A Murder Too Soon
I had a great time on Saturday.
It is, I have to admit, a pain to have to work over weekends. It’s not as if, being self-employed, I can take time in lieu or win back spare time with the family, but going out and meeting people at events is enormous fun, and when there is a good audience at events, it makes things all the better.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve had several gigs. The more recent ones were speaking at the Charles Causley Festival, which was very enjoyable, and then last Saturday talking at Crediton Library with the Exeter Authors Association.
These events always take a huge amount of planning and organisation, and so often they just don’t quite work. The weather’s lousy, or there’s a football match on the TV, or some similar annoying event, and suddenly there’s no audience. But at these recent events everything has come together perfectly. Crediton Library clearly worked very hard with the Exeter Authors Association to make people aware of the event, and we had a good audience for the readings and workshops.
I was talking mostly about my latest book, A Murder Too Soon, which came out in May, and which has already sold out (note to publisher, print more copies next time). It’s still available, though, as ebook and hardback, but the hardbacks are print on demand rather than stock items, except for a a number which are currently held under lock and key at Waterstone’s in George Street, Plymouth. However, if you want one of these, it is easy to fix. I’ll be at Plymouth Library on Wednesday 21st at 6.30 in the evening. I’ll be very happy to sign all these copies for enthusiastic readers!
I’ve been mulling the idea of my Bloody Mary series for quite some time, and it’s good to see Rebellion’s Message and A Murder Too Soon receiving rave reviews. This book is great fun.
The stories are based on the idea of a highly reluctant hero, an opportunistic thief, Jack Blackjack, who, owing to an unfortunate event, is believed to be a cold, calculating murderer. This places poor Jack in an unpleasant – and dangerous – position, since some politicians believe that he is an assassin for hire. At the same time, he has the difficult task of keeping his past colleagues happy, since they would prefer not to associate with assassins either. So, when he is sent to Woodstock Palace with instructions to murder a lady-in-waiting, and the lady concerned is found dead soon after he arrives, how can he prove his innocence without damaging his deadly reputation?
It’s a serious conundrum for him!
So, many thanks to the Charles Causley Festival (which I can recommend), many thanks to Béatrice, Mark and the other staff at Crediton Library (likewise), and many thanks to Plymouth Central Library for inviting me to talk there too.
I hope to see lots of readers there!
writerlywitterings 