It’s launch day for Blackmail, the second book in a series of standalone crime thrillers and also my thirteenth novel. Here is the link: https://amzn.to/3QBge1s.
A DEVASTATING ATTACK. Beth is walking her dog in a secluded wooded area around Manchester, when she’s viciously attacked. After fighting the man off, she gets away with her life, but is left with a horrifying secret.
A LOVER’S BETRAYAL. As Beth moves on from her trauma with new husband Brady, she seems a happy, successful career girl. But he senses she is harbouring something dark… And when the truth is finally revealed, Brady blackmails Beth into bankruptcy.
A CHANCE TO FIGHT BACK. When Beth meets wealthy crime boss Martin, he sets her up in business, dotes on her and gives her everything she wants. But Beth is plotting revenge on the man who tried to ruin her… Will her plan come together? Or, this time, will she lose everything for good?
Today is the launch of my twelfth title, Guilt, and I’m really excited for this one. It’s my first standalone novel but is also a spin-off from my popular Working Girls series. The Amazon link is: http://viewbook.at/Guilt.
Here’s a taster:
I know who you are…
Laura Sharples has worked hard for every penny she’s earned, and is now a successful businesswoman who runs a handful of designer fashion boutiques. But it wasn’t so long ago that she called herself Crystal and worked the streets of Manchester. Though she’s put her past firmly behind her, she’s never forgotten what it took to beat her addictions and raise her daughter, Candice, to expect better.
I know what you did…
Candice is proud of how her mum turned her life around, but when her boutiques are targeted in a series of attacks, the stress takes its toll on Laura. Candice fears her mum may be falling back into her old habits in order to cope, and it’s driving a wedge between them. Luckily, her boyfriend Thomas is on hand to support her, and her troubles don’t seem to have put him off.
I’m coming to get you…
As the attacks escalate, the police have no leads and it’s making Laura paranoid. It’s clear there’s someone else out there who hasn’t forgotten who she used to be.
Someone who knows what she did…
Someone who won’t stop until she loses absolutely everything…
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Up to now I have only written books as part of a series starting with The Riverhill Trilogy then The Manchester Trilogy and then The Working Girls series and, to be honest, I am well ready for a break from series writing. My next book to be published in August, Guilt, is a spin-off from The Working Girls series so it presented me with the same challenges as with a series. Thankfully, I now am working on a standalone novel, my first of three, and it makes life so much easier.
So, what are the challenges that are unique to a series? Here are a few to consider:
Thinking of Enough Ideas to Sustain a Series of Books
Before you start writing a series you need to make sure you have plenty of ideas. With my first trilogy I only originally intended to write one novel. The ideas for the other two books flowed from the first one as I wrote it so I didn’t have the problem of having to think of the ideas for all three novels in advance.
With The Manchester Trilogy, my intention was to have one long continuous story spanning three novels but with each book being a complete story within itself. At the time I felt confident that it would work as a trilogy and I was fortunate in that the ideas kept coming but I dread to think what might have happened if I had become stuck for ideas especially as the first book was marketed as book one in a trilogy.
With The Working Girls series, each book forms a separate story. It is the setting that links the books as well as the fact that some characters appear in more than one novel. In that respect it wasn’t as trying as The Manchester Trilogy but my main challenge with this series was in managing the timeline per below.
Keeping the Continuity Going
As with any book you have to be sure of things like plot and character development but this is even more challenging with a series as you have to keep it going throughout. There are some series where each book can work as a standalone such as my Working Girls series, but there still has to be something that links it in to the rest of the series e.g. you might have the same characters reappearing in each novel or the novels might have a particular setting in common. This can sometimes be restrictive and you might end up wishing you could break away from the series.
Timelines are my biggest bugbear when writing a novel. I’ve tried various approaches from working it out roughly then completing it at the end to tracking the date and time as I go along. No matter which method I use, I always seem to come unstuck and have to rework the timeline at the end of the novel.
With the book I’m currently writing, I tracked the dates as I went along but unfortunately the novel had a lengthier timescale than I envisioned. This meant that when I reached the middle of the novel I was already in the current day. I therefore need to rework it so that it ends up in the recent past. I find that this task requires mathematical skills more than writing skills and it isn’t one I’m looking forward to.
With The Working Girls series the problems of managing the timeline were multiplied because I had overlaps between the novels. This meant that as well as working out the timeline for each novel, I also had to work out the series timeline. So, when I came to write Sapphire, I had to work out what age she was at different points in each previous novel and where she was in her life at that particular point. Without the series timeline I wouldn’t have been able to manage it as it may have led to contradictions per below.
Being Careful of Contradictions
One thing I always dread when writing a novel is contradicting something that occurs earlier on. There are ways that help to avoid this such as keeping a list of all the characters and their characteristics as well as a list of places and a sequence of events. The latter is where you keep a track of each scene by writing a few lines summarising the events in that scene. Despite all these techniques, there is still always a chance that by the time you get to the later stages of the novel, you will have forgotten the details from earlier. With a series this problem is even more evident.
My spin off novel, Guilt, follows on from Crystal, book 3 in The Manchester Trilogy. Therefore, before I started to write it, I did a full recap of Crystal by checking the sequence of events including the timeline and by reading through Crystal to refresh my memory.
And the advantages:
Reader Feed Through
This is probably the biggest advantage of writing a series, and the reason why publishers love them so much. If readers enjoy one of your books and they find out it is part of a series, then there is a good chance they will hunt for other books in that series. This doesn’t just happen with book one. Often readers will discover a book later in the series and then go back to the previous books.
Reader feed through is also more common with series than standalones because readers often become engrossed in the characters.
Because of reader feed through with series, it is easier to tempt readers to try your latest novel by reducing the price of the previous ones. This also has the advantage that you can keep your new publication at full price and still attract new readers.
Those are the advantages and disadvantages that spring to mind for me but if you think of any others, please feel free to share them in the comments below.
Today I’m thrilled to launch the last book in my Manchester Trilogy, Vendetta. After working with the characters for approximately two years it’s such a joy to finally publish book three. Here are all the links to the online book stores so you can bag your copy. I’ve also included the book blurb below to tempt you:
When Adele’s brother, Peter, gets banged up for GBH she reluctantly agrees to run his nightclub, The Golden Bell. Strong opposition from Peter’s thuggish number two, Glynn, who isn’t best pleased about answering to a woman, isn’t the only challenge she faces.
The Manchester club scene of the 1990s is a dangerous place, at the mercy of illicit protection rackets and rampaging gangs, and, despite Adele’s efforts to keep everything legal, the club is beginning to feel like a poisoned chalice.
Meanwhile, Glynn is playing his own ruthless game, and when a savage gang attack has devastating consequences Adele is ready to walk away. But Peter has always stood by her and she owes him big time. Besides, where else would an ex-con find work? And someone has to protect her brother’s empire from his enemies. Right now, Adele knows she is the only one that Peter can trust, but the stakes may soon get too high…
I hope you enjoy the concluding book in the Manchester Trilogy.
I am delighted to reveal the cover for the third book in my Manchester trilogy, Vendetta. It will be published on 2nd October but the Kindle version is already available for pre-order on Amazon by following the link: http://viewbook.at/VendettaMcr.
Here is the lovely cover with the book blurb below:
When Adele’s brother, Peter, gets banged up for GBH she reluctantly agrees to run his nightclub, The Golden Bell. Strong opposition from Peter’s thuggish number two, Glynn, who isn’t best pleased about answering to a woman, isn’t the only challenge she faces.
The Manchester club scene of the 1990s is a dangerous place, at the mercy of illicit protection rackets and rampaging gangs, and, despite Adele’s efforts to keep everything legal, the club is beginning to feel like a poisoned chalice.
Meanwhile, Glynn is playing his own ruthless game, and when a savage gang attack has devastating consequences Adele is ready to walk away. But Peter has always stood by her and she owes him big time. Besides, where else would an ex-con find work? And someone has to protect her brother’s empire from his enemies. Right now, Adele knows she is the only one that Peter can trust, but the stakes may soon get too high…
Here’s your chance to grab a copy of ‘A Gangster’s Grip’ for the special reduced price of just 99p (UK) or 99c (USA) on the Kindle. The price is reduced for three days only from Friday 5th August till Sunday 7th August. To download a copy, just follow the link: http://viewbook.at/GangstersGrip.
‘A Gangster’s Grip’ is a gritty crime novel and is book 3 in the Riverhill Trilogy. Although part of a trilogy, it can also be read as a standalone novel. To give you a taste of what the book is about, here is the book blurb:
When Rita returns to Manchester after a few years away, she doesn’t expect to find a spliff smoking, beer swilling thug called Leroy firmly ensconced on her parents’ sofa. Rita is horrified to discover he is her sister Jenny’s new boyfriend, and she senses trouble.
The more Rita finds out about Leroy, the more she mistrusts him. As she uncovers the truth about his shady dealings, she becomes anxious about Jenny’s safety and is desperate to lure her away from him. Rita’s mettle is tested as she tries to protect her sister while battling with personal health concerns.
But it’s worse than Rita could ever have suspected. Through her association with Leroy, Jenny is about to become embroiled in the most dangerous phase in Manchester’s recent history.
I’m thrilled with how well ‘Danger by Association’ has been received. It’s had some glowing reviews already. Authors are generally advised not to respond to reviews on Amazon but I’m always tempted to thank the customers who have bought the book and taken the trouble to write a review. So, here is a big thank you to all those customers who have reviewed ‘Danger by Association’ (or any of my books) on Amazon or Goodreads and/or left a rating on Goodreads.
Here is a sample of some of the reviews that have come in during the last few days:
It was a great read though very hard to put down , knowing the characters from the previous book it was so easy to get into, if you hadn’t read the previous books it might have not been as easy to understand the story would recommend this book to all mancunians.
A belter of a read . A real page turner full of twists and turns
In answer to the reader who asked whether there is another book on the way; yes, I’m currently working on a new book which I intend to publish early in 2017.
In my quest to blog about some of Manchester’s wonderful historic libraries, I thought I would start with Chetham’s in view of its claim to be the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. It’s a fascinating place to look at and I am amazed that I have only recently visited it for the first time considering how long I have lived in Manchester. With my joint loves of books and poking about in old buildings, I was in my element.
Chetham’s entrance
Although visitors are advised to book in advance, I arrived on spec because I was going into Manchester city centre anyway. After a 10 minute wait due to a service taking place in the adjoining school, I was allowed access to the library and entered a beautiful medieval courtyard.
Visitors have to be accompanied by a guide (I presume it’s because of the value of some of the old books and other relics). I think my guide soon realised that progress around the building would be slow as I continuously stopped to take photographs and admire the paintings, ornate windows, beamed ceilings etc. etc. I suppose there are only so many ‘wows’ you can contend with so she eventually left me to cover the top floor unaccompanied – yippee!
History
Here’s a little of the history:
The library was established in 1653 under the will of Humphrey Chetham, a wealthy Manchester textile merchant, banker and landowner. It began as a school for the poor, although the building that houses the library dates back to 1421 and was built as a college for priests. Chetham’s is now a music school with the library attached.
Humphrey Chetham’s portrait above the fireplace in the reading room
The history of the building is very much in evidence as you walk around Chetham’s. The walls are built from sandstone quarried locally in Collyhurst, and I marvelled at the thickness of the doors, and the beautiful oak furniture in the reading room.
Original doors
The oak table and leather backed chairs (also oak) in the Reading Room were purchased in the 1650s. Two students were working at the other end of the table during my visit so I wasn’t able to take a picture of the whole table. The chairs are of Cromwellian type, characterised by the square backs, turned legs and scroll work on the leg connectors.
The collection of books in the library dates back to the library’s inception in 1653, and continues to expand. Nowadays the collection focuses on the history and topography of Greater Manchester and Lancashire as well as other topics of local interest. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to examine the books as they’re kept in gated alcoves.
The gated alcoves and beamed ceilings with a view through to the Reading Room
Some of the wonderful old book collection under lock and key
Lastly, I’ll finish by adding a few images of the Baronial Hall although it was difficult to capture in all its glory.
Baronial Hall
In future blog posts I’ll be visiting some of Manchester’s other historic libraries.
Talented and prolific author Joanne Phillips is celebrating the first birthday of her romantic comedy “Cupid’s Way” today. This isn’t Joanne’s first book. She also writes contemporary romance and cosy mysteries, and I have personally read and enjoyed a couple of Joanne’s other books.
“Cupid’s Way” is based on an actual street and Joanne has included some interesting background details about the book in her blog post. You can find out more and take a look at the enticing book blurb by following the link below:
Heather Burnside Author 