Geraldine Evans Crime Author

DYIN G FOR YOU FREE FOR THREE DAYS

2012-01-16T13:47:00.000Z

Dying For You, the sixth novel in my Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series, is free on kindle select from three days. Grab it while you can¬!

The Egg Factory

2012-01-11T16:53:00.000Z

I've a new ebook out. It'[s a medical chiller called The Egg Factory. It's totally different from my Rafferty and Casey and Catt mystery series. Here's the blurb:

Just back from a long work stint abroad followed by a short holiday, Virginia Casey is unprepared for the whirlwind that is about to engulf her.

Her younger sister has just died. There is something strange about her death, but it is only after the post mortem that Ginnie finds out her sister has aborted a baby. What comes next has her engulfed in the infertility industry and organized crime with guilt a constant traveller as she tries to get to the bottom of her sister’s lonely death.

Infertility expert Dr Sam French insists he wants to help her find out the truth of what happened to Karen, so why is it that he seems to be hindering her?

A new millennium suspense novel set in the infertility industry, The Egg Factory shows what happens when desperation turns deadly.

And here's a short extract:

CHAPTER ONE

London

Eager to get out of the bitingly chilly February wind that blew off the River Thames by way of Siberia, Ginnie didn't notice the fresh-faced policeman hovering near the entrance to her Docklands apartments. Shivering, she paid the cabbie, picked up the small case and hurried towards the main door.

She had landed at London's City Airport less than an hour ago on the flight from Dublin, her writer's mind was still wrestling with what selection of words would best describe the magical image Tower Bridge made from the air. Wearing its night-time illumination and cloaked in a cobweb mist from the River Thames, it had shimmered in an unearthly, ethereal way, its bulk, looking as insubstantial as thistledown, had seemed to float, unsupported, above the water.

It was the first time she had used the City Airport, the first time she had seen the famous landmark from the air, and it had given her an idea for a series of original travel articles.

On the theme Tourism for the Rich and Bone Idle, it would promote the idea of seeing major cities and tourist sites from the air, with in-flight 3-D videos providing close-ups and interior views. Instead of getting sweaty and footsore, their tourism would be done in the air-conditioned champagne-quaffing comfort of private planes.

Ginnie grinned and tucked her fine, red-gold hair behind her ears. All she had to do was persuade assorted private-plane-owning millionaires to allow her to hitch free rides in order to research it. Should be a cinch.

The wind was now at her back. It blew her hair over her face. Half-blinded by her flying hair, she jumped as a figure stepped out of the shadows and spoke to her.

'Excuse me. Are you Ms Casey? Ms Virginia Casey?'

As soon as she took in the familiar police uniform and the anxious-looking young face Ginnie's mind emptied of everything but the word Karen.

'I'm Virginia Casey,' she quickly confirmed. Her gaze swept his face. 'What is it? What's happened? Is it Karen? Is it my sister?'

The feeling of dread was as familiar and weighed as heavily as the sense of responsibility she had felt since their adoptive parents' death. Always headstrong, always in scrapes of one sort or another, Karen, nineteen and living with a boyfriend, had barely matured from the fourteen she had been when their parents had died.

The youthful officer was joined by an older, woman sergeant who had been sheltering from the elements under the apartments' concrete canopy. After introducing herself and her colleague, the sergeant told her gently that Karen had been found dead in her south London flat earlier that evening.

Ten miles south of the City of London, Croydon was the other side of the river. Since Karen had moved there with Terry, her boyfriend, Ginnie had come to know it well and often shopped there.

'We've been trying to get in touch with you for most of the evening,' the sergeant told her.

Numb, all Ginnie was able to say was, 'I've been away.' Between the writing assignment in the Far East for Womanhood magazine and her brief break in Ireland, she had been away for weeks. Consumed by guilt, it took a few moments for her to ask what had happened. When she did, suspicion flared as she thought of Terry, Karen's boyfriend. He had a nasty temper and she had often wondered if he had caused the bruises Karen had so often sported. 'Did Terry–?'

'I don't know anything about a Terry, Ms Casey.' Her brown gaze compassionate, the sergeant told Ginnie, 'A neighbour,' she consulted her notebook, 'a Mrs Belle Watson, contacted us. The police surgeon thinks it probable your sister committed suicide.'

Suicide. The word reverberated inside Ginnie's skull. Through lips suddenly bloodless, she asked, 'Where is she? I want to see her.'

'Of course. She’s at a mortuary south of the river. We'll drive you.'

Thirty minutes later, after visiting the south London mortuary and identifying her sister's body, Ginnie sat in one of the interview rooms of Croydon police station.

Shock had left her exhausted. Dazed, feeling more like sixty-eight than twenty-eight, she was glad to sink on to the hard plastic chair Detective Inspector Rawlings pulled out for her.

The inspector's words seemed to be coming at her through a thick fog. Ginnie shook her head, forced the tiredness back and tried to concentrate. 'I'm sorry. But I don't quite understand. You said my sister Karen killed herself.'

Inspector Rawlings nodded. The movement set his grey-stubbly jowls quivering. 'Yes. There's little doubt of that. Her neighbour confirms she was very depressed lately.'

Since Karen and her latest boyfriend had moved into the next-door flat in the small, privately-owned block, Belle Watson and Karen had become quite close. Ginnie had met the elderly Belle several times and had taken to her straight away. If anyone was likely to know the current state of Karen's emotions it was Belle. 'Then why the post-mortem?' Ginnie frowned. 'I thought they were only carried out when there were suspicious circumstances.'

'Yes. Usually. That is–' Inspector Rawlings broke off, gazed round the interview room as if he'd never seen it before.

Middle-aged, overweight, and no doubt counting the days till his retirement, the inspector appeared to find the interview room's grubby, off-white walls and sparse, utilitarian furniture absorbing. Worryingly, he seemed to be having trouble finding the words to explain what he meant.

Ginnie wished he would try a bit harder. It had been enough of a shock to learn of her sister's death, but at least she had thought the suicide itself was clear-cut. Even Inspector Rawlings had confirmed there was little doubt that Kaz had killed herself. Yet now he seemed set on muddying the waters.

Irritated by his failure to provide her with an answer, Ginnie broke into his reverie. 'Inspector.'

He dragged his attention back and became suddenly voluble. 'Sorry. It's just that the police surgeon wasn't entirely happy about the condition of the – of your sister's body. Neither was I for that matter. It was swollen, when we found her, you see. Naturally, I thought at first she might have been pregnant, but her neighbour discounted that possibility.'

Ginnie, finding his verbose explanation as bewildering as she had his less-wordy efforts, could only stare at him.

The inspector tried again. 'Your sister had only been dead a short time,' he explained, 'and given that she wasn't pregnant, the swelling was odd. It wasn't as if there had been enough time for– ' He broke off, cleared his throat again and then plunged on resolutely. 'Not enough time for any swelling to be natural.'

Ginnie frowned as she tried to figure out whether the inspector was talking in riddles or whether she had suddenly developed terminal stupidity. The inspector had just said Karen hadn't been pregnant. ‘So what had she been?’ she asked.

He shifted about on his chair as if her continuing questions and his inability to answer them to the satisfaction of either party made him uncomfortable. Finally, he admitted, 'We don't know. We're still waiting for the results of the post-mortem. All I can tell you is that her abdomen was swollen. I don't know why. Neither did the police surgeon. At least– '

As a frown creased his brow, he corrected himself. 'He wouldn't commit himself to an opinion as to why.' He shrugged. 'Beyond that, I can't really tell you anything. Really it would be best for you to wait for the inquest.'

'Was there a suicide note?'

'No. But that's not unusual.' The inspector didn't give her a chance to question him further. After assuring her that the police had finished in the flat and that she was free to go there to pack up her sister's belongings, he had little more to say. Handing her the keys to Karen's flat with a terse smile, he said again, 'That's really all I can tell you,' and made for the door. 'I'll let you know when the inquest date is set.' Pausing only to order a passing fresh-faced junior officer to organise a car to drive her home, he vanished.

Ginnie allowed herself to be shepherded out of the building and into the rear seat of a police car. She felt she was in the middle of a nightmare, but, dazed as she felt, she knew that this was one nightmare from which she wouldn't waken.

Grimly, she registered that she had been spared one trauma. Any suicide note left by her sister would certainly have been painfully accusatory. Still it was odd that Karen hadn't written one. Karen had always been emotional and had never held back from expressing her feelings. It seemed unlikely that, in planning her death, she would have so gone against the character that had been hers in life.

Sunk into a reverie, it was only when the woman sergeant touched her shoulder her that she realized they had crossed the river and arrived back at her Docklands apartment.

After thanking the police officers for driving her home, and telling them again there was no one she wanted them to ring for her, she let herself into her second-floor apartment. She didn't bother to put on a light, but just dropped her bags and sat in the dark of her studio flat, watching the traffic on the river while she tried to make sense of the evening's events.

Her sister was dead. Suicide suspected. And in circumstances which, while not suspicious, were, if she had understood the inspector correctly, unnatural. She still hadn't made any sense of it by the time a subdued grey dawn floated across the river towards her windows. Exhausted, she was unable to think any more. After promising herself she would return to Croydon later today and speak to Karen's neighbour, Belle Watson, to see if she could throw any more light on the circumstances of Karen's death than the inspector had managed, she fell into a fitful doze.

Here's the amazon links:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Egg-Factory-ebook/dp/B006S409EE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326300555&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Egg-Factory-ebook/dp/B006S409EE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326300688&sr=1-1

Hope you enjoy it.

ALIEN SHORES A NOVEL BY DEBBI MACK

2011-12-15T14:42:00.000Z

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gets off to a fast pace. The characters are engaging and believeable. It is cleverly-plotted and thoroughly recommended. Well done, Debbi Mack. A fine novel.

I understand the cover art is still undecided.

NEW RAFFERTY AND LLEWELLYN MYSTERY JUST UPLOADED TO KINDLE

2011-12-03T11:46:00.001Z

Bad Blood is the seventh in my Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series. It should be up on amazon on 4 December 2011. Here's the blurb:

Investigating the murder of wealthy widow Clara Mortimer, estranged from her family and living alone in an upmarket sheltered apartment, Rafferty t fears his own family estrangement. Because when Abra, his girlfriend, said she might be pregnant, his reaction wasn’t exactly New Man…

Between the grudges of Clara’s estranged family and those of her adoptive ‘family’ – the other apartment residents – Rafferty has suspects and questions in plenty. Why had the sensible Clara Mortimer chosen to open her door to a burglar, for instance? When he considers the awful lies her family tells, how can he not conclude they have something to hide?

It's priced at $3.99 / £2.44 (roughly!). If you buy it I hope you enjoy it. If you can post a (good) review on amazon I'd be grateful. Many thanks.

APOLOGIES

2011-12-01T13:28:00.001Z

I'm so sorry I haven't posted for some weeks. Unfortunately, I've been unwell. I'm still not right, but I hope to post in the near future.
Best.

GUEST POST BY WILLIAM S SHEPARD

2011-10-07T10:37:00.000+01:00

My guest today is American writer William S Shepard. William, a career diplomat, seems to have lived a fascinating life and experienced life in an assortment of gorgeous places. Lucky man! His work covers the areas of fiction and non-fiction. He's a wine buff, too, as you are about to discover. His diplomat protagonist in his novels is Robbie Cutler and Murder on the Danube, his second in The Diplomatic Mysteries series, is due for publication by mid-October 2011. Stay on for the ride!

Dipmacy and Sleuthing

William S. Shepard

I was an American career diplomat, and always greatly enjoyed the mystery novel genre. From Edgar Allen Poe through the great Victorian writers, and then to the mannered interwar writers, Christie and Sayers, each had something new to add. So, for that matter, did Georges Simenon, with his Gallic twist of criminal motivation – not for him crime detection as a strictly cerebral exercise! And then, of course, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler added greatly to the development of the detective story, although I never did find out who murdered the chauffeur in “The Big Sleep!”

It seemed to me that the amateur sleuth categories had broadened, greatly expanding what was possible. We have now seen sleuths from every imaginable profession, not to exclude the clergy, Indians (both the Wild West and the subcontinent), and retrospective Roman and medieval sleuths, predating the actual invention of the detective story by centuries! The only constant was that the sleuth’s actual profession had to be interesting. Why not, therefore, have a sleuth who was a diplomat? And then, set the crimes in a diplomatic setting, the Embassy world with its receptions, glitter, and betrayals?

The thought occurred to me several times, and probably I was goaded to action one dull evening in the American Department of State, when I was Duty Officer for the Secretary of State. The Secretary was at a meeting outside the building, and so the hours passed, as I scanned various documents, deciding which would be worth his attention. Suddenly it came to me – a diplomat sees all sorts of material, from diplomatic and intelligence reports, to political documents and police reports. He would surely have an advantage over those who did not have access to such material.

Upon retiring from the State Department, I decided to try my hand at the new genre, which I have called the diplomatic mystery. The first novel in the series, “Vintage Murder,” now on Kindle, takes place in Bordeaux and Paris. Since I had served at the Consulate General in Bordeaux, I knew the territory and its politics – including the terrorist Basque ETA group – quite thoroughly.

How could this form the basis for a novel? And if it could, just why would a national police force cooperate with a foreigner, and a diplomat at that?

The first problem turned out to be no problem at all. My sleuth, a thirtyish career officer named Robbie Cutler, is assigned to Bordeaux, and is a wine fancier. The first murder occurs in Washington, at a Bordeaux Vintage Dinner, and Robbie is present. Returning to Bordeaux, he is interviewed by a French newspaperwoman Sylvie Marceau about the murder. Soon their mutual attraction and interest in solving the initial murder and those that follow lead them to join forces.

The second problem was a bit harder. I finally solved it by having the French wine estate owner who was being blackmailed contact Cutler, in the belief that it is an American who is the blackmailer. A search of the official visa records yields important information towards solving the case, and the problem of police cooperation vanished.

I became quite taken with Robbie and Sylvie and their love story. In the second novel in the series, “Murder On The Danube,” Robbie has been reassigned to the American Embassy in Budapest. To his sister Evalyn’s disapproval he flirts with the wife of a married colleague, but soon comes to his senses and is in contact with Sylvie. They meet in Prague, where she is covering the visit of President Sarkozy for her television chain, and at a famous spa, become engaged to be married. She turns out to have a better understanding of people than does her cerebral husband, and from now on, the sleuthing will be a joint avocation.

I wanted Robbie Cutler to have access to high-level information that a midcareer diplomat would simply not be able to access. Enter Great Uncle Seth Cutler, formerly an intelligence officer, and then a nationally respected school headmaster. Uncle Seth has many contacts still, and shares what he finds out with Robbie on occasion. (Somewhat to my surprise, several people who have read the series so far have told me that their favorite character is Uncle Seth!) His past becomes stage front in the third novel, “Murder In Dordogne,” when the Cutlers, now on their honeymoon, have the past thrust on them – the remains of a young woman, an SOE agent who parachuted into the Dordogne in 1943, are found. Around her neck is the silver necklace that her fiancé, young Seth Cutler, had given to her just prior to the mission from which she did not return.

Other characters round out the plots and the series. The British Consul General in Bordeaux is a colleague in the first and third novels, even lending Cutler some wine one weekend when the stores are closed (which the real British Consul General did for me many years ago). And after this thorough diplomatic grounding, at postings in Singapore (alluded to but not yet spelled out), Bordeaux and Budapest, Robbie becomes Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. In “The Saladin Affair,” Robbie helps plan the new Secretary’s initial trip to Dublin, London, Paris, Vienna, Moscow and Riga. Too bad about that murder of the American Ambassador to Dublin at her official Phoenix Park residence! But at least, Al Qaeda’s plans to assassinate the entire diplomatic party on British soil are foiled, rather at the last minute.

And so here are several of my present Kindle books. “Vintage Murder,” first in the diplomatic mystery series, is at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004X7F00Q. (“Murder On The Danube” should be available in mid-October on Kindle, with the other two novels to follow.)

My survey of the detective story, “The Great Detectives, from Vidocq to Sam Spade,” is at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00564HLHU. My thoughts on where the name “Sherlock” came from stem from a course I took at St. Catherine’s College, Cambridge.

While in Bordeaux, I developed a lifelong interest in wines and wine writing. I have now published a 2011 Kindle edition of my 2003 book, “Shepard’s Guide to Mastering French Wines,” which is at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005CRQ69A. Take a look at the free sample chapters. I hope it will lead you to explore the world of French wines and develop your own preferences – all for less than the cost of a single glass of wine!

Here's William's website and facebook page: www.diplomaticmysteries.com

www.facebook.com/RobbieCutler

Thank you William for a great and very interesting post. It's not every day I host a diplomat! I like the sound of the Cutlers. I must get straight on to amazon and do some ordering.

RECENT INTERVIEWS I'VE DONE

2011-10-03T10:53:00.000+01:00

I've just recorded a podcast radio interview with the delightful Kghia Gherardi and Simeon Beresford for their book programme, Off the Shelf. It's a fairly extensive interview and covers my embrace of epublishing as well as what I'm doing now and planning for the future. Why not click the link and tune in?

http://thebookstacks.org/2011/10/02/ots-evans/

I also just recently did an interview with the thriller author Jack Everett for Acclaimed Books. Have a read and see what you think.

Here's the link for the interview I just did with Jack Everett at Acclaimed Books

http://www.acclaimedbooks.com/interviews.php

MARKETING YOUR BOOK

2011-09-24T13:54:00.000+01:00

Had a book accepted or plan to go the ebook route? Then you want to think about getting your marketing campaign organised. How can people buy your book if no one hears about it?

So what sort of things should you do? And where should you do them? Here are some ideas to get you started:

ORGANISE A BLOG TOUR

I found this the best route to go to increase book sales. I did my Blog Tour back in February 2011 and my sales numbers quadrupled. I know it’s a lot of work writing the posts and approaching possible hosts, but I believe, from the sales increase alone, never mind the name recognition it should engender, that it’s worth it. Put your Blog Schedule on your website so chance visitors can have the opportunity to follow the Tour, too.

ADVERTISE

I didn’t find this the best way to go. I’ve tried both Kindle Nation Daily and a banner ad on kindleboards and I can’t say I noticed any increase in sales. Of course, you might be luckier and this is far from the definitive guide as I’ve tried such a limited area in which to place my ads. By all means try it. At least, if nothing else, you will be the wiser for it and who knows, it might pay off.

BOOK TRAILERS

It’s hard to see how much good – if any – trailers do. They’re fun to make and the cost isn’t prohibitive if you do them yourself using Windows Movie Maker. And they’re always available on your website, youtube and other sites for people to see. It’s a big help with planning which pictures to put where if you jot down a synopsis of the book. When it comes to getting royalty-free pictures, there are a lot of sites out there. I use www.istockphoto.com

BOOK GIVEAWAYS

These don’t have to cost a lot. You’ll get author copies free from your publisher or if you’re going the ebook route you can offer books free using a coupon at smashwords. Goodreads and LibraryThing also allow for book giveaways.

You could also offer books as prizes on your own website as part of a contest, though if you hold something like a short story contest with a critique, you must be prepared for a fair number of entries.

CONFERENCES

This is not a route I’ve ever taken as it’s rather expensive. But if you can afford it, conferences could be the way to go to get your name better known and to promote your new book If you sign up early you can get your name down for a panel. Just make sure you have something to say when you get there. You’ll want to have postcards and bookmarks ready to hand out, possibly business cards. And you’ll need to ensure there are books available for sale in the sales room. You should be able to organise this with your publisher.

REVIEWS/ARCs

With any luck, your publisher will provide advance reading copies of your new release In any case, you’ll want to solicit reviews for your new release. If your book is an ebook there are many bloggers out there who will review your book, some of whom are widely recognised as providing a reliable reviewing service. Some specialize, so make sure you approach an appropriate blogger. ARCs are also handy to give away as prizes in contests.

NEWSLETTER

Try to collect email addresses every time you make a public appearance so that you increase the number of people to whom you can send a regular newsletter with your doings. I use www.tmynewsletterbuilder.com and send out a newsletter once a month. What do you tell people? Well tell them about the new release with the book cover, tell them about appearances and panels you’re on at conferences. Tell them how you’re doing on your Work in Progress.

PROMO MATERIALS

Once you have your cover art, you can design postcards, bookmarks and flyers. You can have business cards designed very cheaply, with either the book cover or your author photo. You can create most of these cheaply yourself or you can take the professional print route.

WEBSITE AND BLOG

Don’t forget to post information about your new release on your website/blog. Don’t forget to add the youtube link to your book trailer. Post an excerpt so your website visitors can read your scintillating prose! Crease a Press Kit page with a picture of you, your book cover, a short bio of you and the reviews when you get them. Interview yourself about the book and add this to the page.

SPEAKING AND SIGNING ENGAGEMENTS

Never turn down a chance to appear in public. Yes, it’s anxiety-inducing, but the more you do it the better you’ll get at it. Never be shy when you have the opportunity to sell your book. Some groups, like the Women’s Institute, require you to do an audition as a speaker before you can get on their approved list of speakers. Daunting, but it’s just another of the many challenges you’ve already faced.

I can hear you thinking that this all looks like a lot of work. You’re right. It is. That’s why the sooner you start thinking, planning and getting stuff organised, the more you can cover. That way, when your publisher/yourself expects you to be working on the next book, you have the time in hand. An hour or two at evenings or weekends with get the work done. Just be sure to get the word out somehow.

DYING FOR YOU: LATEST RAFFERTY AND LLEWELLYN EBOOK

2011-09-14T10:49:00.000+01:00

DYING FOR YOU is my latest ebook and the sixth in my Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series.

In this one, DI Joe Rafferty joins a dating agency, using an assumed name so his Ma won't find out. Murder ensues. And then the fun begins. Here's the blurb:

Increasingly conscious of his lonely state, Detective Inspector Joe Rafferty signed up with the Made in Heaven dating agency, using an assumed name so his Ma and his colleagues wouldn’t find out. What he hadn’t bargained on was that the first two women with whom he struck up a rapport should wind up murdered – and with himself, or rather his alter ego Nigel Blythe, in the frame for the crime.

Will the anonymity of the alias be enough to carry him through the investigation? And will the extra time he’s bought prove sufficient to find the women’s real killer before the finger of suspicions is pointed at him?

And here are some of the reviews I received for the hb edition:

STARRED REVIEW FROM KIRKUS

‘Evans brings wit and insight to this tale of looking for love in all the wrong places.’

EUROCRIME

‘It’s bad enough being suspected of a double murder, worse still when it’s your alter ego being pursued and it’s the pits when you are the policeman in charge of supposedly catching yourself. I thoroughly enjoyed Dying For You, the sixth in the series, A lot of humour is injected in Rafferty’s narrative. He’s got himself in an impossible situation and one wonders what can go wrong next. I savoured this book and am keen to read the rest in the series asap.’

NEW MYSTERY READER

‘Twists, double twists and triple twists. Two solid hours of reading pleasure.’

MYSTERY WOMEN

For the growing number of Rafferty and Llewellyn fans this latest novel in the series by Geraldine Evans will certainly not disappoint. This is a very enjoyable read with a plot that moves at a good pace, is full of surprises, has lots of humour and a very satisfactory denouement. Highly recommended.’

MURDER AND MAYHEM BOOKCLUB

‘A fun read for the mystery lover who enjoys tales with a twist. A cleverly-plotted tale. Enjoy.’

Here are the amazon links if you fancy it. It's priced at £2.45 / $3.99.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/critically-acclaimed-Rafferty-Llewellyn-ebook/dp/B005MLA1TC/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1315988939&sr=1-8

http://www.amazon.com/critically-acclaimed-Rafferty-Llewellyn-ebook/dp/B005MLA1TC/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1315989066&sr=1-8

9/11TENTH ANNIVERSARY POST FROM NANCY LYNN JARVIS

2011-09-10T16:36:00.000+01:00

My guest today is Nancy Lynn Jarvis and she's going to post about 9/11, for the tenth anniversary of that dreaful day. My heart goes out to all Americans as you commemorate the day and all those who died..

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is near. It’s hard to say that out loud, somehow. It’s almost like we should speak of 9/11 as “that day” like members of Harry Potter’s wizard- world spoke of Voldemort as “he who must not be named” lest saying his name would give him power and cause him to return. 9/11 changed the way a whole country looked at the world and our place in it and it gave us a new definition of Evil.

I planted two red climbing roses in my garden in 2001 as a tribute to those who perished in the twin towers. I still remember clearly what it felt like to dig the holes for the tall uprights that support them and set the rose roots around them in the days following 9/11 all the while hyper-aware of the eerie silence of a sky where no airplanes flew. The roses grew as I hoped they would, forming their own structure of twin towers covered with bright blooms of remembrance. After Osama bin Laden was tossed into an anonymous watery grave I planted rudbekia, a flower that’s meaning is justice, at the base of the two roses.

When I started writing my first book in 2008, an American cozy-style real estate mystery, I used people I knew for the characters and I stole, well at least borrowed, from their lives to create character back-stories. Kaivan, one of my main characters, was based on a friend of mine whose family had fled Iran after the Shaw fell because they were Christians and Iran under the Ayatollahs was a hostile place for them to live. My friend had a client who dropped off the face of the earth during an escrow. The Death Contingency told my imagined story of what happened to that vanished seller.

My friend is a nice man and a very proud naturalized American. I can remember how filled with pride and joy he was the first time he voted as a new US citizen—I described that day in my book. I wanted his character to be like him, but also to possibly be a murderer. I wanted to explore how such a man might be capable of evil, while not being an evil man.

In the book, the character of Kaivan was profoundly affected by 9/11 like we all were. He knew firsthand what conflict there can be between different faiths when the tenants of religions professing kindness and caring for fellow human beings get twisted by fanatics who gain influence and power. I don’t want to give away too much in case you decide to read the book, but in The Death Contingency, 9/11 was my key to exploring the difference between evil and Evil and to ask if murder is ever justified in the battle against the capital kind.

Thank yo for your post, Nancy. Thank you also for taking the time to remember the victims of that terrible day. I well recall the dreadful events. What particularly struck me was the appalling dilemmma facing the victims and whether they should jump or burn. It was unbelievable watching those who had chosen the first option tumbling through the sky past so many floors. Nancy, the roses and shrub you planted is a beautiful way to remember those poor souls and all the others who died that day, as well as those alive but still suffering.

You can learn more about Nancy, her book, The Death Contingency and her other work on her website: http://www.goodreadmysteries.com.

Here are the links to amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Contingency-Nancy-Lynn-Jarvis/dp/0982113501/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315297506&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Contingency-Mchenry-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0026ZOJZY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1315297699&sr=1-1

LATEST EBOOK: ABSOLUTE POISON

2011-08-27T13:51:00.000+01:00

Just published my latest ebook. Absolute Poison. This is the fifth in my Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series and tells the story of the murder of a tyrannical office manager. Here's the blurb:

Detective Inspector Joseph Rafferty is having a bad week – two pensioner suicides already and he can’t help feeling trouble comes in threes. Also niggling in his mind is the fact that Llewellyn, his posh sergeant, has brought a ‘bargain’ suit from Rafferty’s mother. Sure to be stolen goods, the suit is bound to drop Rafferty in it when the holier-than-thou Llewellyn wears it on his wedding day – with the hated and eagle-eyed Superintendent Bradley in attendance….

Rafferty’s first premonition turns out to be accurate when a company manager is found dead at his desk. The tyrannical Barstaple had known full well that he was hated by most of the office. But did he really deserve to be poisoned? And so horribly.

Rafferty thinks his week has been trying enough. But then someone else is poisoned and from bad to worse becomes worse again. And when you take the ‘bargain’ suit into the equation, the week really has gone to Hell in a handcart. And taken Rafferty with it..

I've had some nice reviews for this one. Here's a couple of them from the original, traditional, hardback publication:

Well, this was a real find. Geraldine Evans knows how to make a character leap off the pages at you.’

LIZZIE HAYES, MYSTERY WOMEN ON ABSOLUTE POISON

‘An ingeniously constructed plot, deft dialogue, well-drawn characters, and a few humorous touches, make this an enjoyably intriguing read.’

EMILY MELTON, BOOKLIST ON ABSOLUTE POISON

Here are the amazon links if you're interested in buying it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Absolute-critically-acclaimed-Llewellyn-ebook/dp/B005JER1XQ/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1314441698&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.com/Absolute-critically-acclaimed-Llewellyn-ebook/dp/B005JER1XQ/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1314441334&sr=1-8

BOOK REVIEW: The Enemy We Know by Donna White Glaser

2011-08-17T15:33:00.000+01:00

I've just finished this book. It's my first by this author and I really enjoyed it. Might I suggest you give it a try?

Counsellor Letty Whittaker thinks it’s just a normal day at the office, until Carrie’s abusive partner Wayne shows up. With a hunting knife. After threatening Letty, he makes his escape when the police turn up.

Then the frightening messages start – Shakespearean sonnets about love and lust. Letty realises Wayne is rapidly turning into a stalker.

Then Wayne is murdered, but the strange happenings that Letty had been experiencing continue. Then she realises that the police regard her as a suspect in Wayne’s murder. The Shakespearean sonnets she has been receiving continue to appear, threatening in their lustful longing. And all the while she is battling with alcoholism.

Next, Robert, the boyfriend she just broke up with is murdered. Already keen on tracking the murderer to clear her name, her quest becomes even more important. She suspects everyone, even Marshall, her boss and the man who makes her knees go weak.Butr it is the third murderous attack that is the most surprising and revealing of all.

I chuckled so many times with this book. Donna White Glaser is a very witty writer. But she can also do serious. And poetical. A very talented lady. I can’t recommend her book highly enough. I’ll be looking for more books by this author.

THANK YOU TO AMAZON AND MY READERS

2011-08-04T16:56:00.000+01:00

I want to say a big, fat, ‘Thank you’ to amazon. Without them and their kindle, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in today.I also want to thank all the lovely people who buy my ebooks. I hope you enjoy them.

I am at last earning a living income from my writing. And I have kindle – and my readers – to thank for that. My ebook sales have increased, month on month. My income arrives month on month, unlike when I was with traditional publishers, when I’d get paid every ten months for each book. First, say in the January of the year, when I’d receive my advance on signature. I wouldn’t receive another payment from my publisher until the October of that year (after the payment had gone via my agent). if I’d written another book, I’d receive another advance.

There are none of these lengthy waitings around with amazon. For each month’s sales you get paid 60 days after the end of the month in which the sales were made. So for July sales, I’ll get paid end September/beginning October. And for July sales, I’ll know by the 15^th of the following month what I’ve earned. I keep a tally of daily sales, of course, both for my accounts and my own satisfaction, as it’s good to see the numbers mount up.

As I said in my last post, my start with amazon wasn’t promising. I only made a few sales in my first month or two. But I suppose that was to be expected. Readers, in particular, American readers, to whom I make most of my sales, had to get used to the sight of my book covers. They had to prepare to buy, if you like.

So here’s a big thank you, to amazon and all my ebook purchasers. Between you, you’ve changed my life. That’s a nice thing to be able to say on a wet Thursday in August.

KINDLE UPDATE JULY 2011

2011-07-26T10:49:00.000+01:00

Are there any authors out there still hesitating to take the self-publishing route? You take some convincing, don’t you? There’s Amanda Hocking, JA Konrath, L J Sellers, John Lock and countless others, earning excellent money and making tremendous sales and still you’re not taking the same path. There's even ME!

I was slow to follow in their footsteps only because I’d never heard of kindle until the summer of 2010. But once I knew of it it didn’t take long – only until September – for me to follow in the footsteps of the intrepid advance guard.

Well, my early sales weren’t great. Seven actually in that first month. But I persevered. I put more titles up. I currently have five with more in the burner waiting to go. I’ve got two – Absolute Poison and Kith and Kill in the process of being eformatted and having covers made for them. I have a third – Dying For You – which is ready to send off for eformatting.

Do you think I’d carry on with the labour involved if it wasn’t worth my while? This is how much worth my while it is. In June 2011 I earned a thousand pounds. That around fifteen hundred US Dollars. This is so much better than I ever earned with my traditional or legacy publisher that it’s like two different worlds. If you’re still hesitating, I hope that figure will convince you to go forth and increase your earnings and your audience. You know it makes sense. Or you should.

GUEST BLOGGER SUSAN FLEET

2011-07-19T15:45:00.000+01:00

My guest blogger today is author Susan Fleet to whom I must apologise as my computer ate her blog post! Darn computer. Anyway, here's Susan.

Why I stopped trumpeting and started killing people!

It began innocently enough. My mother wanted me to play an instrument. Her brother played trumpet and I began studying with him when I was eight. I took to trumpet right away. At fifteen I joined the musicians’ union and later studied with two Boston Symphony trumpeters. For more than three decades I played an eclectic mix of gigs in the Boston area ranging from solo trumpet recitals to symphonies and operas, even the Ringling Brothers Circus.

There were heart-stopping moments. Would the trapeze artist make that quadruple summersault or would he fall? And nothing beats the drama of an operatic diva in all her glory, interrupting a dress rehearsal of La Traviata to demand a cup of hot tea.

The mayhem began after I took a scriptwriting course and fell in love with fiction writing. And discovered my dark side. For that, I thank my print-journalist father. When I was a teenager he would tell me stories about the murder cases he covered. He even taught me how to play pool at the police station. How cool is that?

Between 1990 and 2000, while I was gigging and teaching part time at Brown University and Berklee College of Music, I managed to write three crime novels. I threw them away. They weren’t ready for prime time. In 2001, I stopped teaching and gigging and moved to New Orleans to focus on writing. Hey, killing people takes time! All those messy details. Who to kill, and when, and how. In my latest thriller, DIVA, I killed two of my favorite characters. My heart said No, but my head said Yes. To write a good thriller, you’ve gotta be ruthless.

Both of mine are set in New Orleans. My first was inspired by a serial killer who was terrorizing women in the Baton Rouge area when I arrived in New Orleans. I’m happy to say the Premier Book Awards named ABSOLUTION Best Mystery-Suspense-Thriller of 2009. In 2010, I moved back to Boston, but the mayhem continued.

DIVA is set in storm-ravaged post-Katrina New Orleans and reflects my experience with the music business. It was inspired by the ordeal a woman brass player friend suffered thanks to the unwanted attention of a creepy stalker. She eventually escaped. But will the DIVA?

Beautiful, talented and ambitious, flute soloist Belinda Scully wants to be a star. But fame can be dangerous. Someone is stalking her. Rejection stokes the fires of his lust. Her manager dies suddenly. NOPD Detective Frank Renzi believes he was murdered. But murder may not be the worst thing Belinda must face.

DIVA is not a cozy mystery, it’s a gritty thriller. Some dismiss crime fiction as cheap entertainment. I disagree. Crime fiction reflects real life, with its moral dilemmas and hard choices. Many women read crime fiction to manage their fear of real-life violence. It’s only a book. In real life, violent criminals often go unpunished. But not in my novels.

You can find free samples and video trailers for both books, and samples of my trumpet CD, on my website. www.susanfleet.com My profiles of talented women musicians, another passion of mine, are in my Archives: www.archives.susanfleet.com

My deepest thanks to Geraldine for inviting to be her guest and to you folks for reading this. I’d love to hear your comments, and if you’ve got questions, I’d be happy to answer them.

DIVA sounds divine. If you would like to purchase Susan's book, here are the amazon links:

http://www.amazon.com/DIVA-Frank-Renzi-novel-ebook/dp/B0056ASYCU/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1311086528&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DIVA-Frank-Renzi-novel-ebook/dp/B0056ASYCU/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1311086596&sr=1-2

Susan, thank you for being my guest today. And apologies for the computer glitch.

GIANT PROMOTIONS GIVEAWAY

2011-07-07T11:03:00.000+01:00

Along with a lot of other authors, I'm giving away two copies of Reluctant queen and two copies of Dead Before Morning, the first in my Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series, in the giant giveaway.

http://klearsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/giant-promotions-giveaway.html
to find out more.

I ADMIRE MARGARET THATCHER

2011-07-03T13:05:00.000+01:00

I admire Margaret Thatcher. There. I’ve said it. No matter whether your politics are true Tory blue or socialist red, you must surely admit, in her heyday, Margaret Thatcher stood for something. Values. As a politician, she stuck to her principles. She was loyal. She believed in things. She had convictions. And even if they weren’t your convictions, you could value the fact that she had them and wasn’t ‘slippery’ in the way that so many of today’s politicians are slippery with their belief in hype over substance.

Sure, if you’re a miner or the friend or family of a miner who suffered during the Miners’ Strike, you might have reasons to feel differently. I won’t argue with that. What I will argue is that if Britain had more people like Margaret Thatcher, who believed in standing up and being counted, then the UK would be a much better place.

And if you have trouble finding people you can admire in today’s Britain, maybe you should look for them in the pages of fiction. That is partly the reason why we read novels and short stories, after all. To read about people we can admire. About people who give us courage and help us through the day. Maybe even just people who will give us a laugh when we’re feeling down.

That’s what I wanted to do when I wrote my first Rafferty novel. I wanted to write about a decent copper and I wanted just to entertain people. My motives weren’t a great deal higher than that. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Entertaining people in this vale of tears is a worthy calling. It’s better than lying to them. Better than cheating them. Better than being a politician without values.

My DI Joseph Aloysius Rafferty was brought up with old-fashioned values. He didn’t cheat people. He didn’t lie to them – unless it was for their own good, though occasionally he might tell a little white lie. Probably mostly for his own good!. He’s loyal and he’s honest. The honesty can be a bit of a trial to him when he comes from a family who have their own views on honesty. And having a Ma with a love of dubious ‘bargains’ and a slippery estate agent for a cousin, doesn’t make for an altogether smooth life. To add to the brew, we have Father Kelly whose mission it is to bring the lapsed Catholic Rafferty back to the fold and Jailhouse Jack ‘the world’s most incompetent criminal’, another ,more distant cousin, who occasionally puts in an appearance.

But Rafferty gets by. He has a solid partner. And although Sergeant Dafyd Llewellyn’s own honesty can be a bit trying occasionally in its rigidity, he can be relied upon and has shown himself a staunch ally.

You can read excerpts of all of Rafferty’s adventures on my website: http://www.geraldineevans.com Just click on ‘Rafferty’ at the top and it will link to all my books in the series. There are fourteen so far. I’ve just finished Kith and Kill, number fifteen in the series and will be epublishing it as soon as possible. Probably some time in August. I also hope to bring out the rest of my backlist as soon as I can. And in the Rafferty series, that means, Absolute Poison, Dying For You., Bad Blood, Love Lies Bleeding, Blood on the Bones, A Thrust to the Vitals and Death Dues.

My next three books in the series: All the Lonely People, Death Dance and Deadly Reunion depend on my publisher bringing them out as ebooks as they have the erights.

I know Margaret Thatcher’s not in the best of health, so say three cheers for her and wish her well.

COMING SOON! POST ABOUT SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN

2011-06-21T09:57:00.000+01:00

Coming soon!

A post by author Tim Hallinan about the anthology SHAKEN: Stories for Japan. http://www.amazon.co.uk/SHAKEN-Stories-for-Japan-ebook/dp/B00556WX9A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308646043&sr=1-1

OR http://www.amazon.com/SHAKEN-Stories-for-Japan-ebook/dp/B00556WX9A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1308646284&sr=1-1

This is 20 wonderful stories with haiku done by a generous group of authors who have written stories for inclusion for free and other people, like Kimberly Hitchens, the ebook formatter, who volunteered their time and amazon who gave up their share of the sales. I urge you to consider buying it because ALL of the sales proceeds go toward disaster relief in Japan.

Think how you would feel if you lost everything and help those poor people by buying the anthology.

I've bought it already. It's only £2.79 / $4.58.

MAKING A LIVING AS A WRITER

2011-06-15T10:22:00.000+01:00

You want to make a living as a writer? Here’s the route I went.

I wrote a book a year for six years. Totally failed. Until I sold the sixth book, a romance, called Land of Dreams, to Robert Hale. For the fabulous, unforgettable sum (well, I never forgot it!) of £100. Yes. That’s right. £100. That’s around US$160.

As you might guess, my sales were negligible. The marketing less than nil.

I’ve been published by small independents (Hale and Severn House). By big players (Macmillan and St Martin’s Press). By audio and large print publishers (Isis Soundings and Ulverscroft respectively). But, you know what? All of these so-called experts had one thing in common: they not only didn’t know how to market me. They didn’t market me.

Since I’ve taken the ebook route I’ve marketed myself. I’ve done a blog tour, I’m on facebook, though my tweeting leaves something to be desired. I post on kindleboards and respond to other posts. I’m on DorothyL and Murder Must Advertise and have learned a lot from both. I’m on crimespace and Librarything, goodreads and the Red Room. I have this blog and I send out a monthly newsletter. And you know what? I sell far more books than the publisher ‘experts’ ever did. For relatively little effort.

Hey, I’m no expert. I’m no marketing guru. I’m not even J A Konrath! But I have learned one thing from experience over the last nine months.

And that is that any ebook that is well-written, that entertains and that has been professionally edited and eformatted, with a professionally-designed cover – will sell and sell well enough to give you the living you never managed when you were print-published by the so-called professionals.

Go figure.

IT’S OFFICIAL: I’M NOW GOING SOLO IN THE PUBLISHING WORLD

2011-06-12T22:47:00.000+01:00

I’ve been umm-ing and ah-ing about going totally indie for some time. But then when my publisher made it clear that they not only wanted the ebook rights to my just finished book but also to all of eight plus books that form my backlist with them, I rebelled.

I’ve always earned a subsistance income from my print books, but epublishing my early Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery novels convinced me that that didn’t have to be the case with ebooks. So, when it at last looked like I was going to start earning a living that took me up from poverty level, why should I willingly agree to sink back down?

Admittedly, it was a long, hard think. I’d been with my publisher the best part of ten years and they’d published twelve of my mystery novels. But seeing as they were intransigent and resistant to any attempts to negotiate on royalty percentages or price or frequency of payment, I also dug my heels in. Why, I asked myself, would I accept a 25% royalty rate when I could get 70% with amazon? Why would I accept twice-yearly royalty payments when amazon pays every month? And why would I be happy with books priced at $9.99 or above and which are unlikely to sell when I know from my own experience of publishing the earlier Rafferty books which were published by a different publisher, that a lower price equalled higher sales?

It was all a no-brainer. Yes, I felt a little disloyal. But weighed against that was how foolish I would feel accepting such a poor offer.

We’ve all read J A Konrath (A Newbie's Guide to Publishing (see top of Blogroll to right). We’ve all learned a lot from his experiences and experiments in the ebook world and from those of his writing friends. JA, I’m grateful to you for all you’ve taught me. I’m not about to spurn all your hard-won knowledge.

So, as I said, I’m now officially an independent. Feel free to support a poor author. Here are my amazon pages

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D341689031&field-keywords=geraldine+evans&x=0&y=0

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D1286228011&field-keywords=geraldine+evans&x=0&y=0

Hats off to J A and hurrah for Indies everywhere. Long may we flourish. Monthly ebook sales now at over 700 and rising…

Hey, if it carries on like this, I might actually start to make a living.

LATEST RELEASE ON KINDLE AND SHAMSHWORDS: RELUCTANT QUEEN

2011-06-08T14:44:00.000+01:00

Well, I've now uploaded Reluctant Queen to kindle and will put it up on Smashwords if my sales on there improve. This is my one and only historical. I may write more depending on the response I get.

It tells the story of Mary Rose Tudor, little sister to infamous, much-married, English king, Henry VIII. Here's the blurb and first chapter.

BLURB

Mary, the beautiful, younger sister of English king, Henry VIII, reluctantly agrees to marry the aged and sickly Louis XII of France. But before agreeing, she extracts Henry’s promise that she may please herself for her second marriage. Mary is deeply in love with the low-born Charles Brandon, her brother’s boon companion, and is determined to wed Brandon should King Louis die.

At the French court, Mary is pursued relentlessly by her aged husband’s debauched heir, Francis. And with the death of her husband and Francis’s elevation to the French throne and absolute power, her situation becomes desperate. Unprotected, Mary is a captive prey to Francis’s lust for her.

Will she ever be free to go to her lost love? Because since Louis’s death, Mary has become increasingly anxious about the rumours she heard concerning her brother’s plans for her future. Does Henry intend to push her into another loveless marriage to suit himself and the State?

King Henry sends Charles Brandon to the French court on a diplomatic mission. Desperate, Mary persuades him to go through a secret marriage with her.

Then, fearfully, they await Henry’s reaction, aware that no one, not even his much-loved younger sister, defies him with impunity.

CHAPTER ONE

‘No, I won't marry that feeble, pocky old man.’ Mary Tudor stormed at her brother. For all that twenty-three-year-old Henry was the elder and had for five years been King of England, Mary was determined not to submit to his entreaties.

‘Now, sweetheart.’ Henry bent down from his great height and coaxed, ‘You know nothing about him. Louis, the French King may be no young stripling, but they say he's very rich. He'll be kind and loving, I doubt not. You will learn to be fond of him in time.’

‘I will not,’ Mary insisted. Louis was old and sickly; fifty-two to her eighteen. The thought of marrying such an old man appalled her. Henry was all sweet reasonableness now, but Mary knew that would soon change if she continued to defy him. Since becoming king, Henry had rapidly grown used to having his own way; he had not sacrificed himself on the marriage market. Instead, a few months after their father’s death, he had speedily married Katherine of Aragon, their brother Arthur’s pretty young widow, ignoring their late father’s advice. It had been a marriage made, at least, in part, for love.

Mary didn’t see why she should not also marry where she would, as rumour had it their sister Margaret was determined to do. Now nearly twenty-four, Margaret had set her heart on marrying the young and handsome Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus. Just fourteen, Margaret had married their father’s choice of King James IV of Scotland eleven years earlier, carrying with her the forlorn hope that this marriage alliance would bring to an end the interminable wars between England and Scotland. Forlorn hope it had proved. For Margaret had been widowed just the previous year when King James had been killed fighting Henry’s army at the battle of Flodden. Mary had no doubt that Henry’s present wish to use her for a similar, unnatural alliance, this time with France, would prove equally fruitless. Had he not been long allied with the Emperor Maximilian and King Ferdinand, the father of Queen Katherine? And although they had had a falling out after Henry had discovered Ferdinand had made a secret truce with the French, Henry would revert to the long-standing Hapsburg alliance in a second, rendering vain her sacrifice in marriage to old King Louis. His naming of Louis as ‘The French King’ rather than the ‘King of France’ was further proof of how unnatural such an alliance would be. Henry considered himself the rightful King of France. He longed for his own Crecy and Agincourt. Only the previous year, he had led his army against the French and had captured Therouanne and Tournai.

Mary felt she had sacrificed enough for her brother’s ambitions. He had caused her to be spurned by young Prince Charles of Castile, the Emperor’s grandson and Queen Catherine’s nephew, to whom her father had betrothed her six years earlier. Now he wanted to replace this match with one far more distasteful to her.

But between her brother’s alliance-swapping Mary had fallen in love, just like her sister. Mary knew that if she wished to copy her sister’s example she must hold out against her brother’s demands. It wouldn’t be easy. But when she thought of the unheroic figure of Louis XII, the old French invalid whom everyone laughed at, her determination to defy Henry grew stronger.

‘You know where my heart lies, Henry,’ she reminded him now. ‘Where it's lain these many months, whilst you've been toying with Castile and its prince.’ Mary's gaze narrowed accusingly. ‘Where's the magnificent dowry jewel they sent our father, but perched in your hat, brother?’

Henry allowed a scowl break through before he gathered in the reins of his temper and tried more sweet reason. ‘As you say, King Louis is old and sickly and has been for a good long while; any marriage couldn’t be for long. Think of the honours and riches that would be yours and you could be free in a year or less. What's a year when you're only eighteen?’

‘No, Henry, I'll not be persuaded.’ Mary smoothed her gown and tried some sweet reason of her own. ‘Surely I could be permitted to please myself, as you did.’

Henry’s scowl escaped again and he shouted at her. ‘This is foolish talk. I'm a man, Mary and a king. You’re only a princess and princesses must dispose themselves where duty, not the heart, lies.’ Henry’s gaze turned longingly towards the window, for the day was fair. Mary, too, wanted to be out in the warm sunshine instead of cooped up indoors arguing with her brother. She hoped Henry’s love of pleasure and hunting would persuade him to give over trying to browbeat her. But this hope was a vain one. Even as she thought it, Henry dragged his gaze from the window and stared so consideringly at her that Mary realised he was about to try another tactic.

‘Do this for me, this once,’ Henry pleaded, ‘and when Louis dies, as he will, and that no doubt right soon, you may choose your own husband afterwards. On this you have my word.’

Mary stared broodingly at him. Much as she adored this handsome giant of a brother, she had learned to be wary of Henry's promises and this one had a too-ready air about it. But he had given his word on it, she mused. His offer weakened her resolve. Given Henry’s determination to have his own way in all things this might be her best chance to attain her desire and marry Charles Brandon. But the repugnant necessity of first marrying the sickly Louis invaded her mind and would not be ignored.

Mary’s thoughts turned this way and that while the silence lengthened. How could she bear to let the old French king fondle her, couple with her, when all her senses craved only the touch of Charles Brandon? Yet, it was true that Louis was sickly, liable to die ere long, as Henry claimed. Perhaps his poor health would allow him nothing more intimate than a formal bedding with her for the sake of convention. If she could trust her brother's promise she might soon be able to go to Charles freely. Upset, confused, wishing to be left in peace to consider what she should do, Mary was startled from her reverie by Henry's angry voice.

‘What more do you want, Madam? Most girls do not need to be cajoled into marriage. They're told whom they are to marry and they marry them.’

Henry's handsome face was flushed with a right royal temper and Mary knew he had taken her silence for wilfulness. Now, he towered threateningly over her and for the first time, Mary felt something of that fear that her brother’s rages so easily engendered in others.

‘I've been too indulgent towards you, Madam, too easy-going. You'll come to your duty, sister, or perchance, I might have to find a teacher, one not as kindly as I.’

Mary, with her own goodly share of royal temper, now forgot Henry's promise, his kingly majesty and her own doubts and flung back defiantly at him, ‘Perhaps you should do that, brother, for I'll not wed him else.’ Turning on her heel, Mary fled from the chamber, her steps echoing up the passageway, mingling with the sobs she could no longer hold back.

Thomas Wolsey, the king's almoner, stepped from behind the curtained doorway. ‘That was not well done, Your Grace,’ he chided. ‘Your sister may be a sweet and loving girl, but she has a certain spirit. She should be gentled into agreement, for love of you and for the sake of the French alliance. Chivvying and harrying is not the way with her.’

The king scowled. But Wolsey, aware that his young king valued honest counsel, was emboldened to continue. ‘With the help of Princess Mary’s friend, Mistress Popincourt, and our obliging French hostage, the Duc de Longueville, we've advanced the match this far; perhaps we should encourage them further. Mistress Popincourt is mighty friendly with your sister. Let her use her soft words at every opportunity. 'Tis my belief, Your Grace, that between her and de Longueville, they'll sway your sister to the match if we make it worth their while. De Longueville is kin to His Majesty, King Louis. He will, I'm sure, be doubly rewarded for providing the old King with such a lovely young bride. He will also get his freedom if he helps to persuade your sister to the match.’

‘What of Jane Popincourt?’ Henry asked. ‘What reward for her?’

Wolsey gave a sly smile. ‘From what I understand, Your Grace, she has had her reward from de Longueville - a tarnished reputation. They have conducted their liaison with little discretion. For her, the gleam of gold will be carrot enough, but no further payment should be necessary. She will, I doubt not, expect to accompany your sister to France, but that is something I would counsel against, Sire. We do not wish your sister's good name to be joined with such a wanton's at the French court.’

‘No, indeed. But Mary will expect the girl to accompany her. They've been friends since childhood. If we are to get her agreement to the match it would be wise not to upset her on this matter.’

Wolsey had already given due thought to the question of Jane Popincourt and as a natural diplomat, he had quickly found the obvious solution. ‘What need is there for us to upset her, Your Grace when others can be persuaded to do it for us? Our Ambassador, Worcester, has only to whisper in King Louis' ear about Popincourt's morals and His Majesty would, I'm sure, see to the rest. Princess Mary is young and innocent; he will want her to stay that way. He admires virtuous behaviour in a woman, so we may surmise that he dislikes the opposite. I think, Sire, we can safely leave King Louis to do our refusing for us.’

‘You may be right in what you say, Thomas. It would seem Mistress Popincourt has already led my sister astray, putting romantic notions of love in her head when there should be naught but duty, making her pert and disobedient. I like the idea of Louis banning Mistress Popincourt from accompanying Mary's train. He who makes the rules must also take the blame.’ Henry's amused laugh boomed out. But the laughter was quickly replaced by grim determination, as, with his little eyes narrowed, he vowed, ‘we will try the gentle option first to get Mary's agreement to the match, but if she is still hot against it, we will need to use more ungentle methods.’

Mary raced into her bed-chamber, long, golden hair flying behind her, and threw herself, sobbing, on her bed.

Lady Guildford, her governess, came up to her, tutting at such unseemly behaviour. Mary’s ‘Mother’ Guildford, in whose charge she had been placed since the death of her own mother, was all calm reason. ‘What's to do, my lady? What's to do? Get up, child, you'll crush your gown.’

‘Whatever is the matter, Mary?’

Through her sobs, Mary heard the concerned voice of her friend, Jane Popincourt, but she didn't answer her. Eventually Mary's sobs subsided and she sat up on the bed, her lovely face a mask of misery.

‘Now, madam, will you tell me what ails thee? Have you a pain? I'll send for the physicians.’ Her Mother Guildford bustled to the door, but Mary called her back.

‘Nay, mother. This is a pain which no physician can cure.’ She raised her tear-stained face. ‘My brother wishes to wed me to old King Louis of France.’

‘Surely he's not looking for another wife?’ Lady Guildford asked. ‘He's buried two already. Besides, 'tis well known he's too old and sickly to get himself any sons.

They say he only clings to life to spite, Francis, his son-in-law.’

‘But what riches you would have, Mary,’ Jane cajoled. ‘Think what your trousseau would be for such a marriage. It would make the one for the Castilian match look like a pauper's rags. To be Queen of France - 'tis a magnificent honour for any girl.’ Jane's soft French accent turned the words into a honeyed caress.

Mary was not to be comforted. Sunk in misery, she caught the look of dislike her Mother Guildford cast towards Jane. But Lady Guildford was a stern and pious woman and thought her worldly friend Jane a bad influence. But then she had been a great friend of Mary's equally pious paternal grandmother, Margaret Beaufort. Together, with her father's sanction, they had ruled the court, over-riding Mary's meek and gentle mother, Elizabeth, whose only duty was the getting of sons. She had done her duty in that as in everything else. Indeed, she had done her duty so well that she had died, worn out from child-bearing, but a short while after giving birth yet again. The baby, Catherine, had also died.

Fresh tears filled Mary's eyes as she thought of the gentle countenance of her dead mother. Now, apart from Mary, there was only her brother, Henry and her elder sister, Margaret left out of the brood of babes her mother had borne. Her father and grandmother were also long dead.

The atmosphere at court had changed markedly after her brother Henry had replaced their father as king just before his eighteenth birthday. And although gaiety had not replaced piety – for Henry was devout – there had been so many balls and banquets that it had seemed Henry couldn't run through their father's carefully accumulated wealth quickly enough.

‘If you did marry him, my lady, it could not be for long.’ Practical as well as pious, Lady Guildford repeated Henry’s soothing words. ‘An old and sickly man and a young, lively bride is a sure recipe for an early funeral.’

Although she knew it was sinful, Mary couldn’t help but be cheered a little by this and she asked curiously, ‘Is King Louis very sickly, Mother?’

Lady Guildford nodded. ‘He’s been sickly these many years. They say he retires to his bed at six of the clock every evening. Even the king's cocks and hens tarry later than His Christian Majesty.’

‘My brother seems very keen on this marriage,’ Mary confided. ‘Surely, if he loved me, he could have found a more suitable match for me?’

‘Would that someone would arrange such a match for me,’ Jane commented. ‘You'd not find me weeping and thinking on the age of the groom.’

‘You'll be lucky to find anyone to marry you, madam,’ Lady Guildford told her tartly. ‘Your indiscretions with the Duc de Longueville are all over the court.’

Jane gave a careless shrug. ‘What care I? Mary will take me to the French court with her and find me a rich husband.’

‘There’s many a noble lady ahead of you in the queue for a rich husband,’ Lady Guildford waspishly reminded her. ‘Why should you think you would be permitted to go to the French court?’ Suspiciously, she demanded, ‘Unless you and de Longueville have been plotting while you indulged your lusts?’

‘I don't know what you can mean,’ Jane retorted.

‘Do you not? Can it be that you and de Longueville have decided that the best way for him to achieve his desire to return to France is by persuading the king to marry Mary into that country?’

Mary saw that her Mother Guildford’s shot had hit home. De Longueville had been one of the French nobles captured by her brother’s forces the previous year at Therouanne.In his eagerness to return home had he persuaded her friend Jane to betray her? Mary remained silent while she listened to the continuing exchange.

‘A marriage alliance with France would be an ideal way for a prisoner such as de Longueville to return home,’ Lady Guildford continued thoughtfully. ‘Maybe taking his mistress with him into the bargain?’

Mary found her voice and demanded, ‘Jane, can this be true?’ Mary looked reproachfully at the girl as she saw confirmation on Jane’s face.

‘For all your plotting, madam, I doubt you’ll get your way. Do you think King Henry will want his little sister’s name sullied by association with yours?’ Lady Guildford upbraided the unrepentant Jane. ‘And from what I hear of King Louis, he's turned very pious in his old age - he wouldn't countenance any immorality at his court. Or loose women either.’

Jane shot a look of venom at Lady Guildford, before she flounced from the room. Lady Guildford snorted after the departed Jane before she took a hairbrush and, after bidding Mary to come and sit on a stool set before the glass, she removed her hood and began to smooth the brush through Mary's disordered hair. Waist-length, and golden, it was one of her greatest beauties.

‘You know, my lady,’ Mother Guildford remarked, ‘perhaps there is something in what that wanton says about this French marriage.’

‘Not you, too, Mother,’ Mary protested. ‘Tis enough that my brother should harry me, without you start-’

‘Hush, child. There are worse fates in this life than marriage to an old man.’ As Lady Guildford smoothed the brush through Mary’s hair, she told her, ‘King Louis divorced his first wife for her ugliness. He couldn't abide her near him. His second, Queen Anne, he was supposed to be fond of, though she was on the plain side too. Do you not think that a young beauty like yourself would fare better than either? He would be ready to fall at your feet if it would please you, I vow, having first decked you in costly rubies and diamonds’

Despite her fears, Mary smiled to hear the devout Lady Guildford speak so. ‘It is not like you to talk in so worldly a manner, Mother.’

‘I can be as worldly as necessary when it is for the good of my little maid. I have taken the place of your mother and grandam, and must think of your best interests, as they would.’

‘And would it be in my best interests, think you, to marry a man so old, with creaky joints and gouty limbs? What of love? What of romance?’

‘Foolish notions for a princess, as I’m sure your brother told you. Both your mother and grandam married for duty, though I’m not saying love didn’t come. You

should put such thoughts out of your head for I know none of high rank who were permitted to marry for love.’

Mary, about to remind her of the love-match that had formed the basis of her own Tudor dynasty, remained silent as she recollected how that love-match had ending. The marriage between Catherine, Henry V’s young French widow and her own paternal great grandsire, Owen Tudor, the Welsh gentleman of her guard, had been a secret one, ending in tragedy with Owen eventually clapped into prison and Catherine forced to retire to a convent where she had died at an early age. Such was not the future Mary wanted for herself and Charles Brandon. So, although she brooded, Mary said nothing when her Mother Guildford told her she would submit to her duty, as many before her had submitted and that her brother, for all his gay charm, would see to it that she did so.

Mary knew it was useless to speak to her Mother Guildford of love and passion. Like Henry, it was clear she thought the match an excellent one. But Lady Guildford was old. Piety was her passion. And neither she nor Henry would have to endure King Louis' shameful fumblings. Beneath her lowered lids, Mary's blue eyes darkened. But as Lady Guildford continued to pull the silver-backed brush through her silken hair, Mary's mind quietened. And as thoughts of the future were so distasteful, she cast her mind backwards, to the carefree days of her childhood at Eltham which she and Henry had shared; their sister, Margaret, long married and in Scotland and Arthur, Prince of Wales, in his own establishment. Henry, as second son, had been destined for the church until Arthur's early death altered his prospects. Mary had always found it impossible to imagine her tall, adored, handsome brother a man of the cloth. He exuded too much of the love of life and its many pleasures for that. Henry had basked in her adoration and loved her the more for it, far more than he had ever loved their elder sister, Margaret, who, once betrothal to King James of Scotland, had delighted in queening it over them.

Mary wished she could remember more of her mother; but she had died shortly before Mary’s seventh birthday and all she had was an impression of soft arms and a gentle voice crooning lullabies. Her father, a thin, solemn man with a careworn face, she could remember more clearly. He had arranged the ‘great match’ for her with the young Prince of Castile. She could still remember the betrothal ceremony held at Greenwich with the great throng of nobles and clerics.Her betrothed, or more probably his grandsire, had sent her the brilliant jewel in the form of the letter ‘K’ for Karolus, made of diamonds and pearls, which Henry now wore in his hat. She had been proud of the jewel and had loved to show it off. It had an inscription on it, which, with childish notions of love, she had taken to her heart - 'Maria had chosen the good part, which should not be taken from her.'

But it had been taken from her. The marriage had been due to be finalised this year, despite her lately wayward-leaning heart. Her father had paid her dowry of 50,000 crowns, but had cautiously demanded a pawn for the money. Mary could still remember his delight when his demand had been met and a magnificent cluster of diamonds worth twice the dowry sum had been sent. But then her father had died. And although he had left her her dowry, in the form of the diamond cluster, when he had become king Henry had taken a great fancy to the jewel and refused to part with it. Mary had been left with nothing, not even her Castilian Prince who had repudiated her after many months of wrangling and recriminations.

And now her brother proposed another, even grander, match for her. But Mary's taste for grand marriages had turned to ashes. She had only to look at those of Katherine and her sister, Margaret, to know they often brought misery and humiliation in their wake. Had not Katherine, Henry’s queen, suffered near-destitution for seven years after the death of her first husband, Arthur? Her misery only alleviated when Henry became king and married her. Owing to her faithless husband’s ‘fatal weakness for women’ Margaret’s marital humiliations had been without number. Such memories strengthened Mary’s resolve to marry Charles Brandon. She wanted only to live in peace with her beloved. She must find Charles and persuade him to declare himself. Surely Henry, who could be sentimental, would relent when he realised how great was the love of his sister and his bosom friend.

Before, caution had made Charles reluctant to claim Mary’s hand, but the time for caution was past. Unless he wanted to lose her to old Louis, he must speak out. She must find the words to persuade him to it. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about.

Here's the link to my amazon page for anyone who's interested in buying the book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D341689031&field-keywords=geraldine+evans&x=0&y=0

DEAD BEFORE MORNING HITS TOP TEN IN POLICE PROCEDURALS BESTSELLERS!

2011-05-29T13:12:00.000+01:00

It's happened! DeadBbefore Morning has come in at Number 10 on Amazon Kindle UK Police Procedurals Bestsellers!

In fact, all four of the books I have up on kindle are in the Top 100 and come in at Numbers 38 (Down Among the Dead Men), Number 51 (The Hanging Tree) and Number 68 (Death Line), respectively.

Rreason to celelbrate!

I have also discovered the secret to getting your books to show up in their correct listing. I assumed before, that books automatically showed up in order of highest sales. Not that simple. You have to click on kindle Store (lefthanfdside, directly under Shop all Departments), then Kindle Bestsellers (lhs down a bit, under Special Features) for them to show up that way. Otherwise they just seem to show up in any order at all. Which explains why amazon had me scratching my head about my listings.

I mean, I know that Dead Before Morning is my bestseller. What I didn't understand was why it didn't always get listed that way. Now I know why. I wasn't inputting the information required to get the correct answers out. Duh!

Here it is!

Looking good!

CRIME FICTION: CREATING A CRIME SERIES 3 OF 3

2011-05-25T17:04:00.000+01:00

When I left you last time I was about to reveal what location I had chosen for my Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series and why I chose it. I’ll start off by saying that I felt there was only one place I could use as a setting for such a character as working-class DI Joe Rafferty and his 'bargain' loving family. Essex. Anyone reading this who isn’t British will understand why it should seem his natural habitat after reading the following.

The Brits out there will all have heard of the ‘ Essex Man’ euphemism as a term for people who are stupid and common with criminal tendencies. Politically incorrect it may be, yet it’s stuck.

You may recall some of the ‘Essex’ jokes that were popular some years ago. Jokes like:

Q what’s the difference between Essex and Mars?

A there might be intelligent life on Mars

Q what is an Essex girl’s idea of a really classy meal?

A a wooden chip fork with her takeaway.

Get the picture?

But, unlike the stereotyped depiction of the working classes in ‘Essex’ jokes and many of the older British crime novels, as chip-eating, adenoidal and terminally stupid, I wanted to show that there is intelligent life, Not only in Essex, but among the working classes themselves.

As far removed from the intellectual, Sherlock Holmes type of sleuth as it’s possible to be, Rafferty is a typical down-to-earth British copper. Okay, he’s not exactly deeply intellectual or highbrow, but intelligence, like most things, comes in different guises. His working-class background has given him a street-wisdom of a kind that’s often far more valuable in police work than the more academic intelligence. And with a family attuned to picking up ‘bargains’ of the dubious sort or to getting into bother of the criminal sort, he’s often thankful for this street-wisdom which helps get him out from under.

Anyway, all this furious thinking produced Dead Before Morning, a crime novel which features a prostitute bludgeoned beyond recognition, a suave, social-climbing doctor and an idle hospital porter who had, like Del Boy Trotter from Only Fools and Horses fame, a few ‘nice little earners’ of his own.

In this first novel, Rafferty has just been promoted to the rank of inspector in the CID (Criminal Investigation Department, the plain clothes branch). His beat is Elmhurst, a fictitious town based on Colchester in Essex, the old Roman town where that original ‘Essex Girl’, Boadicea, used to hang out and harry the centurions.

Apart from Rafferty’s working-class background and his family’s teeny weeny tendency to dishonesty, there was another reason why I chose to locate him in Essex.And that was that Essex has lots of interesting historical connections. Many of the towns and villages in Essex are associated with the early settlers in America. And, because of its port links, the entire area Has always been close to the religious dissent stemming from Europe.

A bit of a dissenter himself, having been force-fed Catholicism from the cradle, Rafferty is against religion of any persuasion as a matter of principle. So it’s no wonder he feels at home in an area with such strong dissenting traditions.

Whatever the critics made of it, I must have done something right, because on only its second outing, that first Rafferty and Llewellyn crime novel was taken from Macmillan’s slush pile and published. It was also published in hardback and paperback in the States. In December, I also published it as an ebook.

I took a chance and did it my way when I created that first Rafferty and Llewellyn novel but it paid off. I’m now an established author from being a no-nope nobody whose formal education ended at the age of sixteen. It just shows what a bit of determination can do.

You can see now, I hope, how one decision about a character helps you make other decisions, not only about the lead character himself, but also about the other characters who will populate your series. And about where in the world they’re going to play out their roles.

To help me keep details of streets, pubs, etc, I drew my own detailed map. Which is something you might perhaps consider doing. It certainly saves a feverish hunt through an entire previous book or typescript trying to find where such and such a pub was situated. Or even what it was called. You can base it on somewhere real if you like. As I have said, my fictitious town, Elmhurst, is roughly based on Colchester in Essex. I have taken some elements of the town, like the castle and made up others. Now I’m not even sure what is real and what is made up! It’s all got so woven together.

You will understand from all this that my Rafferty books have a strong vein of humour running through them.

Now, strongly humorous crime novels are not to everyone’s taste. This sort of crime novel isn’t always highly regarded by critics.

But this was my book and this was how I wanted to write it. And given the perennial difficulties in the publishing world, it’s something to say that rather than making thecommon mistake of following either the herd or a fading trend - I did it my way - and actually got published.

The choice is yours. Do you want to be ‘original’ and do your own thing? Or do you want to be the same as what has gone before?

One of the reasons I write the kind of crime novel I do is that my mind has a natural tendency to see the humour in a situation. Especially a situation that contains a large dollop of Sod’s Law’. In Rafferty’s – and my- experience – Sod’s Law really does Rool OK.

Maybe your experiences are the same. If so, why fight it? In the end you have to be true to yourself.

Dead Before Morning, that first novel in the Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery series, was published in 1993. Altogether, I’ve had eighteen novels published with another just finished, seventeen of them crime, fourteen in my Rafferty & Llewellyn series and two in my Casey & Catt series.

Yes, there have been disappointments along the way, but that’s part of the life of the average writer. And the disappointments make the good times so much sweeter.

Who knows, if I hadn’t done it ‘My Way’ back when I created my first Rafferty novel, the publication of all my other novels might never have happened

I wrote the kind of book I liked to read. The kind where the writer makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me wait, even, but most of all makes me care about the characters. Admittedly, that’s just my preference. You might prefer your crime novels to concentrate firmly on stimulating the brain rather than the funny bone. But i didn’t see any reason not to try to do both.

This approach provided the bonus that I had far more fun with Rafferty than I imagine the more high-minded writers have with their characters.

And writing is meant to be fun, isn’t it? It’s meant to be enjoyable. If it isn’t why do it? After all those dead-end jobs I mentioned in my first post I was determined that I would end up doing something I liked.

There’s no reason why, just like me, you shouldn’t ‘do your own thing’ and attract a publisher who goes ‘mm. This is different.’

So, go and have fun. And give me another crime novel that provides the occasional chuckle. If you do you’ll be guaranteed one fan.

Oh. I forgot to tell you how to commit the perfect murder as I promised in the first post of this three-parter. First you –

Oh! Darn it. Look at the time. I must fly! Till next time.

CRIME WRITING: CREATING A CRIME SERIES 2 OF 3 POSTS

2011-05-21T12:34:00.000+01:00

I said this post would be about sidekicks, so here goes. It’s also about this sidekick’s effect on my main character.

As I said in my last post, my main character, Detective Inspector Joseph Rafferty, is an Irish Catholic, working-class man who comes from a large family. A family who are into buying bargains of dubious origin and other pursuits of questionable legality. And Rafferty’s ma, Kitty Rafferty, often leads the field in these pursuits. So, as a sidekick, I wanted someone who was Rafferty’s polar opposite. Opposites always provide conflict. A genuine conflict, stemming from character and upbringing.

So Dafyd Llewellyn was born. The intellectual, university-educated, only child of a welsh Methodist minister who thought the law should apply to everyone – even the mothers of detective inspectors!

Llewellyn is a sidekick preordained from birth to look with a jaundiced eye on Rafferty’s outlook on life, his theories and conduct of cases, and his less than law-abiding family. Thank god i spend all my time in Rafferty’s head!

Dafyd Llewellyn is an upright man, with morals as high as an elephant’s eye. Certainly he’s not the type to turn a blind eye to ma Rafferty’s love of illicit bargains should it ever come to light. Which gives Rafferty something else to worry about.

The words duty and responsibility feature strongly in Llewellyn’s life, though his character is leavened with a sense of humour so dry Rafferty isn’t sure it exists at all.

Unlike Rafferty, Llewellyn likes to examine the facts of a case immediately rather than going off on flights of fancy.

Llewellyn has a tendency to run a coach and horses through Rafferty’s favourite theories, which are often outlandish, outrageous and tend to indulge his various prejudices to the full. Rafferty, of course, thinks the more politically correct Llewellyn takes all the fun out of police work. What’s the point, he thinks, of having the usual working-class prejudices, if you don’t occasionally indulge them. Besides, it’s amusing to tease Llewellyn, who needs taking down a peg or two.

You could say the pairing epitomises the famous George Bernard Shaw saying, with which i shall take a bit of artistic licence. You know the one:

‘it is impossible for a Brit to open his mouth without making some other Brit despise him.’

Yet before the end of Dead Before Morning, the first book in my fifteen-strong mystery series, they have learned to more or less rub along together, helped by both Rafferty’s overactive Catholic conscience, and Llewellyn’s stern, Methodist moral code. As the series and the cases progress, so does their relationship.

Once i had the basics of Rafferty, his family and his sidekick sorted out, I had to place Rafferty in his environment. And after all I’ve said about his background, Ii felt there was only one place i could use as a setting for such a character.

But this, Location, is the subject for the third and last part of this three-parter.

CRIME WRITING: THE CREATION A CRIME SERIES 1 OF 3 POSTS

2011-05-17T11:20:00.000+01:00

Psst! Do you want a few tips on how to commit the perfect murder? You do? Ok. But, before asking my advice on planning the despatch of your mother-in-law, you’ll probably want to know why I can help you avoid having your collar felt. Stick with me till I’ve outlined the background to how I acquired such esoteric skills.

I come from an Irish Catholic working-class background and I suppose you could say I was one of life’s late developers in the area of personal ambition. I certainly had no idea what a criminal direction I would end up in. Killing people – and getting away with it, was far in the future.

When I took my the examination, at the age of eleven, which would decide my educational future, I confess, I was far more interested in winning Jimmy Smith’s prize 4-er marble than I was in taking tests. Darlings –I won the marble… but failed the 11+. Examination.

So it was off to secondary modern for me. For those who don’t know, secondary modern existed to teach people the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic and then send them out in the world at fifteen or sixteen to have jobs rather than careers. So I wasn’t off to a good start in my life.

Unsurprisingly, after I left school at 16, a long list of dead-end jobs followed. I won’t bore you with a litany of them. But, somewhere along the way, i found ambition. I realised that i wanted to do something with my life, rather than fritter it away.

I’d always been a keen reader, so trying to become a published writer seemed a natural step on the road. Oh boy! Was I in for a shock!

I first started writing in my early twenties, but I never finished anything. I was an amateur. A rank amateur. I knew nothing about research. Nothing about creating characters or plot. I hadn’t a clue, basically.

But hitting the age of thirty concentrated the mind wonderfully and gradually, I learned how to write novels and finish them. It was a long apprenticeship. Apart from what had gone before, from the age of thirty I wrote a book a year for six years before I achieved publication. That book was a romance called Land of Dreams and set in the Canadian Arctic (don’t ask!). But after that brief brush with success, it was back to rejection alley.

By then i was pretty fed up. Nobody likes being repeatedly rejected. My ‘stuff you’ mentality came into play. I felt like murdering someone. So I did.

I turned to crime. I’ve done them all. Stabbings, poisonings, smotherings, bludgeonings. You name it and I ’ve done it. I’ve even hanged someone, but that was after they were dead.

The first book in a crime series is, I believe, the most difficult and demanding. You not only have to master the problems of plotting, clue laying and red-herring scattering and learn about police and forensic procedures, at the same time you have to create a cast of characters who are capable of supporting a series. A pretty tall order for a first effort in a genre I think you’ll agree.

There must be many neophyte writers who have fallen by the wayside in attempting to write crime novels. I might have been one of them if I hadn’t decided to do my own thing rather than follow the crowd.

Maybe the word originality explains why so many fail. That single word strikes terror into the hearts of a lot of new crime writers. I know it did mine.

After a writing history of five rejected romantic novels followed by the publication of the sixth, as well as the publication of various articles, the writing of a crime novel seemed not only much more demanding than anything I’d tackled before, but also extremely intimidating.

Just thinking of all those crime writers who are regularly praised for their devilish ingenuity, god-like intellect and masterly characterisation was enough to have more ordinary mortals, like me, quaking in their boots at the thought of trying to emulate them.

So, how on earth do you set about creating an original crime series? All I can tell you is how I went about it.

I suppose you could describe the Rafferty and Llewellyn mystery novels, which form my first series, as Inspector Frost meets Del Boy Trotter and family. For those who don’t watch British TV, Inspector Frost is something of a bumbler who’s anti-authority, but he’s smart enough to get his man. And Del Boy Trotter is a market trader (market stall not the stock market), who’s into buying dodgy gear. He’s working-class and a bit of a ducker and diver, but witty with it. So if you’re looking for the intellectual, Sherlock Holmes, type of crime novel – steer well clear! Though, having said that, I had one reviewer who likened me to Holmes.

In short, the Rafferty family has more than their share of ‘Del Boy Trotter types’ whose leisure-time activities are far from Adam Dalgliesh and his poetry writing or Morse and his Wagner. The Rafferty family pursuits are nothing so refined. They’re into back-of-a-lorry bargains and other diversions of equally questionable legality.

And Rafferty’s ma ,Kitty Rafferty, often leads the field in such pursuits, using emotional blackmail to make Rafferty feel guilty when he upbraids her. Having far more than her share of blarney stone baloney, she always wins these little arguments.

Given the above, don’t restrict yourself to what you think are the usual sort of police characters if something else would come more naturally to you. Like me with Detective Inspector Joseph Rafferty and his back of a lorry family – try to find the main character that’s right for you.

To get back to this business of originality for a moment, I think we can all agree that being original is a tricky business. A book that one person considers a true original might be thought of as over the top by another. While a third person might consider your hard won originality is nothing more than a poor copy of a well-known writer’s style that’s been given a bit of a twist.

So, originality’s a pretty moveable feast. Publishers themselves are often a bit vague when they try to define what they’re looking for. But, even if they can’t tell you what they want, they find it easier to tell you what they don’t want.

No editor is going to be impressed by a writer who’s a copycat. For one thing, it’ll put the publisher in danger of being sued. So - no second rate plagiarism.

Okay, so where do you start? You start by asking
yourself a few pertinent questions. About yourself, your background, your family, warts and all and then maybe oomph it up a bit.

Maybe, like British Prime Minister John Major, your family has a circus or funfair background? Maybe you could have a sort of Gypsy Rose Lee type in there somewhere? A travelling crook detector with her crystal ball ever at the ready! Outlandish, perhaps, but then wacky might be just your thing.

Or maybe your working background’s a little more conservative? In insurance, for instance.

An insurance investigator could get to look into a lot of suspicious deaths. And he doesn’t have to be your average stereotypical insurance worker, whatever that is.

Maybe he desperately wants to get out of the insurance business and into the world of entertainment. An insurance investigator as comedian, perhaps, given to cracking tasteless jokes at the crime scene. A man who’s learned to judge the witnesses as he would judge an audience.

They’re just a couple of ideas to get you thinking. Feel free to use them. Or not!

To get back to me, and the choices I made when I was creating my crime series. I decided on the surname Rafferty because I wanted his name to suggest someone who was a bit of a scruff – a rough Rafferty, in fact. I chose the name Llewellyn for his sidekick because i wanted to give the suggestion of royalty.

In Dead Before Morning, the first in tis fifteen-strong mystery series, alongside the main story runs a humorous sub-plot, in which Rafferty is ensnared in the first of the series’ many family-induced problems. I’ve just finished Kith and Kill, my fifteenth in the series, and, like the previous fourteen, it has Rafferty embroiled in more trouble than a Victorian lady of the night sans the morning after pill.

To return to similarities, I thought if Rafferty shared class and education with me he might as well have other elements of similarity. Why not? Other writers do. Would a non—classical music lover have created Morse? Would someone who knows little and cares less about poetry have created the poetry writing Adam Dalgliesh? Well, possibly, i suppose. But it’s far more sensible to make use of elements from your own life.

I wanted a character I could empathise with. One who was as near me as I could get. Believe me, it helps! (even though I’m not a man, I made Rafferty male because I felt the relationship with his ma was important and I felt, rightly or wrongly, that there would be more scope for humour with a male main character).

And with that first crime novel you’ll have enough trouble creating a plot that conceals as it reveals, with coming up with clues, red herrings, a satisfying denouement and the rest. You won’t need to increase your difficulties by having a lead character from a totally different social background from yourself as well.

My background is Irish-Catholic working-class. So is Rafferty’s. I was educated (sic) in a Roman Catholic secondary modern. So was Rafferty. I come from a large family. So does Rafferty.

There are a few differences, of course. Apart from the differences in gender. But the basic elements of similarity are there, which all help to give the writer a ‘feel’ for a character and their background, something I regarded as essential when I hoped to carry him through a series of novels.

There are a lot of working class policemen out there – just like Rafferty – who have risen up the ranks, perhaps leaving behind them the less savoury habits of youth and family. Often, they’ll have had to shed or at least conceal, certain aspects of their character: prejudices of one sort or another, for instance. Or, like Rafferty, a family with a love of dubious ‘bargains’.

But just because our policeman character has found it necessary to change doesn’t mean to say his family would be so obliging as to do likewise. He would have parents, siblings, nephews, nieces and so on, all with their own ideas of what constitutes right and wrong. And all beyond the lead character’s influence or control.

Imagine such a family. They’d be only too likely to embarrass your lead character.

Now, i know we’re talking fictional policemen here, but just think again for a moment, of John Major and his family. Of Terry and Pat and the trapeze-artist, gnome-loving father. Nothing criminal there, of course. But still, what ammunition they provided his enemies – of whatever political persuasion. He must have often wished he had been an only, lonely orphan. Rafferty often wishes the same!

It doesn’t take a major (go on – groan!) Leap of the imagination to see that a policeman, in a position of authority, with the need to be seen to uphold the law can easily be embarrassed by a less than honest family. He could even have his career put at risk by them.

I was well into my stride now and decided that if Rafferty was going to be working class like me he might as well have other elements of ‘me’ – it not only makes life easier, it also helps me relate to the main character and to the past which has helped to shape him

But in order to have a ‘past’, he’s got to have memories. And the best memories, from the point of view of believability, are one’s own memories.

Which is something else you might perhaps care to bear in mind if and when you start creating your own mystery series.

I’ll give you an example.

In Down Among The Dead Men, the second in the series, I had Rafferty reveal – just as I remember doing – that as a schoolchild he and his classmates would attend Friday afternoon Benediction at the local Catholic Church and sing Latin hymns without – as they had never been taught any Latin – having a clue what they were singing about.

Not much, perhaps, in the broad sweep of a novel, but it’s little touches like that which help to bring a character to life. Which perhaps helps a reader to identify with them, to the point of saying, ‘yes. I remember doing that.’ it helps to make it all more real.

Once i had Rafferty down on paper, i gave a lot of thought to his sidekick. But that’s for the second in my three-parter posts. So tune in next time!

WRITING WORKSHOP FROM AMERICAN SUSPENSE AUTHOR MICHAEL MURPHY

2011-05-01T22:42:00.000+01:00

American suspense author Michael Murphy is back today for a second guest post. He is going to give a writing workshop, based on his class You Too Can Write a Nove. Here's Michael:

Six tips to get you started, keep you going and finish a novel.

What’s the most common statement I get when people learn I’ve had seven novels published? “I’ve always wanted to write a novel, but I could never do it.”

People who love to write often conclude they don’t have what it takes to write a seventy-thousand word (or more) novel. I tell them what I’ve learned from becoming a novelist.

The basic component of a novel is not a sentence or paragraph. The basic component is a scene. In school teachers often gave assignments to write a five-hundred word theme. We got through it right? If you can write a five hundred-word theme, you can write a five hundred word scene. If you can write three or four scenes, you can write a chapter. If you can write a chapter, you can write twenty or more. If you can write twenty chapters, you can write a seventy thousand word novel!

What else have I learned? I learned six tips that work for me and many others I’ve met, W-R-I-T-E-S. If you keep these tips posted somewhere near your computer, they’ll help you get started and keep going until you finish a novel.

W- Write your novel with an end in mind, but give your characters room to grow.

R- Rake your characters over the coals of extreme personal and professional conflict.

I- Ignore advice to write what you know. Write the type of novel you love to read.

T- Take your reader to exotic locations or scary places you’d never go yourself.

E- Edit later, outline later, take writing classes later. Just get started.

S- Start with a bang. Grab the reader in the beginning and don’t let go. The most important line of your novel is the first. Make it memorable. Librarian Nancy Pearl once said, “I think when you read a good first line, it’s like falling in love.

These six steps will help you get started. But often a novel will sag a third of the way through. The writer might get stuck wondering what direction the story should go. Some writers give up and never finish. How do you keep going? There are two things to remember that will keep you going, every scene needs conflict and emotion.

Conflict and emotion drive plot. Emotion will occur if your characters have to deal with conflict. If your scene lacks conflict it will lack sufficient emotion to keep your reader reading. If your scene lacks conflict, throw it out and write a new scene.

If your manuscript sags at any point in your novel, analyze the source of the conflict then add to your main character’s personal and professional conflict. Conflict and emotion, they will keep you going until the end.

You can do it. Get started. Until you write the following two words, you’ll never write a novel:

Chapter One.

Michael's Bio:

In addition to being a full time writer, Michael Murphy is a part time urban chicken rancher. He and his wife make their home in Arizona with their two cats, four dogs and five chickens. He enjoys writing mystery and suspense novels with twists and turns and splashes of humor. Scorpion Bay is his seventh novel.

Here are Michael's links again. Two Amazon links, for paperback and Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D133141011&field-keywords=Scorpion+Bay&x=26&y=28

http://www.amazon.com/Scorpion-Bay-Michael-Murphy/dp/1935171429/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302708602&sr=1-2

Michael's website: www.mjmurphy.com

Scorpion Bay book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXNPdVVh3ck

Here are a couple of reviews of Scorpion Bay

'Strap yourself in and get ready for plenty of action, suspense, crime, corruption, a touch of romance and comedy. Include a high tech motorcycle, our hero in a black disguise to hide his identity along with designer drugs, intrigue and danger on a luxury yacht on Scorpion Bay. Michael Murphy shares the map to fast paced intrigue with three dimensional characters and a great story line that will keep you involved and wanting more until the last page.'

Nikki Leigh, award winning fiction and non fiction author.

"Part thriller, part romance, part comedy, part mystery and all satisfying; Scorpion Bay is an impossible book to put down. Prepare to burn the midnight oil with this one, rooting for Parker Knight as Murphy carefully unravels the plot on the very last word."

Alisha Paige, author of Circle City: Lord of the Wolfen--coming soon.

Thank you Michael. I'm sure your readers will have found your advice helpful and it will prod them to actually get started, go on and finish that book.

COMING ON MONDAY: WRITING WORKSHOP FROM AUTHOR MICHAEL MURPHY

2011-04-27T10:31:00.000+01:00

I hosted American suspense author Michael Murphy a few posts ago when I introduced him and his latest novel Scorpion bay. He'll be back on Monday 2 May with a follow-up based on his Writers' Workshop: You Too Can Write a Novel.

So, if you're interested in writing a novel, but are in despair about actually getting the thing finished, tune in here on Monday for Michael's wise words on the subject.

In the meantime, why not take another look at his books and his website, so you know a little more about him.

Michael's Bio:

Here are two Amazon links, for paperback and Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D133141011&field-keywords=Scorpion+Bay&x=26&y=28

http://www.amazon.com/Scorpion-Bay-Michael-Murphy/dp/1935171429/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302708602&sr=1-2

Michael's website: www.mjmurphy.com

Scorpion Bay book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXNPdVVh3ck

Here are a couple of reviews of Scorpion Bay

Nikki Leigh, award winning fiction and non fiction author.

Alisha Paige, author of Circle City: Lord of the Wolfen--coming soon.

INTRODUCING AUTHOR DOUGLAS CORLEONE

2011-04-26T10:27:00.002+01:00

Today I'm hosting prize-winning author Douglas Corleone and his novel Night on Fire. Douglas, an ex New York criminal defence attorney, will be posting about how he set up his Kevin Covlelli mystery series and has also sent an excerpt of his latest novel. Look forward to a treat! Take it away, Douglas.

The Kevin Corvelli mystery series was inspired by two of my greatest experiences – working for several years as a criminal defense attorney in New York City and beginning a new life in Hawaii at the age of 30. When I first moved to Honolulu in the fall of 2005, I saw the island paradise through completely fresh eyes -- I’d never even visited Hawaii before. That served as a great jumping-off point for my protagonist Kevin Corvelli. Like me, Kevin Corvelli had been a criminal defense attorney in New York. Only Kevin’s reason for fleeing was a bit different from mine. Kevin felt responsible for the death of an innocent client; I simply desired less stress in my life.

So Kevin Corvelli and I moved to Waikiki at the same point in our lives. But that’s when our two lives completely diverged. Kevin continued to practice criminal law in Honolulu, and I set out to write about his adventures. My debut novel ONE MAN’S PARADISE is both a fish-out-of-water story and a tale of redemption. Kevin Corvelli must find a way to adapt to this entirely new world while handling a high-profile murder case and trying to relieve his conscience of the events that transpired in New York.

The seeds of that first novel were planted by the around-the-clock coverage of the Natalee Holloway story. ONE MAN’S PARADISE begins much the same way – a beautiful young woman last seen on a tropical beach with a local man. Of course, that’s where the similarities cease, with the exception of the news media’s relentless speculation about what really occurred on that dark beach. ONE MAN’S PARADISE went on to win the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award, and immediately, I began work on the sequel, NIGHT ON FIRE.

NIGHT ON FIRE was also inspired by an event in my own life. In NIGHT ON FIRE, Kevin Corvelli narrowly escapes a deadly arson fire at a popular Hawaiian beach resort, only to land the prime suspect as a client. When I was a child, traveling with my family in Canada, I was awoken one night to the sound of a fire alarm. I was terrified, and I remember that feeling of terror as though it occurred just recently, even though I don’t recall a single other moment of that trip. The fire had started two floors down from ours, and all hotel guests were evacuated without any serious injuries. Still, I don’t think I had a fitful night’s rest in a hotel in the ten years following that event. And even as I re-read NIGHT ON FIRE now, I still feel a sense of dread as Kevin Corvelli attempts to escape the fire – and rescue a small child in the process.

So that’s how the Kevin Corvelli mystery series came about – partly autobiographical, except for all the danger, of course.

Blurb

Kevin Corvelli---a hotshot New York defense attorney who packed up his bags and hung his shingle in Hawaii to dodge the spotlight---is deep in his mai tais at a resort when an argument erupts down at the other end of the bar. It’s a pair of newlyweds, married that very day on the beach. And since Corvelli doesn’t do divorces, he all but dismisses the argument.

That’s at least until the fire breaks out later that night, and he barely escapes his hotel room. Most weren’t so lucky, including the new husband. His wife, Erin, becomes not only the police’s prime suspect for arson and murder but also Corvelli’s newest client, and she has a lot working against her, like motive and opportunity, not to mention a history of starting fires.

The heat gets turned all the way up in Douglas Corleone’s scorching legal thriller Night on Fire, his second following the MB/MWA's First Crime Novel Competition winner, One Man’s Paradise.Excerpt from NIGHT ON FIRE

Bio

DOUGLAS CORLEONE is a former New York City defense attorney and winner of the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Competition. He now lives in the Hawaiian Islands with his wife and son. This is his second novel.

As I rise to consciousness I realize the prison alarm is just an alarm clock, maybe the loudest alarm clock on earth. Lying on my stomach I feel around for an extra pillow, place it atop my head and try to smother my ears.

When the cougar begins clawing at my back I realize this is no alarm clock. It’s a goddamn fire alarm, the kind of fire alarm even the dead could hear. I reach for another flat, lifeless pillow and tug it down hard over the first.

The cougar’s growling something at me.

“...time is it?” I shout.

I peek out from beneath my pillowed teepee and glance at the window. It’s still night, no light spilling in at all. My eyes flutter toward the digital alarm clock, which reads two-twenty something, the last digit blacked out by one of my socks.

Quickly I take inventory of myself: pounding head, burning stomach, a mouth that tastes like rum and coconut suntan lotion. So, nothing out of the ordinary.

The cougar meanwhile is on her feet, slipping back into her sundress, shouting at me to get out of bed.

“No way,” I say, lowering the heavy lids of my eyes.

Fire alarms, they go off all the time. Like car alarms, only louder. I’ve been putting up with this ever since my first semester at URI, some jacked-up resident advisor constantly chasing me naked out of the freshman dorm. Drills they called them. Drills held in the dead of night just to get the girls outside in their underwear, nipples instantly hardening under white cotton tank tops in the brisk New England air. Gossips loitering with their binoculars ready to report the following morning on who is sleeping with whom. Dorms, hotels, condos, apartment buildings, it’s always the same. Always a prankster, some joker or toker higher than an elephant’s eye blowing bong smoke up at the ceiling. Never is it a bona fide emergency.

Well, almost never.

The cougar smacks my bare back so hard that it stings. “There’s a fire,” she shouts.

I groan. “How do you know, baby?”

“Because there are flames out in the hall and there’s smoke coming in under the door,” she yells. “And stop calling me baby!”

That gets me up. Still in my boxers, I’m out of the bed and by the front door in a few rapid heartbeats, checking the handle for heat.

My hand sizzles for several seconds before I yank it away and yelp in pain. Yeah, it’s hot. Hellishly hot. And even from a few feet away I can see the flames licking the peephole I’m too frightened to approach with my face.

I turn and glance toward the sliding glass door to the lanai, but we’re sixteen floors up and cougars can’t fly. As far as I know, neither can lawyers.

There is one more exit in the room, a door that leads to a door that leads to the adjoining suite. By the time I raise my singed hand to point to it, the cougar is already there, the first door open, checking the second for heat.

“It’s cool,” she says, frantically trying the handle. “But it’s locked.”

I edge closer to the front door, squint my right eye and catch a glimpse out the peephole. The hall is now filled with thick black smoke, and it’s nearly impossible to see anything. But the smoke appears to be billowing from the left, and the suite adjoining ours is to our right. If we can get through that door, we might just have an avenue of escape.

In the distance I hear sirens. But for us it’s too little too late. If we’re going to survive, we’re going to do so on our own.

I don't know about you, but I'm dying to know what happens next! Doug, thank you for a most interesting post. From chilly Norfolk in England I envy you those Hawaiian Islands and the susnshine and blue ocean.

To learn more about Douglas Corleone and his novels here are links to amazon and to Doug's website.

LinksAmazon U.S. http://www.amazon.com/Night-Fire-Douglas-Corleone/dp/0312552270/ref=dp_return_1?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Fire-Corvelli-Mystery-Covelli/dp/0312552270/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301092186&sr=1-4

My Website www.douglascorleone.com

THE HANGING TREE

2011-04-22T10:59:00.000+01:00

The Hanging Tree, my latest ebook, is now live on amazon. This is the fourth in my Rafferty & Llewellyn mystery series and my fourth ebook.

I've made a trailer. I've been having a little trouble uploading my trailers lately, so I hope this upload goes okay.

YES! SUCCESS!

NOW NUMBERS 4 AND 6 ON KINDLE!

2011-04-20T12:29:00.000+01:00

Since writing my last-but-one post, I've discovered something about amazon's sales rankings.

Turns out they're not of all sales, but of sales made within a specified hour. Personally, I think 'All' sales would be a better idea. At least you'd know how a book was doing against its competitiors. I find this hourly system entirely meaningless.

But, hey. Never let it be said that I can't go with the flow. Every other author whose blog I read seems happy enough with this system, so who am I to argue?

For what it's worth, here's a screenshot of my results from yesterday. Two of my books are placed at numbers 4 and 6 in the amazon's sales rankings.That's Death Line in at Number 4 and Dead Before Morning in at Number 6. Reason to celebrate? Why not?

MAKING VIDEO BOOK TRAILERS

2011-04-19T11:29:00.000+01:00

Do you want to know how to make video book trailers? I’m self-taught, so don’t expect sophistication. But I’ve had a couple of compliments on them even if earlier ones were a bit long. Stick with me and you’ll have a trailer to put up on youtube, vimeo and blazing saddles.

Here we go. If you look at your Start Menu, you’ll see that you have a programme called Windows Movie Maker. Click on that. Click on File and select ‘New Project’. If you have your book cover, select ‘Add Video and Photo’. Find your cover and open it into Movie Maker.

Okay, you’ve got your first still. Next, you’ll probably want to do an intro, so click on ‘Title’. You’ll see some words on the black screen. Delete these and add your own. You’ll want the title of your book, author’s name and mention the series name if it’s part of a series. You can alter the colour and size of the words and move them about the screen. Once you’re happy, click outside the text box.

Next you’ll want some pictures. I bought my photos from http://www.fotolia.com, but there are plenty of stock photo sites out there – http://www.iStockPhoto.com is another site I’ve used. With both of these sites, you designate what rights you wish to purchase and buy credits. Medium size seems to suit most requirements. On these photo sites you can store a selection of pictures in your own lightbox. You can then go through deciding which pix you want. Once you’ve selected suitable pictures and paid for them with the credits you purchased (a Standard License is likely to do for most book trailers, unless you envisage selling many thousands of books), you can download them. Once you’ve done that, you need to open up Windows Movie Maker again and import the pictures (Add videos and photos). I would advise importing these into WMM in the order you intend to use them, otherwise you will have to shift and shunt them about. You might as well get them right the first time. I would now save as a Project

I’d learned from my earlier efforts and for this one I wrote out a short synopsis of the novel then broke it into bite-sized pieces. Don’t make each of your pieces of text much more than half-a-dozen words or your viewer won’t be able to read them quickly enough and will just end up confused. There is, I seem to recall reading somewhere, a way to increase the viewing time of a particular frame, but I can’t remember what it is. Anyway, I still don’t think you should have great screeds of text.

To place the text, make sure you’ve on HOME (top left), then click on Title and name your book and yourself as the author. Next click on your first picture and then click on CAPTIONS and type in the first of your short blocks of text. These will go either on the picture itself or on a separate screen,depending on which version of Move Maker you have. You might have to alter the colour, size, boldness or placing of your text if it goes on top of the picture. You do this by highlighting and then select bold, size and colour. You move the words around by clicking on the dotted lines. Sorry. I don't want to teach Granny to suck eggs, but I don't know what level of computer use I'm addressing here

Carry on placing your CAPTIONS against each picture until you’ve typed up all of your synopsis. Try not to make this too long as the shortest Video Book Trailers are regarded as the best. Brief and punchy should be your aim. You may need to experient with colours for your text as sometimes particular colours won't show up well if they have to be placed right over the picture rather than to the side which makes for greater clarity.

Here's a brief example of how I wrote out what I was doing.

PIX: BOOK COVER

TEXT: Dead Before Morning

A Rafferty and Llewellyn Crime Novel

by Geraldine Evans

TEXT: DI Joe Rafferty

PICTURE: A hand holding the word ‘JOB’ ( In the UK, a policeman’s profession is

known as ‘The Job’.).

TEXT has just been promoted.

PICTURE: Partying People

TEXT: But the morning after the night before

PICTURE: Man with tie undone and lipstick on collar.

TEXT a girl has been found murdered.

Well, I think you get the idea. It carries on like that, text and picture, text and picture till I get to the end. You want a brief snapshot of the book, that’s all, the shorter the better. Choose your words and pictures carefully. Your aim should be to try to make an impact and give the gist of the book. For my latest one for Deadly Reunion, I’ve managed to get it down to eleven pictures including my book cover and about a minute and a half in time. Of course it helps that now I put the words on top of the pictures instead of in front of them as used to be the case with the old version of MM

Once I was happy that I’d got my text and pictures in the right order, I decided on my transitions. These can be the transition of your still picture flying away, as in the old movies, or any of the other choices. Experiment a bit. I didn’t select and place my transitions before I was sure I had finished shifting and shunting my text and pictures around as for one of my videos I did alternating transitions and they kept getting out of sync and I had to go through and alter them all. I’d already chosen my text colour and background colour.

To select your transitions, go to 'Animations', clickto the left of the picture where you want the particular transition and then click on the transition. On my earlier movies it was a click and drag operation, but this is another one of the changes I had to get used to when I got a new laptop with updated Movie Maker.

If you click on 'Visual Effects' when you have a picture in the screen, you will see the different things you can do to the appearance of your pix. Don’t go mad and choose a different Effect for each picture. The result would probably be bizarre, not to mention unprofessional. We’re trying for Steven Spielberg here, not Picasso.

Next you want to get your music. I liked listening to lots of different pieces of music in an attempt to find a piece that was appropriate to my book trailer. Eventually, I found one I was happy with. If you write romances, you'll probably want something suitably dreamy. Likewise, if you write thrillers, something fast and dramatic would likely be the best. You then need to go online, find a music site and pay for the license to use the track you want. I use StockMusicSite.com. Once you’ve paid for and downloaded your music, you should find it in My Music of Downloads. To get it onto the trailer, you need to click on 'Home' in Movie Make, click at the left of your first picture and then select 'Add Music'.

Remember to make sure you choose your music and pictures from a bona fide site where you pay for the appropriate usage. Other artists also like to get paid when their work is used, so don’t be tempted to go for the non-bona fide site.

Now you want to add the CREDITS. So click on HOME then CREDITS. Then type Movie by (your name). Then, on another line, Pictures from fotolia (or wherever). Then, music: Humoresque by Dvorak (or what and whomever).

Okay, you’ve got your words, you’ve got your pictures, you’ve got your music and you’ve let the credits roll. You’ve got a Movie, baby!

Next, you want to 'Save Project As' to get the version of the video that can be uploaded to YouTube, etc. Once it’s saved, from File select 'Publish Movie' and select whichever choice you prefer. Most people go for YouTube to upload to. Naturally, you’ll have already signed up as a member for whatever site you’ve chosen for your video upload. If you haven't this is as simple as it is for most sites. Just click on 'Sign Up'. You don’t even have to stick at one upload. You can put it on youtube, vimeo and whatever other ones you can think of as well as on your website and blog and facebook and twitter and crimespace and… Well I think you get the idea..

Here's a trailer I made earlier. This is a long one, but not without amusement.

Sorry. the blasted thing won't load. Oh well. You can still see examples of my trailers on my website. Go to: http://www.geraldineevans.com/ You'll find a number of different trailers for my books, some better than others, some with music, some without. For more examples, some made by professional outfits, log on to YouTube and click on a video. Give you some ideas for your next movie?

Once you get adept, you might even be able to put in moving pictures. If you do, you will tell me how to do it, won’t you?