by David | Jul 22, 2021
Following on from the announcement of the new titles and covers for the Dust of Centuries Series (previously the Rare Traits Trilogy), this post announces the rest of the changes relating to my seven novels.
Yes, there are four more new covers and another replacement title now out there.
The new title is ‘The Cambroni Vendetta’, a title that far more reflects the content of the third book in the cotton & Silk Thrillers than the previous ‘The Assassin’s Dog’.
But don’t worry, I still have the wonderful model of dear Goccia that will go with me to any book presentations.
Below are the new covers for the series. Click on any of them to head to the Amazon store for the kindle versions or head over to The Great British Book Shop for high quality and inexpensive paperback versions.
You can also go to the My Books page to read more about them.
And finally, the stand-alone novel An Imperfect Revenge has a new, punchier cover.
[Right now, writing this on 22 July, two of the above covers have no links. This is because an Imperfect Revenge and The Cambroni Vendetta are still enrolled in KDP Select. However, that will change in mid-August and the links to sales on other retail sites for those two books will go live and this note will disappear].
Even More Big News!!!
There’s one other big project that occupied me over the last few months, taking far longer than I anticipated, which has been the production of my first Audiobook. Big learning curve and lots of fun, not to mention a certain amount of frustration at times, the book is now ready.
The intention all along has been to give the audiobook away to anyone who joins my email list. Not a big ask and I’ll have details very soon. The audiobook is An Imperfect Revenge, read by me (Yay!!) and will be available to listen to on the Book Funnel reader, a free app that works pretty much like the Audible app. I have to say that I have been incredibly impressed by the folks at Book Funnel who have expanded their service to include full versions of audiobooks and made the whole process very easy.
by David | Jun 17, 2021
Ever since I self-published my first novel Rare Traits back in 2012, I have had a nagging feeling about the title and the cover: they didn’t quite cut it, but alternatives were heard to conjure up, for me, at least.
That feeling persisted with the second and third parts of the Rare Traits Trilogy: Delusional Traits and Murderous Traits.
I then went on to write the three books (so far) in the Cotton & Silk Thriller series and although the titles of the first two: Irrefutable Evidence and Remorseless were fine, with the third part, The Assassin’s Dog, neither the title nor the cover really chimed after a while.
So with the great lockdown of winter 2020-2021, I got to thinking about all the above matters of state and the result is new covers for all seven on my books and new titles for four of them.
OUT WITH THE OLD.
The array in the banner shows the new line-up. Gone is the Rare Traits Trilogy and the three titles it comprised and…
ON WITH THE NEW
in their place we have The Dust of Centuries, the new series title. The three books within the series are:
Quincentenarian (The Dust of Centuries I)
The Delusion Gambit (The Dust of Centuries II)
Fatal Consequences (The Dust of Centuries III)
along with three new themed covers to reflect both the dust of centuries and the mists of time.
WHAT HASN’T CHANGED are the books themselves. The Dust of Centuries series are the same books, so if you read them under the Rare Traits titles, there’s no need to hit the buy button, unless you would like to have the paperbacks of the new versions adorning your shelves – and they do look rather fetching …
Here are the new titles and covers. The details are all on the My Books page but if you really can’t wait and want to buy now, just click on one of the cover images to the Amazon store to buy the kinmedle version.
If you would prefer the paperback versions, high quality, inexpensive versions of all my books are available from The Great British Book Shop, who, despite their name, ship worldwide.
To complete the Dust of Centuries saga, for now, there is also a new eBook box set available at most online ebook stores at the bargain price of £6.99 or equivalent.
Details of the other changes will be in the next post.
by David | Apr 6, 2021
Introducing the new logo for the Clarke Fiction websites and brand.
It has an interesting history starting with a street market in the Karen suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. from where the original model on which it was based was carried to Phuket where it is now languishing.
A slightly different, non-animated version has been in use as my Instagram avatar for a while (check out @davidgeorgeclarke for a collection of my photos) and is also begging to be updated.
Over the next few weeks, this Clarke Fiction version will start to appear in our about-to-be-vamped up advertising and the front matter in my books at least.
I hope the little guy doesn’t run out of steam!
Audiobooks
Also pleased to let you know that I have finished the first version of the audiobook of ‘An Imperfect Revenge’ and it is about to be scrutinised by a few beta listeners. At the moment, it is not intended for sale, rather it will be offered free to anyone who signs up to my email list.
What email list?
You are right, it has yet to be resurrected, but it will happen soon. Meanwhile, watch this space, and if you are interested in the free audiobook, all eight and three-quarter hours of it, drop me a line and I’ll sort it out.
by David | Jan 30, 2021
I don’t have any book-related images to post at present, so here’s a shot from the garden of a hardy Camellia sasanqua flower searching out the sun on a very frosty morning earlier this week. The camellia is a beautiful plant made all the more special by its habit of flowering throughout the winter, adding colour to an otherwise drab winter outlook.
On the book front, things have been a little slow since my last post, although this week I have picked up the ball again and made some progress.
Firstly, the book-in-progress now has a new title (although of course, that might change again!). Right now, the working title is ‘The Kegby Gene’, which I hope is suitably enigmatic. The entire plot has had an extensive rewrite, but now I have a full working plan for the new chapter layout, so all that remains is to write the additional chapters. Simple, really!
Progress with the audiobooks is rather slower than I originally hoped, largely because I’m a bit of a perfectionist in that I want the books to sound as professional as possible. This means injecting a lot of time into the editing of the soundtrack for each chapter. However, piano piano, as they say around here in Tuscany, slowly slowly. So far, I have seventeen chapters of An Imperfect Revenge sorted and my initial critic, Mrs C, who listens to dozens of audiobooks every year, reckons it sounds good. Whatever the outcome, it’s great fun and as an author it gives an interesting different perspective on how I view my books and how I might pay more attention to phraseology in future — fewer tongue-twisting groups of adjectives!
by David | Nov 21, 2020
Where does the time go?
After leaving Phuket, finally, at the end of July, it was back to Italy, high summer and a ton of work to do in a garden intent on returning to nature. Needless to say, more creative pursuits were put on the back burner for a while.
However, as the virus spirals every which way and as of last weekend, our part of Italy is in the red zone — maximum lockdown — we are hunkering down for a fast-approaching winter. Loads of wood cut and split, wine a-plenty and the olive harvest done and dusted, it’s time to get back to the keyboard and hit creative mode.
Progress on The Whistling Man is that the tale has been largely rewritten, although far from finished yet, and since there’s no longer any whistling, I’m looking for a new title. As yet nothing has materialised from the ether, but it’s out there somewhere, waiting to be recognised.
Meanwhile, there’s another project in hand, something I’ve been thinking about for a while — audiobooks. There’s an ever-increasing market out there for audiobooks and now seems like a good time to join in. However, if you go down the route of engaging a professional narrator, it all gets rather expensive, so I’m trying the alternative approach of doing it myself.
I’ve now bought a fancy mike, fancy headphones, a pop filter and downloaded free recording software — Audacity. Most importantly of all, I’ve created a sound studio. But before you start thinking of a Radio One state-of-the-art set-up, think instead of a Bedouin tent! Following the guidelines of a course I subscribed to — Audiobooks Made Easy by Derek Doepker — I commandeered a pile of old duvets and bedspreads and built a sort of Wendy House that the average six-year-old would sell his or her younger sibling for. The aim is to minimise external sound, which up here in the woods is not a huge problem anyway. It works well enough, so over the next few weeks and months. I’ll be working my way through my seven titles with a view to getting some onto Audible, and one at least as part of a giveaway deal.
As it turns out, the timing is good since literally today, 21 November, Book Funnel have announced an expansion of their services into Audiobooks that will roll out in the new year. All very exciting.
The first book I’m recording is An Imperfect Revenge and I may well be releasing it chapter by chapter before long. I’ll keep you posted.
by David | Jun 5, 2020
Twenty-twenty. A year no one will ever forget. The year that the world changed forever and many of its so-called leaders have been found sadly wanting. Not the least of these are the pitiful crowd in Westminster and across the ocean in Washington, both of whom seem hell-bent on killing as many people as possible with their incompetence.
Enough about them. While they dream up their latest measures to confound and confuse, we are spending our time in Phuket experiencing the rainy season for the first time in the twelve years we have been coming here. It’s June, and normally we would be in Tuscany. But this is 2020.
Phuket is actually an extremely safe place to be, among the safest in the world, as is Thailand in general since the virus outbreak in the country has been kept to a minimum thanks to prompt and sensible action by the government. Simply put, the government put the health and well-being of the people ahead of the economy. And they still are.
One of the measures taken was to extend all foreigners’ visas unconditionally until 31 July, which along with closing all the airports is why we are still here. These measures are under constant review and in a few weeks’ time when the results of other parts of the world relaxing restrictions will be more apparent, we’ll know if we are staying or going.
Until then, we are enjoying the tropical rain with intermittent spells of sunshine. The rain is wonderful, inspirational, especially now I have moved my desk to be by the balcony doors with the rainforest just beyond. While I write, there is a constant background chatter of birds and insects that from time to time develops into a cacophony, and rain, sometimes steady, sometimes huge.
The Whistling Man
Progress on the latest book has been up and down. Having thought I’d finished it, I left it, came back to it, reviewed it and discovered I was anything but satisfied with it. But now, in the last day or so, after considering a number of alternative plot developments, I have hit on a modification to the story that I think really works. Quite a lot of rewriting is required, and I’m relying on the patter of rain, the jungle noises and the magical forest to keep me focussed.
YouTube
Another recent exciting development in the world of ClarkeFiction has been the creation of Gail’s YouTube channel, which happened towards the end of April. To date it has 151 subscribers and over 2900 views of the various videos.
The videos — there are now twelve — are presentations similar to those Gail gives in schools around the world — an introduction to the animals in the book and a few fascinating facts, then the book itself. Tens of thousands of schoolchildren have enjoyed these stories over the past ten years; now even more can enjoy them through the magic of YouTube.
The channel now has its own URL: www.youtube.com/c/gailclarkeauthor But you don’t need to remember that; all you need to do is click on this link: GailClarkeAuthor
by David | Apr 9, 2020
Following up on last week’s post, as my very small contribution towards distraction if you are climbing the walls in lockdown, the ebook versions of all my books are now free for a period of two days, 9-10 April. The link to an alternative source for a download of Irrefutable Evidence in last week’s post no longer works since I’ve put Irrefutable Evidence back on Kindle Unlimited.
Please also note that outside the free offer, all the ebook versions of my books have been reduced in price £0.99/ €0.99/ US$0.99
Although it’s not in the image above, there is also on Amazon a virtual box set version of the Rare Traits Trilogy that is included in the free offer – all three Traits books in one download. Just type in The Rare Traits Trilogy Box Set in the Amazon search bar.
Enjoy!!
by David | Apr 2, 2020
Do you like the new bookmark? Got it printed in bulk from the great Bangkok online printer gogoprint.co.th
I’m using it to announce that I’d like to help in a very small way in the present terrible crisis.
We all have more time on our hands than we are used to and so if you are passing it reading more books, making my books available free or at very low cost to you is one way to feed your new habit! These are not times to be thinking about profit; too many people are suffering.
So what’s the deal?
As of midnight Pacific Coast Time on 2 April (8 am 2 April in London etc), the ebook versions of six of my titles will be free on Amazon for a period of 72 hours. This will be repeated at the same time next week for a period of 48 hours starting 9 April. (Under the KU deal, I can offer an ebook free for a total of 5 days every 90)
Outside of those times, the ebook versions of all seven books have now been discounted to 99 cents/pence etc, which is as low as Amazon will let me go.
Why isn’t the seventh book included in the free offer? It is, but in a different way. At present, Irrefutable Evidence is not on KU and therefore I can offer it free for as long as I choose, which I am doing through Book Funnel. If you go to this link, https://dl.bookfunnel.com/x6h9cdzwzk click on the red button and follow the instructions, you will get your free copy of Irrefutable Evidence on whatever device you like. (There are no strings attached here – I am not given your email address and you are not being asked to join a mailing list).
What are you waiting for? Go to your Amazon site now, enter one of my titles and download your free copy. Then repeat for all the others. Once you have augmented your library, sit back, relax and Enjoy!!
Here’s the blurb on the back of the new book mark giving a summary of the books. For more details on each one, click on ‘My Books’ in the menu above.
by David | Jan 24, 2020
I suppose if you write a thriller starring a cute pug called Goccia (that’s Got/cha) and call it The Assassin’s Dog, and you have a creative sister who likes to set you challenges, it’s inevitable that along will come an amazing cut-out model of a pug!
This cute little lady involved 13 sheets of A4 card printed with around 60 shapes to be cut out, scored, folded and glued, numbered edge to numbered edge. And there were about 250 numbered edges…
Estimated time for construction written on the box: 12 hours, and they weren’t far wrong. But hey, she was worth it.
Thank you sister Jill and thank you flamingopaperie.co.uk for an amazing product.
by David | Dec 25, 2019
by David | Nov 30, 2019
After several months of procrastination, I have finally released the latest story in the Cotton & Silk Thrillers: The Assassin’s Dog, an edge-of-the-seat thriller that along with all the usual suspect also features a new character: the delightful pug dog Goccia.
Although it continues where ‘Remorseless’ left off, The Assassin’s Dog can also read read as a stand-alone story since there is enough information in the text to bring a new reader up to speed with Jennifer, Henry, Derek et al.
So if you are new to the Cotton & Silk Thrillers, it’s not a problem to read this one first and then pick up the others.
Ebook and paperback versions are available now from Amazon. If you shy away from Amazon for whatever reason, the paperback should also be available by ordering through bookshops in many places. Paperback versions are also available at very competitive prices through the excellent hive.co.uk (with free UK delivery), and through wordery.com (with free worldwide delivery).
Here’s what The Assassin’s Dog is all about:
Cosimo Graziano Rosselli. Mafia assassin, a man who prides himself on his humanity — his victims feel nothing as they die; they simply cease to exist.
Goccia (pron: ’got:cha): Cosimo Graziano Rosselli’s beloved pug. Totally obedient and too cute to ignore, she accompanies the assassin everywhere on his contract killings.
When newly promoted Detective Sergeant Jennifer Cotton’s close friend Detective Superintendent Trisha McVie disappears in mysterious circumstances, a huge search throughout the UK’s East Midlands proves fruitless and frustrating.
Little does Jennifer realise that the person behind her friend’s disappearance is far closer to home than she imagines.
Little does she realise that an elderly man she sees sitting with his placid pug dog in a pub in central Nottingham is the enigmatic assassin Cosimo Graziano Rosselli.
Little does she realise that Cosimo Graziano Rosselli is planning how and when to kill her …
“It will be instant, amore. One moment she will be alive, the next her soul will be on its way to heaven while her body crumples to a lifeless shell.”
When you’ve finished it — which will be tomorrow since once you’ve started it you won’t be able to put it down — please remember to post a review on either Amazon or Goodreads, or both! Enjoy!
by David | Aug 29, 2018
In 1895, Marchese Salvatore Brocanti abruptly abandoned the villa in the forests of Tuscany that had been his family home for generations. Today, it lies hidden, crumbling and forgotten. But why did the tyrannical artist flee the palatial villa? Was it cursed as he insisted? Did his wife and children really desert him as he claimed? Or were his stories simply smoke and mirrors to hide a more sinister purpose?
In 2018, after seeing extraordinary old prints of the villa, photographer Joe Oliver is determined to explore it. While on assignment with travel writer Evie Lorrigan to review the Brocanti estate, he breaks into the villa, only to find a maze of deception beyond his imagination.
When Evie mysteriously disappears, Joe is convinced she has become a victim of the villa’s secrets. But in attempting to rescue her, will Joe become a victim himself?
‘An Imperfect Revenge’ is a psychological thriller that explores one man’s crazed mission for retribution and its tragic consequences decades later for anyone who ventures too close.
Ebook and paperback versions are available now from Amazon. If you shy away from Amazon for whatever reason, the paperback should also be available by ordering through bookshops in many places. Paperback versions are available at very competitive prices through the excellent hive.co.uk (with free UK delivery), through wordery.com (with free worldwide delivery).
And when you’ve finished it — which will be tomorrow since once you’ve started it you won’t be able to put it down — remember to post a review on either Amazon or Goodreads, or both! Enjoy!
by David | Aug 5, 2018
Hi there,
I thought it was time to bring you up to date with the latest news about my books.
Firstly, for the three people left in the world who haven’t yet read any or all of the Rare Traits Trilogy (OK, I accept there might be one or two more than that), I have recently used the wonderful Vellum software to create an ebook box set. Yes, all three books in the trilogy are now available as one ebook download. You can find it exclusively on Amazon by typing ‘The Rare Traits Trilogy’ into the search bar on your Amazon site. Moreover, since it’s also on Kindle Unlimited, if you happen to be a subscriber, then you can download it for free. Otherwise, the price is hardly bank-breaking: £4.99; $6.55 or about €5.99 – it depends on exchange rates — bargain of the year!
The second big piece of news is that my new book, ‘An Imperfect Revenge’, is almost ready and I am planning to publish it by the end of this month. There’s quite a bit of work still to do yet, but I’m confident I’ll get there.
I now have a draft design for the cover, but I’m not going to release it yet, largely because the draft is covered in Shutterstock watermarks. That will all change very soon, so I’m hoping that in a week or two, I’ll be able to give you a preview of the cover and the back blurb synopsis.
However, I know you’d like some idea of what it’s all about, so, as a preview to the preview, here we go. The book is set entirely in Tuscany with the time frame split almost exactly between the 1890s and the present day. The ‘Imperfect Revenge’ of the title refers to an overbearing aristocratic Italian artist, Salvatore Brocanti, who swears revenge on his unfaithful wife Isabella, the nature of the revenge on both wife and her lover being pretty horrific and centring around the massive villa and estate that is the family home. However, it all goes rather wrong and, owing to the nature of what the artist sets up, there are huge consequences in the present day for several people who break into the long-abandoned villa …
Watch this space! |
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by David | Jun 22, 2018
KDP Select
Having experimented for almost a year with ebook distribution using outlets other than Amazon, I have come to the conclusion that for me, Amazon is the way to go. I am about to enroll all five books with KDP Select which means that from time to time, there will be either free or reduced price offers on one or more of the titles, and also, hopefully, they will be advertised more widely on Amazon. The flipside of this is that from now on, the ebooks of my five titles to date will be available only through Amazon.
Paperbacks
By contrast, the paperback versions of all the books will continue to be available through both Amazon and other online booksellers worldwide, and in many countries you can order them through your local bookstore — they won’t be on the shelves but the store can order them for you and often, e.g. with Waterstones in the UK, there is no delivery charge. You can also order signed versions directly from me, if you wish — just drop me a line.
Book Six!
The other big news is that my new book is currently going through the editing mill and it now has a new title — ‘An Imperfect Revenge’.
As you will know from previous posts, I had originally intended calling it ‘Villa D’Illuzioni’, but having talked to a number of people about it, I decided that title was less appropriate since it doesn’t translate well into English — it smacks of conjuring, which is nothing to do with the plot!
So ‘An Imperfect Revenge’ it is — I’ll keep you posted on progress.
by David | Aug 18, 2017
Just a reminder that my latest novel, Remorseless, will be published as an ebook on Amazon and most other ebook sites tomorrow, 19 August. The Amazon release will be discounted to just £1.99 or equivalent for a limited period. To ensure you get your copy as soon as possible, you can click on the pre-order button at your preferred ebook site now and the book will be delivered to your ebook reader tomorrow. And remember, the ebook version of Irrefutable Evidence will be free on Amazon for five days starting 19 August to coincide with with the release of Remorseless.
The paperback version of Remorseless is also available from Amazon and, as for all my books, if you would rather support your local bookstore, you will soon be able to order it from there. More information on that when it’s set up.
by David | Aug 12, 2017
… Saturday 19 August!
At last, after a rather longer period of editing etc. than I anticipated, Remorseless, the second novel in the Cotton & Silk Thriller series is ready. For a limited time, it will be priced at just £1.99, $2.99, €1.99, or equivalent, after which it will go up to £2.99 or equivalent.
So don’t delay! In fact you can take action right now by pre-ordering the book. Follow this link for Amazon UK, or this one for Amazon US. For other Amazon sites, simply block and copy ‘Remorseless A Cotton & Silk Thriller’ and paste it into the search bar. Once you have pre-ordered it, it will automatically hit your Kindle on 19 August.
Pre-ordering will help me too in that the book will get a spike of sales on its first day of publication, pushing it up the Amazon ratings and therefore making it more noticeable to others.
You have a Nook or a Kobo or one of the other brands of e-reader? Remorseless will be available for download on those too very soon.
What’s Remorseless all about? Here’s the backblurb from the paperback version, which I hope will also be available from 19 August:
Detective Constable Jennifer Cotton is convalescing at her stepfather’s villa on Sardinia, slowly recovering from the vicious assault in Nottinghamshire’s Harlow Wood that almost claimed her life. Initially convinced that her assailant will not risk being caught by attacking her again, she is forced to face reality when a killing spree commences in England targeting individuals from that fateful night.
However, when the search for the serial killer goes cold and Jennifer is back to full health, she puts all her energy into her new role with the London Metropolitan Police’s Art Fraud Squad who are investigating a multi-million-pound art-forgery racket based in Italy.
But has Jennifer’s nemesis gone to ground permanently or is she closer than Jennifer thinks, biding her time?
REMORSELESS is the gripping sequel to Irrefutable Evidence in which Jennifer once again finds herself in the cross hairs of a merciless serial killer who will stop at nothing until she has achieved her revenge, a killer without scruples, a killer bent on retribution.
Yes, it’s the sequel to Irrefutable Evidence. But will there be more in the series? Of course there will, in a year or so, after I’ve finished the novel I’m currently working on: La Villa D’Illuzioni, a stand-alone suspense thriller set in the heart of Tuscany.
What? You haven’t read Irrefutable Evidence yet! Here’s another good deal. For five days starting on 19 August, Irrefutable Evidence will be FREE on Amazon instead of the normal £2.99.
by David | Apr 9, 2017
It’s all systems go for CrimeFest in Bristol next month. Arrangements are still on-going, but one exciting bit of news is that I’ve been longlisted for this year’s FlashBang flash fiction competition. In case that means nothing to you, flash fiction is very short stories, typically 99-150 words. For CrimeFest, the challenge was to write a crime novel in ≤150 words!
Longlisted means that my flash fiction story has been included among 12 stories chosen by the judges from a total entry of 70. For obvious reasons, the judges are not given the names of the authors; they just see the stories. The longlist is currently being reduced to a shortlist of 5 stories from which the winner is selected during the CrimeFest meeting . Authors on the shortlist will be informed later this month.
Again, for obvious reasons I can’t give details of my story at this stage, but I shall be posting it later on regardless of whether I get any further. I’ve written a couple of others too, which I’ll post very soon. To give you an idea of what 150 words looks like, this post is 183!
by David | Mar 2, 2017
I am pleased to tell you that I have been invited to sit on an Indie Author panel at this year’s CrimeFest meeting in Bristol, UK, in May. The panel is moderated by best-selling crime author Zoë Sharp and my three fellow panelists are AA Abbott, Barbara Fagan Speake and Ian Sutherland, all of whom are great crime writers – check them out on Amazon!
This is CrimeFest’s ninth annual meeting, and it gets bigger and more popular every year. What’s it all about? Here’s an extract from the CrimeFest website explaining the concept:
CRIMEFEST is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics. Drawing top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world, it gives all delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in a friendly, informal and inclusive atmosphere.
The CRIMEFEST programme consists of interviews with its featured and highlighted guest authors; over forty panels with more than a hundred participating authors; a gala awards dinner; and one or two surprises.
CRIMEFEST was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention. The British hosts were encouraged to continue with a similar annual event and, as a result, the first CRIMEFEST was organised in June 2008. The convention has grown to become not only one of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe, but also one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar.
Included in the programme is a Flash Fiction competition in which authors have been invited to submit a crime novel comprising ≤150 words! I’ve written two (flash-fiction novels, not words) in the last couple of days — what else are morning beach walks for except contriving extremely concise murder and mayhem — and I’m still deciding which to submit. I’ll post the one I’m not submitting here in a few days’ time.
From the programme, the meeting should be a packed four days with great opportunities to meet with like-minded authors along with many others in the industry. I shall be featuring ‘Irrefutable Evidence’ as my book, with of course mention of ‘Remorseless’ which, fingers crossed, should have been released by then.
More details and updated news on CrimeFest as and when they are available.
by David | Feb 5, 2017
Since we live in a world of alternative facts, another change to the title of my latest book should seem nothing out of the ordinary.
Alternative fact one was the working title of Unfinished Business, but as I pointed out in my previous post, this title has been over-used. Hence the move to alternative fact two: Murderous Motives. However, after cogitating on that for a while, mainly on my bike while charging around both the Lincolnshire countryside in semi-freezing conditions, and more recently the Kamala, Phuket countryside in tropical hothouse conditions, the niggling feeling that this wasn’t the best title grew.
So now it’s changed again to Remorseless, which I think is a stronger title and as you will see once you read it, has a wider meaning than its predecessor.
That’s it; no more alternatives. It will be Remorseless. That’s a fact. No more changes. All that remains is to finish up the editing and then get it out there since I’m sure you are itching to read it.
My other two missions for the month of February are firstly to continue with the plot outline of book six, provisionally called Ca’ Abandonata. Set entirely in Italy, this novel has a supernatural twist that is very different from all my previous books. The characters are all new too. So far it’s just at the drafting stage. If that goes well — it’s looking good so far — then writing will begin soon.
Mission two is to continue writing to as many literary agents as I can in the hope that Irrefutable Evidence and Remorseless might appeal to one of them. It’s an uphill battle that makes climbing Everest a breeze by comparison, but I’ll keep trying. If you happen to be best buddy with a literary agent who’s yearning for the next blockbuster, please let me know …
In the meantime, feedback on Remorseless is good and the hunt for toopies,tie-bows typos etc continues.
by David | Jan 4, 2017
Finally a title for my latest book! and a cover.
Throughout the writing of the book, which started back in the spring of 2016, the working title was always Unfinished Business. It was a good title since it reflected what the book is all about – a sequel to Irrefutable Evidence in which Olivia Freneton’s outstanding account, as she sees it, is settled. However, on searching Amazon, I discovered that there are more than twenty books with the same title — I stopped counting after twenty! And that was the problem with all the other titles I came up with: someone else had used them. Not that it’s an absolute requirement to invent an original title, but on the whole, it’s to be preferred.
So, Murderous Motives it is, along with a tagline that leads into the title. Once the editing is over, I’ll be announcing a release date. In the meantime, I may soon be releasing at least a part of it to subscribers to my newsletter, probably later this month once I’ve had a bit of feedback from beta readers.
