The first week after launching a new book is...

exhausting. Have wasted lots of nervous energy wondering what people will think of it, worrying if they'll like it . There's also the views of the family to consider. I felt really squirmingly embarrassed when I was told that both my mother and uncle were reading it simultaneously. Their comments were interesting. Then there's the colleagues at work who think that they are in it. I thought long and hard abut this and no one I know currently is in it and characters are generally an amalgam of people who I have met over the years and always tinkered about with and changed, especially by gender. Still it doesn't stop people  ,' I know who that is,' or 'She's me isn't she?'

Then there's the social media to try and keep up with and reply to. I just hope people do like 'Everything But the Girl' especially as I'm half way through a sequel. Phew, I think I'll go and have a lie down in a darkened room for a while.

'Everything But the Girl' cosy crime fiction out today!

I'm really excited because my first adult book is out today. It's a cosy crime novel starring an educational psychologist who stumbles into a sideline as an animal behaviourist/investigator. She deals with horsebox shy and depressed equines and skulduggery in the pigeon racing world. But then her day job and sideline collide as one girl is murdered and another disappears. Enter a mad Irish mother in law Orla, a detective Rossi and a fiendish plot.. Liddy helps solve it by luck, a series of blunders and of course psychology. Available as an ebook on amazon priced £1!

New book for adults out soon!

I'm really excited to be releasing my new book, a cosy crime, humorous murder mystery in the Autumn. It's called 'Everything But the Girl' and is a Liddy Marbles mystery. More when I finalise my cover and write the blurb.

NEW ! The Liddy Marbles Mysteries

I'm very excited to tell you about my new venture. I have now branched out into adult fiction and my new cosy crime novel, 'Everything But the Girl- A Liddy Marbles Mystery' is going to be released as an ebook in the Autumn . This will be quickly followed by another title.

Liddy Marbles is an educational psychologist, who in the course of her work finds herself involved in a mystery when a school girl she works with goes missing. Liddy unwittingly gets involved in a complex mixture of crimes, murder, fraud and intimidation. She also realises that through her job , she does have some skills which can help solve these crimes, albeit in an unconventional style. The result is a lighthearted, jolly read which I hope you enjoy.

I will be publishing excerpts through this blog as a taster soon so watch this space!

Tools for editing

Did you know that you can send your documents to your kindle fire to read ( as you can an ordinary kindle) but then on kindle fire you can also edit them? Great for a last minute edit! There's something about reading your book on a kindle which really helps you notice mistakes.

By the way Jade Fry and the Village Spy is FREE ALL WEEKEND. Why not treat your 8-12 year old with a fun, reluctant reader type story?

Do kids ebooks sell?

Do kids ebooks sell well? I don't know but I'm interested in your thoughts. I wonder if parents would let their child browse through amazon etc, unpatrolled as it were, to buy whatever they like at whatever cost? I don't think I would  have when my children were below a certain age. So are authors trying to appeal to parents? I suppose in a sense they always were when they published in print form, but clearly the experiences are different. You don't take a kid to a computer, kindle, tablet etc to spend their pocket or birthday money. It's hard to get your head round how it works and how it might work in the future. Any thoughts anyone?

The 'Jade Fry , Private Eye' series

I'm very excited as the third book in this series will be available on kindle this weekend! Jade Fry and the Village Spy follows what happens when the Melton is in the Best Kept Village competition. Melton and it's neighbours Paxby are neck and neck and when it comes to the crucial final week of judging things start to get nasty. Who has dumped manure on Melton village green? Or scrawled graffiti on the village hall? Worse is to come when Rex is dognapped! A frantic Jade Fry turns private eye to solve the crime before things get really out of hand.

This is a humorous story for children, mostly girls aged 8-12yrs. Like all the Jade Fry books it's also a very inclusive book and features a boy with Autism Spectrum Condition ( although this is never specially said). The boy Connor has clear features shown by children with this condition but is always portrayed positively,  in fact Connor is always critical to the solving of the mystery because of his memory, powers of observation etc. I hope children enjoy the book.