Month: December 2021

My Writing Life: 2021 in Review

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Visiting Imagined Things Bookstore / On stage @Harrogate Festival / Green room @Harrogate Festival

Well 2021 has been a strange kind of year hasn’t it?! As the end of the year approaches I like to reflect on what’s happened over the past twelve months and start to plan for the new year.

For me, this year has been an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve moved house – an interesting process during a time earlier in the year when we had more Covid-related restrictions in place – but well worth it. I’ve also, like so many people over the past eighteen months, experienced the sudden loss of a close family member.

2021 has also been the first year for five years that I’ve not had a new book published which has felt quite odd but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy.

As well as doing novel critiques and coaching new and more experienced writers as part of www.crimefictioncoach.com I’ve been putting the finishing touches to the first book in my new Retired Detectives Club series.

DEATH IN THE SUNSHINE will be published in March 2022 by Thomas & Mercer, and I’m currently writing the first draft of the second book in the series. I’m super excited about this new series and can’t wait for it to be out in the world.

It was lovely that after very few crime writing events being able to go ahead in 2020, there were more able to take place this year. I was on a panel at the always brilliant Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate back in July and it was huge fun to meet up with readers, bloggers, reviewers and fellow writers over the four day festival – all united in our love of everything crime fiction. There have been more virtual festivals starting over the past couple of years which I think is fantastic as it makes festivals even more accessible. Hopefully (Covid-safety permitting) 2022 will see even more festivals – face-to-face, virtual and hybrid – able to take place.

My first task in 2022 will be to finish a polished first draft of Retired Detectives Book 2 and send it off to my editor by my deadline at the end of January. I’ll then be focusing on the editing of that book before starting the planning for the third instalment in the series. And I’m really looking forward to launching DEATH IN THE SUNSHINE in March.

Whatever your 2021 has been like, I’d like to wish you health, happiness and success in 2022.

Steph x

image of DEATH IN THE SUNSHINE paperback against a backdrop of palm trees in the sun

My Top 3 Christmas-themed Reads

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I love a Christmas themed murder mystery at this time of year.

For my top three Christmas-themed reads I’ve picked a favourite from a couple of years back plus two brand new releases that I think you’ll enjoy as much as I do.

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict

Lily Armitage returns to rural stately pile, Endgame House, one last time to take part in the annual family tradition – the Christmas Game. Along with her relatives she must try to solve 12 clues and find 12 keys. The prize for the winner is ownership of Endgame House. But as the game begins, and the snow blocks the roads and holds the family captive, people begin to die. Lily has to solve the murders and the clues if she’s to have any chance of making it through Christmas alive. This atmospheric locked room mystery is a super more-ish, puzzle-filled read that’ll have you solving the clues along with Lily. It was published last month and you can find out more HERE.

Mistletoe and Crime by Chris McDonald

Published earlier this month, this modern cosy mystery sees best mates and amateur sleuths Adam and Colin investigating the death of a homeless man. Although the police have written the man’s death off as an accident, Adam and Colin think foul play is involved. Undeterred by a warning from the cops to stay out of it, they leap into action and soon find themselves getting much closer to the killer than they’d ever imagined. This is a fun, jaunty-paced read with lots of clever classic and modern Christmas references. You can find out more HERE.

The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday

This advent calendar themed novel is a fast-paced race against time to catch a killer who has gone undetected for a long time. When an advent calendar is sent to the police, and they discover there’s a crime scene behind each door, DC Becky Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must piece the clues together and find the serial killer before they strike again. This is a twisty, turny serial killer novel with lots of Christmassy action that’ll pull you in and along for the ride. It was published a few years ago and is still just as fresh. You can find out more HERE.

So if you’re looking for a Christmas-themed read I highly recommend you check out these books. Then pour yourself some mulled wine and have a cheeky mince pie as you settle down for a good read.