Category: #writerslife

All the fun at the fabulous Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate

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With Louise Beech, Paul Burston and Mark Edwards

This year the annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate took place from 21 – 24 July. I always look forward to it because not only is it a fabulous festival packed with crime writing panel and events, but it’s also a chance to catch up with my writer mates. This year was no exception, in fact I think it was the best yet!

I arrived a day early, on the Wednesday, as my panel was scheduled for 9.30am the next day. I’d been intending to travel by train, but 10 minutes before I was due to leave for the station I got an alert on my phone telling me that my train was cancelled (the rails were a casualty of the immensely hot weather the previous two days). So, instead, I jumped in the car and drove the four plus hours to Harrogate.

On Thursday I attended the opening of Creative Thursday, by festival chair and wonderful author, Denise Mina, and then it was time to get to work and onto the Creative Thursday Alumni panel with Mari Hannah, Lesley Thomson, and David Bishop. It was a lot of fun to be on a panel with these brilliant authors and the time flew past! It was lovely to meet the participants of Creative Thursday, and chat to them about their writing journeys during the coffee break, before they continued on to workshops with the fantastic Vaseem Khan, and Greg and Kate Mosse.

Over the next few days I caught up with writer friends old and new, met fabulous editors Leodora Darlington and Victoria Haslam for the first time in person (having joined my publisher in Covid times our meetings have been virtual until now), and met up with my brilliant agent, Oli Munson. I also attended Luca Veste’s book launch for his latest (wonderful) novel You Never Said Goodbye, and the hugely fun Thomas & Mercer party. Other top highlights were seeing the legends that are Michael Connelly and Mark Billingham on stage, and meeting Michael Connelly.

There really is no place like Harrogate Festival.

I’m already counting the days until next year!

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

#CoverReveal – Death in the Sunshine

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I’m thrilled to show you the cover of my forthcoming book – Death in the Sunshine. Isn’t it gorgeous!

Death in the Sunshine is the first book in my new Retired Detectives Club series and it will be published by Thomas & Mercer in March 2022. It’s available for pre-order now – click HERE to head over to Amazon.

Here’s the blurb:

Four ex-cops in a retirement paradise. Sure they’ll rest…when the killer is caught.

After a long career as a police officer, Moira hopes a move to a luxury retirement community will mean she can finally leave the detective work to the youngsters and focus on a quieter life. But it turns out The Homestead is far from paradise. When she discovers the body of a young woman floating in one of the pools, surrounded by thousands of dollar bills, her crime-fighting instinct kicks back in and she joins up with fellow ex-cops—and new neighbours—Philip, Lizzie and Rick to investigate the murder.

With the case officers dropping ball after ball, Moira and the gang take matters into their own hands, turning undercover homicide investigators. But the killer is desperate to destroy all the evidence and Moira, Philip, Lizzie and Rick soon find themselves getting in the way—of the murderer and the police.

Just when they thought they could finally relax, they discover that someone has infiltrated their ‘safe’ community. Can they hunt down the murderer and get back to retiring in peace? And after all the excitement, will they want to?

Fancy being part of the new #TeamLori UK advance reader team? Here’s how…

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DDT IamLori Postcard

#TeamLori UK is go and I’m super excited!

To help spread the word about the Lori Anderson series I’m putting together a small advance reader group called #TeamLori.

The idea is that members of #TeamLori will get early proof copies of new books in the series so they can share their thoughts on review sites, social media, with their friends and family, and basically act as fabulous bookish cheerleaders.

Founder members of #TeamLori will get a paperback proof of Lori Anderson book three – Deep Dirty Truth – along with some limited edition goodies. Membership is totally free and limited to twenty readers at the moment.

To join #TeamLori you don’t need to be a blogger (although bloggers are of course super welcome) but you do need to be UK-based (as this is for the UK edition), enthusiastic about reading thrillers and have enjoyed earlier books in the Lori Anderson series.

So if you fancy being one of the first to join #TeamLori don’t delay, click this link to SurveyMonkey and tell me why you’d like be one of the founder members of #TeamLori:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FL725Q5 

*** TEAM LORI MEMBERSHIP IS CURRENTLY CLOSED ***

*** THANK YOU FOR SUCH AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE ***

3-2-1… Crime Fiction Coach is launched! #crimefiction #amwriting #writerslife

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Crime-Fiction-Coach-Revision-1-v2-main-1

This week the secret project I’ve been working on with fellow crime writers Susi Holliday, AK Benedict, and Louise Voss launched and I’m super excited that it’s finally out in the world.

We set up Crime Fiction Coach because we know what it’s like to be just starting out writing your first novel, or having written a novel not being sure what to do next, and we wanted to make a place for those people to come and get advice and support. We also wanted to create something that is flexible to individual needs – yes we do standard coaching programmes, critiques and writing packages, but we also recognise that everyone is different and so we can create a programme or package that’s tailored for a person’s needs if our standard services aren’t hitting the spot.

Our coaches are experienced crime writers with over 30 years of publishing experience and a host of bestselling novels and awards nominations between them. And we work with all sorts of writers from complete beginners to published authors.

Whatever someone’s looking for – sounding board, process and motivational coach, plot buddy, style, voice and character guidance, draft critiquing mentor, submission package preparation and lots more – we’re here to help at every stage of the process from blank page to submission-ready manuscript.

As well as our paid for services, we run a free Facebook group for new writers and those aspiring to publication where we post writing tips, and run live sessions, QAs and web chats focused on different aspects of writing and publishing.

Find out more about Crime Fiction Coach HERE

And join our Facebook group by hopping to FB HERE

CFC Group

CTG does THRILLERFEST!

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I’m super excited to be attending ITW THRILLERFEST in New York for the very first time this week!

Watch out for lots of Thrillerfest related tweets in my twitter feed and, if you’re at Thrillerfest, do come along to the Thriller Award Nominees panel – HARDCOVER, PAPERBACK OR E-BOOK? – at 8am on Friday, where I’ll be answering Panel Master Anthony Franze’s questions alongside Christine Bell, Walt Gregg, Jeff Gunhus, Sheena Kamal, Alan McDermott & Rysa Walker.

I’ll also be at the ITW THRILLER AWARDS on Saturday night as DEEP DOWN DEAD (Lori Anderson book one) is a nominee for the Best First Novel award – so wish me luck!

Thrillerfest runs from 10 – 14 July and the whole schedule looks amazing with 2018 ThrillerMaster George R.R. Martin, 2018 Silver Bullet Award recipient James Rollins, 2017 ThrillerMaster Lee Child, 2017 Silver Bullet Award recipient Lisa Gardner, and 2018 Spotlight Guest Megan Abbott, and MANY more authors

 Hop over to the Thrillerfest website to find out more: http://thrillerfest.com

Price Drop Alert: #MyLittleEye just £1.99 on #Kindle for limited time! #crimefiction

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MLE 1.99 Q1

Quick, listen up… the ebook of My Little Eye – my brand new ‘hunt for a serial killer’ thriller is on a special £1.99 price promotion on Kindle.

My Little Eye came out last month in ebook and I’ve been thrilled at the rave reviews it’s been getting from readers, bloggers and fellow crime writers. Here’s a couple of examples of what people are saying:

“My Little Eye is an enthralling, intriguing and twisty tale for all of us armchair detectives who think we know it all.” Liz Nugent, author of LYING IN WAIT and UNRAVELLING OLIVER. 

“The first novel in what promises to be a riveting new series, My Little Eye is a one-sitting read: gripping, clever and worryingly plausible.” Mick Herron, author of SLOW HORSES and SPOOK STREET

“My Little Eye is a bang on psychological thriller of the most addictive kind.” Goodreads

“Beautifully paced writing that had me speeding through every chapter at a rate of knots. Easily one of my favourite reads this year so far.” Goodreads

 

Fancy finding out what My Little Eye is all about? Well, here’s the blurb…

Can a group of true crime addicts take on the police to catch a serial killer? Could you catch the killer? 

Clementine Starke thinks she can. As a string of young women are found dead in their homes surrounded by rose petals, it’s becoming clear that London has a new serial killer; ‘The Lover’. Reeling from her own disturbing past, Clementine bands together with an online crime collective and immerses herself in the case, desperate to beat the police and catch The Lover before he kills again. But with the body count rising, Clementine discovers that trying to catch a killer is safer from behind a keyboard.

If My Little Eye sounds like your sort of read then click on this link to Amazon UK to grab it at the bargain price of £1.99.

MY LITTLE EYE ROSE 1.99