturesque Points North, New Hampshire, hasn't seen as much as a token flurry and the temperatures are almost as high as local tempers. The lack of snow, however, is the least of Liesl Alan's worries. Liesl teaches geology, collects rocks, minerals and ex-husbands-three at last count. On the brink of turning forty, she finds herself living amongst a group of eccentric "innmates" at the Muddled Moose, an inn her family has owned for generations. Hardly in the Christmas spirit, the last thing Liesl's looking forward to is a night of wearing a too tight, too ruffled, too plaid gown for the village's annual Home for the Holidays open house celebration. When the event ends in a fiasco and someone from the Muddled Moose is found murdered, Liesl becomes the prime suspect of everyone from the lead homicide detective to her own mother. Fellow residents at the inn are even offering fashion tips for her inevitable perp walk and mug shot. Determined to prove her innocence and find the real killer, Liesl teams up with a private eye wannabe. With a list of suspects that might as well include all of Points North, she has her work cut out for her, especially when each new clue points her in a different direction.

The links to purchase Murder Points North are:

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Points-North-Sharon-Daynard-ebook/dp/B0812F6H9Q/ref

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/989620

 

Round Robin Blog Fest November 2020

 

Welcome back for another fun Round Robin Blog Fest!!

This month, we have a topic I can totally get into. We are talking about:  Review or recommend a book, a short story, or an online article, or a post on someone’s blog. Considering my entire blog has been overtaken by books, authors, and other fun things, I thought I'd chat about why and how I do what I do!

In September 2019, I decided to use my blog for good. I began to host authors who wanted another way to promote their books. I started off with hosting 1 author every Sunday and called my blog Escape with a Writer Sunday. My plan was to ask them a few interview questions, feature a book or two and share it all to social media. I have to admit, I was afraid I'd be begging for authors and it wouldn't last long. WRONG!

My first author interview post was September 29, 2019. By the end of 2020, I will have hosted 80 authors and each have promoted 2-3 books per post. Not bad at all! In fact as of the end of September 2020, I had to expand to Wednesdays and Sundays and change the name to Escape With a Writer. 

By the end of October, I had authors booked three days a week: Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. I also have several booked for 2021 to promote their new releases.

I've also set up a Facebook page to promote the blog at https://www.facebook.com/escapewithawriter where authors can contact me to be a part of the fun. 

Outreach:  While I don't have a huge outreach on my own, it takes a village! Word of mouth and authors sharing the link to groups they are involved with helps all of us to grow. The more we all promote ourselves and each other, the better off we all are!

Cost: I'm doing this for FREE. Why? Because I can. Once it becomes something that takes over my life, I will have to charge people for my time. I'm really not doing it for the money though. I do it for the love of books, writing, and helping other authors just as others have helped me in the past.

How do you book your interview to promote you and your books? Reach out to me on the Facebook page or via my website. I'm always happy to accommodate for book launch dates if I can. 

Margaret Fieland 
Skye Taylor 
Diane Bator 
Anne Stenhouse  
Connie Vines 
Fiona McGier 
Dr. Bob Rich
Beverley Bateman 
Rhobin L Courtright 

Harry Posner: A man of many words, books, and talents!

 

Welcome to my good friend, Harry Posner! 

Harry and I have been friends for many years and I can never read any of his writing without hearing that smooth voice that lingers from word to word like a fine musician plays notes on a piano! Without further ado.... Here's Harry...

 A member of The Writers Union of Canada, Writers Ink Alton, Headwaters Writer Guild, and Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets, Harry Posner is the author of six books and two spoken word CDs.

Harry is Dufferin County's Poet Laureate, organizer and host of the annual Day of the Poets festival in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, and co-host with Peter Noce of The Sill podcast (www.thesillpodcast.com).

What genre do you write?

If I had to pin it down, I would say that I’m writing in the literary fiction genre. You know, the kind of writing you shake your head at and say, “Now, what in the heck is this writer going on about?” Often, as well, my poetic tendencies creep into my books and stories, so they can end up feeling like poetic prose or prosy poetry.

Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices?

Yes, often. But I also like to touch base with non-fiction every now and then, so that I don’t get swept off the planet on a cloud of my own imaginings. I need that tether to ground me, and also as a source of good information, especially if my book/poem explores those areas. I’m currently reading Catherine Gildiner’s GOOD MORNING, MONSTER, which is an account of five of her psychotherapeutic patients and their heroic journeys. I graduated with a degree in counseling psychology, so these kinds of books are great for me as a writer to deepen my understanding of why people do what they do. I’ll also be interviewing Catherine about her book on December 3^rd, as part of Orangeville Library’s annual WOW (Words the Orangeville Way).

Which type of characters are your favorite to write?

I like to write characters who are on the edge in some way, whether it be through their own making, or the circumstances in which they’ve been raised. ‘Normal’ characters don’t interest me that much. Maybe it’s because I’m something of a weirdo myself, in the way I think about the world. Some writers who I appreciate in this regard include Chuck Palahniuk, Donald Barthelme and Lydia Davis.

If you could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?

Don’t get stuck in the ‘writing what you know’ schtick. One of the great pleasures of this craft is the exploration of parts of the world and of human endeavour that you would never have experienced if it weren’t for the impulse to write about it. Read books about stuff that you have little to no interest in. I know, it’s tough. But it’s an exercise that helps on several levels: we learn something new; we exercise our willpower (which is indispensable when it comes to long-form writing); and we stay unstuck from the one-note groove of ‘what we know’. I’m not saying don’t write about what you know. But don’t get stuck there!

Do your characters come before or after your plot?

They tend to come before the plot. I fall into the category of intuitive scribblers, letting the plot find its own direction based upon the world in which the character is living. Somewhere it is said that ‘character is destiny’. I truly believe this, and that all else follows from character. In other words, who you are is what you do.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished a first draft of HERE IS BETTY, the third novella in a trilogy that started with PEGGY LEE’S DELICIOUS LIPS (Quattro Books), followed by DUX DISPAR (currently being shopped around). I also continue to write and present poetry as part of my duties as Poet Laureate.

Websites/Social Media:

www.posnerbooks.com

https://www.facebook.com/harry.posner.3

https://twitter.com/home?lang=en

All books available at www.posnerbooks.com

A smorgasboard of Harry's books...

PEGGY LEE’S DELICIOUS LIPS

Percy Barnum Thurman is driving up a hill in the countryside. That’s it. That’s all. Except for the thousand and one moments in a squidgy life that determine who and what we are, that leap in front of us like a startled deer shooting across the road in front of a man driving up a hill in the countryside. Metafiction that is very bendy.

LITTLE EXITS

Flash fiction that explores the wonder and mystery and terror that is death. Funny, poignant, profound. You’ll die every which way but loose!

WORDBIRDS

Poetry that explores the nature of, the feelings of, the adventure of life as a bird. Includes bird paintings by the author. Perfect for the young reader.

 

D. E. McCluskey talks about Butterflies and Z: A Love Story

 

Welcome to prolific author, D.E. (David) McCluskey!

David is a Liverpool based author who works in the IT industry when not writing. He lives at home with his partner and daughters. He has numerous interests including football, film, listening to live music and playing in a band. He is also a local stand-up comedian and can be found working the north-west comedy scene, winning a few competitions in some of the more prestigious clubs in the North.

He has been an avid reader since the age of eleven when his picked up his first Stephen King book and was instantly hooked.

He has been writing comics, graphic novels, and novels for the past ten years. Initially, he submitted short stories as graphic tales for the annual publication Something Wicked, part of the FutureQuake Press company. Initially these tales covered the horror/sci-fi genre. In 2012 he entered, and won the May Poetry Competition for www.writersbillboard.net, with the story The Good Behaviour Act (featured in Interesting Tymes).

He then launched Dammaged Comics and began to self-publish his own comics and graphic novels, establishing partnerships with artists such as Joe Matthews (Beano), Grant Perkins (Dr Who, Penguins of Madagascar) among others. Four complete graphic novels were published, and three anthologies, two continuing series, and a number of short standalone comics. These publications vary from humorous, children’s tales, including a re-working of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, in rhyme, to action/adventure and horror. He has been a regular participator at various national comic cons, for the last few years.

He then focused his attentions on developing longer, more complex plots, that were too ambitious for graphic novels, developing them into general trade novels. He then changed the name of Dammaged Comics to Dammaged Productions, to encompass the novels. He had been invited to read and sign copies of his books in several bookshops, and also schools and libraries. He has also been a regular guest on several local radio stations.

His novels have received a number of positive reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads websites. One novel has been optioned as an independent film and is in pre-production with a BAFTA award winning screenwriter and director in place.

He has multiple works in progress, including a range of novels for children he plans to release under the pen name of Dave McCluskey. There are also sequels to the titles In the Mood for Murder and The Contract, in progress.

You can find him at: 

Facebook:  @davemccluskeyauthor     @dammagedcomics

Twitter:   @demccluskey1     @dammagedpro

Instagram: @dammagedproductions

Website (still under construction)  www.dammaged.com

email address dave.mccluskey@dammaged.com

Tell us about your life outside of writing:

Let me see now! Where do I begin?

I live in Liverpool, in the UK. And before you ask, yes, I am a HUGE Beatles fan. I have been from an early age. When I left school, I went to work in a music shop, selling guitars and drums, and played in bands all over Liverpool and the North-West of England. I think I have a great voice, an awful lot of other people will disagree with me, and that’s why I was never the singer.

Music is a big thing in my life. I have been a music fan ever since I was 10 or 11. My very first single was Sprit in the Material World by The Police, my very first album was Queen, The Game, and my very first concert (other than when we went to see Eric Clapton with the school) on my own was Ozzy Osbourne.

I live with my fiancé (she used to be my girlfriend but told me that I needed to upgrade her ASAP, otherwise… (the threatening pause was intentional)). My daughter and her daughter also live with us (Grace is mine, Sian is hers, they are both ‘ours’). I live in a house filled with women, so, when we got a dog, I made damned sure it was a male. Ted is sausage dog, and basically ignores everything I've tried to teach him.

I love football. I'm not going to tell you what team I support, but it is the opposite colours from the political party I support. I never talk about football, or politics in my books, as I've seen it hurt people’s sales, and followers. Its mad that people can’t get along!

Erm… what next?

I used to work for an IT Department (actually, technically I still do work for them, but as I'm being made redundant at the end of the year, work is a relative term). I hate IT… Actually, that is not true… I LOATHE IT.

So, that’s me, in a nutshell… outside of my writing!

Do you have a work in progress?

This is such an open question… I currently have roughly 15 works in progress!

The way I work is, I’ll have a brainwave about an idea, and I’ll frantically write it down in note form. I’ll make sure that I have the start, the middle, and a rough idea about the end.

Now, this will usually happen in the middle of me working on another book. So, when the particular draft I’m working on is over, I’ll close it off, then look at my ‘to do’ list. I will then pick up another one of my works and work on that. It might be the idea I just had, or it might be another one that might be on draft 1, or even draft 15…

Am I confusing you yet?

Because I'm totally lost.

I then work on another book, while formulating the idea for another story!!! It’s all a mess, an unorganised one, but one that makes perfect sense to me.

Anyway, in answer to your question, Yes… I have a work in progress. It’s called The Vaccine Machine (nothing to do with COVID). I am hoping that this will be a gothic horror/comedy, along the lines of Neil Gaiman…

But, I have just (In the time it took to answer this question) had the idea for a bitter/sweet Christmas romance tale…

Hmmmmmm! Interesting…

What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it so difficult?

I mostly write horror books. Most of my tales have either been horror, or had some kind of horror theme running through them. The Twelve is a horrific ghost story, In The Mood for Murder is a gruesome, bloody, historic thriller (set in Liverpool 1946)… and so on…

So, when my brain decided that it wanted to work on an erotic, romantic comedy, (Butterflies) it was difficult for me.

It was difficult due to the fact that it is a female book. It is totally female. The main protagonist, the second protagonist, the feelings, the emotions… it’s all female. I wrote it initially as an erotic novel, but decided to remove all the erotica, there is still sex in there (a lot of it) but its not erotica.

I passed it through some proof-readers, some of them writers of women’s fiction themselves, and they all enjoyed it. They said there were some parts where they could tell a man had written it (during a sex scene the man shouts Fwooooooooah, go’ed girl… joke, he doesn’t, I cut that bit out).

So, this was my hardest book to write.

The other hardest part to write was a single chapter in one of my darkest, most psychologically challenging works, CRACK.

Towards the end, I don’t want to do a spoiler here, but there is a death (there are a lot of them in this book) but this death is significant to the story. There is a chapter that I wrote about the woman’s child’s take on her mummy being missing, and how she reacts to everything going on around her.

For me it was a little bit harrowing, but I have had many comments on how lovely a chapter it is in a particularly brutal book.

Also, I love to write comedy into most of my books, as I think no matter how dark, or emotional a book is, it always needs levity. Even if it is gallows humour. But humour is always subjective, and I always end up second guessing it.

What sort of research do you do for your work?

In truth… none!

Well that’s not entirely true. I have an upcoming book called TimeRipper that is a science fiction/time travel take on the mythos of Jack the Ripper. For this book I very nearly became a Ripperologist…

I went to London as often as I could and took a ‘Ripper Tour’ while I was there. I must have done about 10 or 15 of them, something like that. It got to the point where the tour guides made sure that I never got to answer any of their questions, nor would they take any of my questions… My book is complete fiction, but some of the events and the names are real, so I immersed myself into anything JTR related.

Other than that, I usually do my research on the fly, or in the edits to the books. I work with a guy called Tony Higginson, who runs an online bookstore. He is very knowledgeable on all things bookish… and he has pointed out to me, on more than one (thousand) occasions areas that I need to strengthen.

I think my books are more about the human reaction to a challenging situation, rather than the why or the how.

Working in IT I learned one huge, valuable lesson, and that is ‘Google is your friend!’

Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there anyone who inspires you?

When I was 11 I picked up a book one afternoon, bored out of my head. It was a book of short stories; it was called Skeleton Key. In the book was a story that was a prequel to a film that I had just watched called Salem’s Lot. This book was by Stephen King.

The very next book I read, still aged 11, was The Stand… I have loved Stephen King books ever since. Some of the more recent ones have been a bit hit and miss, but all the old stuff, the stuff when he was just making it big… they are fantastic.

Saying that though, I don’t count him as an inspiration. King’s voice is so unique (not so much now, but in the olden days… yes) that it would be hard to try to write like him, and not sound, or look like, a copycat.

So… I have different inspirations for my different moods. I would say Neil Gaiman is a huge influence, as is James Herbert. I also love Dennis Wheatley, Brian Lumley, Dean Koontz, and there are a host of indie writers who I support by buying, and reviewing, their books… I see the writing community as exactly that, a community. It’s not a competition, it’s not a race, we all write different things, and we can all support each other’s works.

I mostly read horror. I occasionally read action. I seldom read romance, or historic novels. I love biographies, as long as they are interesting, if the person is interesting… I wouldn’t even think of reading an autobiography of someone who has been famous for ten minutes…

I love love love reading graphic novels. They were my first love, and how I started off my writing career. I produced four graphic novels and a slurry of comics (all available on my Amazon page in Kindle format!)

Watchmen, V For Vendetta, and of course …From Hell (Jack the Ripper again) are all my favourites, and all written by Alan Moore.

 

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?

I have to give a very short answer here, and that answer is… No!

Not one person.

My love of writing came from my love of reading, but it was all from my own doing. I remember my dad telling me once that he had written a short story, a horror called The Wedding. I never got to read it, and I still don’t know whatever happened to it, but even he didn’t encourage me.

When I say he didn’t encourage me, that’s not true. I have a totally helpful, and supportive family around me. Lauren, my fiancé, was never a big reader before she met me, but she reads, and proofreads everything for me, and is totally supportive and behind me in all my endeavours. My mum, my sisters, everyone is behind me, but no one knew that I wanted to be a writer (or an author, I don’t call myself a writer, as my grammar is awful… I know how to construct a story; my editor helps me with the rest.)

I can’t say that I had a teacher, or a mentor, or anyone really. And I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet, but it was just me, I had these tales rattling around in my head that was full of boring, soul destroying, cloying IT rubbish, that were just dying (sic) to get out. So I released them…

Fly my pretties…

Thank you for this opportunity to waffle on about my books and my life. I do enjoy talking about this journey that I'm on…

 

BUTTERFLIES

Olivia Martelle has it all. She’s young and beautiful and has just had her fairy-tale wedding to the man of her dreams, the man who makes the butterflies in her stomach swoop and swirl. Life is looking rosy indeed.

 Then, a cruel twist of fate changes everything.

 After a devastating accident, every day seems to be a battle—with doctors, with her sister-in-law, with herself.

Her beautiful blue butterflies have turned to black.

A desperate mistake leads her onto a path she doesn’t want to tread, and her life begins to spiral out of control.

 Will anything bring her butterflies back?

Z: A LOVE STORY

 When horror and romance collide, the world will never be the same again.

Kevin is your normal, everyday kind of guy. An office worker in a multistory tower block in downtown London. He feels like his existence is being swallowed up by the monster metropolis where he lives and works. Ignored, lonely, and lovelorn, he's desperate for a reason to go on.

He has one in mind. Rachael.

She is everything that he has ever wanted.

Four thousand miles away, someone else has other ideas about everything they have ever wanted ...

As the hostilities between two superpowers escalate, a new weapon has emerged.

Agent Z is a super-weapon, capable of delivering a devastating blow to the enemy. In the wrong hands, however, it can be something else entirely.

Love is a many splendored thing.

Humanity, however … that is fleeting! 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 Comics

Interesting Tymes: An anthology of six horror tales, all written in rhyme, and introduced by Edward D’Ammage, a spooky, but genial, host. 

Interesting Tymes x 2: A second anthology of six horror tales, again written in rhyme, and featuring Edward D’Ammage.

Edward D’Ammage Presents: The Wedding: A feature length rhyming horror story introduced by Edward D’Ammage. A woman is whisked away on her wedding night by a huge spider with a human head. It is down to her groom to save her from the underworld.

Wooden Heart: A detective cursed with déjà vu and OCD has to solve a strange spate of deaths, while dealing with memories from two-hundred years before.

Three Days in the City: A zombie-esque tale as a homeless man seeks work in Liverpool and is shunned at every turn.

The Few: A zombie continuing tale. Currently on #3 of #6. The zombie apocalypse has occurred, and the people are banding together. It is becoming apparent that there are some members of the community who are immune to the bite of the monsters around them.

The Adventures of Mace Masoch – Hard Times on Planet L’Bido: Mace Masoch, fearless explorer, travells on the planet L’Bido to find the Lib, an animal that possesses the largest source of libido in the universe.

Short, Sharp, Shocks: An anthology of six suspense and horror tales, all revolving around a skeletal game show!

Graphic novels

Doppelgänger: On impulse Tom Daily purchases an ornate, antique mirror and hangs it on his wall. Soon he is obsessed with it, alienating his wife and family. Then a series of bloody attacks begin to happen around his neighbourhood. Tom is having nightmares about these atrocities. Is it him performing them, or is it something darker?

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: A reworking of the classic Christmas tale, true to the original, but written in rhyme.

Olf: Olf is the fastest, strongest and best flyer in Santa’s reindeer academy, but due to his naughty nature is one of the most disliked too. Can he overcome his nature to save Christmas?

Deathday Presents: Every year, in Hell, Satan had a deathday. All the demons residing in the pit are required to get him a deathday present. Anyone who disappoints him joins the Eternity Fraternity, where they are cast into the abyss. Three loser demons have forgotten and must journey ‘topside’ to get him something he doesn’t already have.

Novels

The Twelve: John Rydell is 4000 miles away from home when he gets a phone call from his wife to tell him that there is someone in the house. When he returns, he is thrown into a nightmare of repressed memories from his time at university, when his old friends start dying one by one. He was in a club back then, there were twelve of them; there were twelve for a reason!

In The Mood… For Murder (with Tony Bolland): Liverpool, 1946, post-war and swinging. The Rialto is the place to go to dance away your blues and immerse yourself in swing music. The Downswing Seven are the resident band and every night they are blowing up a storm. The lead male vocal is getting too old to continue, and the band must audition for a replacement, much to the chagrin of George Hogg, the drummer. He had his eye on that spot. Are some things worth killing for? The band are about to find out!

CRACK: Joe O’Hara is having a bad day, and things are just about to get worse. A road accident that was not his fault, leads Joe down a road of PTSD and addiction. He needs his CRACK, he can’t sleep without it, he can’t function without it. He has to have his CRACK, only it’s not the crack you might think it is…

Z: A Love Story: Kevin likes Rachael. They have worked together for years, but he has never plucked up the courage to ask her out. One day he thinks ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ and he asks her. She says yes… Four thousand miles away in the USA, the heightened tensions between two superpowers have escalated. There is an accident in a lab and Agent Z is unleashed. These two, very different worlds, are about to collide.

The Contract (with C William Giles (deceased)): A spate of strange deaths in different states in the USA occur. The victims are by no means innocent, not by a long shot. All the murders have one thing in common. The killer has left a calling card. A single white feather. But just like the deaths, the feather is no normal feather. It is down to FBI agents Symes and Cox to catch this killer. As the bodies mount, it becomes clear that they are not dealing with a normal serial killer.

Butterflies: Olivia Martell has everything. She has just married the man of her dreams, a young, handsome self-made millionaire who makes her butterflies soar, her life is on the right tracks. However, after a horrific road traffic accident, everything changes, the butterflies turn black. She finds herself alone, dependant on her family and friends for strength and support. Everyday becomes a fight, with the doctors in the hospital looking after her comatose husband, with her sister in law, with herself. A mistake is made, a mistake that takes down a path she doesn’t want to tread, as she tries to take control of her life and her destiny.