January | 2017 | Heather Burnside Author

‘Danger by Association’ is the third and final book in the Riverhill trilogy and, according to many readers, it’s the best of the three. It is therefore ironic that sales of this book are much lower than for the first two at around 3000 compared to over 9000 for ‘Slur’ and over 8,000 for ‘A Gangster’s Grip’.

Danger

I hold responsibility for that to an extent – I should have put the book up for pre-order a lot sooner than I did. Then perhaps readers of the first two books would have downloaded the third straightaway, especially since there is evidence that readers of ‘Slur’ went on to read ‘A Gangster’s Grip’.

So, I’ve decided to do a free promotion of book 3. ‘Danger by Association’ will be free to download to the Kindle for three days only on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of January so if you haven’t already downloaded a copy, now’s your chance. Here’s the link: http://viewBook.at/DangerbyAssn.

Here’s the book blurb so you can see what the book is about:

Rita has been avoiding Manchester; it brings back too many bad memories. She still has harrowing flashbacks of ruthless gangster, Leroy, and the death of a loved one. It takes the wedding of her brother, John, to persuade her to return. She agrees on the condition that she steers clear of the Riverhill estate and Leroy’s family.

When her son, Daniel, is placed in danger, Rita is lured back to the Riverhill where she confronts those she believes responsible. She receives support from an unlikely source who promises information subject to terms. Realising that she needs help to act on that information, Rita turns to her brother, John.

But John works for the law. And he will have to go against everything he believes in if he agrees to embark on a maverick mission to help save his sister’s son.

I hope you enjoy it.

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During much of the writing of my current WIP I was going through a lot of personal trauma. Last year I went through a divorce after 23 years of marriage so things were never going to be easy.

While it would have been easier to hide away somewhere till the black cloud had passed, I had no choice but to continue writing. Firstly, I have a publishing deal to fulfil and, secondly, I had to think about my future income. At times I felt frustrated as my writing wasn’t flowing as easily as normal; I was too preoccupied with other matters and it made it really hard work.

With all this in mind I was dreading the edits, feeling that I might read through the book and think, ‘what a load of rubbish’ or words to that effect. However, I’ve now reached the editing stage and I’m glad to say that I’m pleasantly surprised. It seems that I have channelled my inner angst.

There’s no doubt that the writing of this book, more than any others, has been cathartic. It’s fortunate that I write gritty crime rather than syrupy romance as I think it would have been difficult to write anything sickly sweet given my frame of mind throughout much of the writing process.

I’m happy with the book’s content and feel that it’s my best yet although some may view it as my worst in terms of the level of brutality. As I enter a new year and the next chapter in my life it’s a relief to know that I have produced something that I’m not only proud of but that I also feel is marketable, especially as my writing now provides the bulk of my income.

So here’s to a better year ahead. This will be the year when my first book through my new publisher hits the market so I’m very excited about that. I’m also hoping to push ahead in my personal life too with just the small matter of moving home to attend to and sorting out my finances. Although I expect moving house to be a stressful process I’m viewing it as the start of a new phase in my life.

Here’s to new beginnings: