Do you want to read a new crime thriller set in Morecambe?

Evening gang.

Finally the new book is here. Ballroom, Bars and Seawater Baths officially launches on Monday 3rd February. It will be on Kindle first but the files are already being reviewed by Createspace so the paperback should be out this week too. Here's the blurb:

"It is eighteen months since the Midland Hotel burned to the ground. Now the 24 Hour Jazz Cafe stands in its place.
Owner Mitch Johnson is missing, leaving his oldest friend and business partner Rupert Watts to run their new venture.
A woman's purse is found by children playing on the beach. Then a man is brutally murdered in his bathroom. Newly promoted DS Jane Harper must connect the pieces to find a killer.
But when Harper learns that the purse belonged to the wife of the murdered man, and that the missing woman has run away with Mitch, Harper begins to wonder if her consulting detective might actually be the prime suspect.
This thrilling sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Café pushes Mitch and Rupert to their very limits as they are exposed to a case far wider reaching than anything they have faced previously. Even detective Harper, usually in total control, is floundering as the clues lead nowhere and mistakes are made.
In the end, with Rupert in danger and a lack of options, it is Mitch who is willing to risk everything to see justice done."

I'm having a launch event on Monday over on Facebook if you fancy it. Expect enthusiastic, but poorly thought out promo, possibly involving a hastily put together giveaway of some sort as panic sets in.

Here's the exclusive bit. I have continually said that readers of this blog will get the chance to buy the book before anyone else. So here's what everyone else doesn't know.....

The book is already available to buy!! Follow this link and you can be the first to own a copy of Ballroom, Bars and Seawater Baths. If you get one, a review would be lovely as I'm aiming to grab the number 1 spot on Amazon with this book, at least for a little while.

Any other news for those not interested in the book launch? I went to the Merseyside Derby on Tuesday. Liverpool won 4-0 and despite feeling like death I had a great time. The dog is a bit under the weather but he's being brave and I had an awesome full English breakfast today, made by the wife. First time in years. But really, this post is all about the new book. Spread the word. I'm back.

I'm engaged in a battle of wills...with my dog!

Morning gang,

It's Sunday. It's 11:24AM. I have already edited 5% of the new novel today because I've been up since half nine. These truly are new and interesting times.

Anyway, first things first. This blog is, near enough, two years old this month. It also marks the beginning of self publishing adventures. In that time I've shifted somewhere between 3500-4000 books. I stopped tracking the total some time ago. This blog has received over 9900 visits. It would be nice to pass the 10,000 mark before Christmas so spread the word.

Also, I have publishing news. The debut novel by the wickedly talented Frion Farrell is out now on Kindle and in paperback. It's called The Round Spear. Click the link to get your copy.

Liverpool are still second in the Premiership after a six goal thriller Merseyside Derby. Can't believe we're still up there and it's nearly December. Exciting times, especially since I've actually been to a couple of games this season. Good times.

I'm buying a rechargeable battery for the xbox today since Microsoft only include a pair of Duracells in the £430 package. Shameful!! Which brings me to the dog.

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you'll have seen pictures of his recent chomping of my Blu Rays and Xbox games. This morning was a new level. He ripped the projector screen plug from it's socket and all the cable trunking that goes with it. Went through to the copper wire so he's lucky to be alive.

He also found the cover for the pool table. Destroyed it. Xbox games? Gone. Clambered onto table and pulled out some speaker cables, chomped a remote for the AV receiver, dragged 3 logs from the fireplace and got wood everywhere, had a crack at the kindling too, found one of the wife's coats, cushion from the couch etc. You know those insurance adverts on tele where the folk come home to find carnage following a break in? That was my living room this morning.

So I'd best crack on. The day plan is now to buy more cable trunking from Homebase, cut it, paint it, fit it. Nip to Argos for the Xbox charger, then to Sainsburys for food. Then home to put the living room back together. Then later, much later I expect, I'll edit some more of the novel.

75% now done. Less than 100 pages to go.

Does a dog take over your life?

Evening gang,

The short answer is yes. Based on the first month of having Ralph the Pointer in my gang it's pretty much non stop.

Don't get me wrong. He's utterly fantastic. I'd gladly spend all day with him, writing books, going for walks etc. But working full time is making life very, very difficult. Which all adds weight to my recent posts about making a change. The wife and I have discussed many options, a luxury we have since we're not short of cash.

The ideal solution seems to be that one or both of us reduces our hours/reduces the numbers of days we work which would mean only a slight reduction in income but allow more time with the dog and allow us to keep on top of mundane things like house work, shopping etc, all of which are proving to be a challenge with the dog and working five days.

Either way we think it will be sorted by Christmas. I'm going to be in a different job by the end of the year, we just need to sort out the money side of things and then I'll know which job it's going to be. It's also looking promising on the property front too as I had an offer accepted last week. So if it all goes well I should exchange contracts in 4-6 weeks and then we can start developing it as a long term investment. All of which takes pressure off me to earn the amount I do now.

So what's the end goal? Obviously more time at home, more time with the hound. But of course that will equate to more time spent writing and that, as regular readers know, is the dream. We can't all be Robert Galbraith.

Quick update on the adverts I bought. Over 90,000!!!! views in less than 4 weeks. But sadly only about 35 clicks have resulted from all that traffic and only a couple of those have led to sales. But it's my first go so I'll stick at it. Clearly it's worth pursuing it so many people are seeing the advert.

Right that's it for tonight. The plan now is to watch either the second Alien film on Blu Ray or something random on Sky. Did I mention I've just bought two more speakers for the home cinema? They should be here this week and then I'll be offering 7.1 surround. I suspect it will be impressive.

Night folks.

Editing the new book, US Open Golf and Ralph

Morning gang!

It’s been an age since I posted on here but I am delighted that so many folk are still checking out my musings. Almost 7500 views now from all over the world. Many thanks to each and every one of you, even the strange Eastern European ones which I’m sure are hacker/virus/dodgy porn referral sites.

Anyway, you find me in something of a state of flux. I’ve done very little writing wise for some time now although sales are okay and I’m still doing a bit of promo. Work has been taking up a bit of time, mainly the wife’s work in fairness but there you go. Plus most weekends recently have involved cruising up and down the country looking at puppy litters.

But I am now off work for 2 weeks. I don’t think I’ve had 2 weeks off in summer at all in the time I’ve worked in the NHS. In fairness a lot of that was because I worked with some fairly needy people who just had to have summer off every year without fail. Not missing them much I can tell you.

So what’s the plan while I’m off you might well be wondering? If you’re not wondering perhaps you’re reading the wrong blog. Well, I’m going to blog more, do more promo and this afternoon I shall be editing the sequel to The 24 Hour Jazz Café. Hurrah cried fan of the book. Believe it or not I have actually had messages from people asking about a sequel to this book so they should be delighted.

The rest of my time will be taken up looking after the latest addition to the gang here at HB Towers. Regular readers can’t fail to have noticed I may have mentioned Ralph once or twice. Well he’s here and, huge bias aside, he’s pretty awesome. Okay then, here's a photo.

Right, I’m going to crack because Wimbledon starts next week so my time will be dictated by When Roger Federer is on court. It just remains to say well done to Justin Rose for winning the US Open last night, well worth staying up for.