Back To Savage

So for the past couple of months I've been working on a stand-alone book, but today I returned to the Major Crimes suite at Crownhill police station to reacquaint myself with Charlotte and her colleagues. DC Enders was particularly sardonic as I entered the room: 'Nice of you to make it in. It's Friday tomorrow. One more day and you needn't have bothered. You could have waited until after Christmas.' DS Riley enquired if I'd seen some article in the Guardian that morning while DC Calter asked if I was going to join her in a new year fitness regime. 'Running the half again,' she said. 'Could do with a training partner. If you're up to it.' I almost choked on the doughnut I was eating and said I'd think about joining her. I passed the rest of the bag to DI Davies who thanked me and then gave me a wink. 'Three-thirty at Lingfield.' Davies pulled a doughnut from the bag. 'Stun Gun. A tenner each way. Buy me a drink if she comes in, OK?' I nodded and went in search of DI Savage. In the corridor I stepped to one side to make room for DSupt Hardin. 'Brown stuff, Sennen. Up to our bloody necks in the muck. I blame it on the lack of quality officers, do you hear me?' The DSupt moved by and I scuttled along. I rapped on the door to DI Savage's office. A woman's voice beckoned me to enter. I opened the door. Charlotte Savage looked up from her screen. 'DC Sennen,' she said. 'Where the bloody hell have you been for the past three months?'

To be continued...

Bad Blood In Good Company

I've just discovered that Bad Blood is one of Amazon's editors' picks for the best Kindle thriller and crime books of 2013. There are quite a few luminaries on the list and it's a little humbling to be alongside the likes of Stephen King, Ian Rankin, John Grisham, Peter James etc. There are also four other Avon authors on the list so my publishers must be doing something right!

Bad Blood also makes the overall best 150 books of the year so I'm well pleased!

Top thrillers books list

Top 150 books list

Fingers crossed that Cut Dead can do as well in 2014.

What's Next?

Ah, if only I knew! Being a writer is not dissimilar to being a freelance programmer - you never know what is round the corner. Except when I was a programmer projects would fall from the sky into my lap: manna from heaven, money from heaven. There were lean times but something usually turned up just as we were down to our last tin of baked beans. With writing you have to create your own work and it's on spec. If your agent or publisher doesn't like what you've done then you are in a spot of bother.

Charlotte Savage book number three - Cut Dead - is in the bag and is out in February. I have started on book four, but it may not be the next book to be completed. Currently I'm working on a stand alone novel titled The House on the Moor. It's about a house on Dartmoor (the clue's in the title!) and there's murder, violence and a number of disturbing characters. Can't tell you much more except the book may develop into a loosely linked series with books two and three being called The House by the Shore and The House in the Woods. It's possible that none of these books will ever see the light of day - I'm very much feeling my way at the moment - it's equally possible that the characters might jump ship and end up in a future CS novel.

For all Charlotte Savage fans who, to be honest, care not a jot about any standalones, don't worry - book four will be along in early 2015.

Cut Dead - New Cover

Pleased to announce (and display) the new cover for Cut Dead. It's a change from the previous two covers and while I loved the look of the abstract designs I feel this captures the atmosphere of the CS series much better. You can only go against the grain so far and for some people the covers for the first two books didn't shout "crime thriller" quite enough. I don't think there's any doubt with this one (honestly, it's not all that grim inside!).

(click image for larger)

Latest News

(it's the sign of a lame post which is titled "Latest News" but there you go!)

Bad Blood has been doing well since ebook publication day and is currently bubbling around the 100 chart position on Amazon. More gratifyingly the book has garnished a number of good reviews from readers and nothing is as important as getting feedback - especially positive feedback! For those wanting to read in paperback you've a month to wait until the physical copy comes out.

Meanwhile, back in the shed, I'm hard at work on the final edits for book three - Cut Dead. It's proving a bit of a slog. Doubly so because it is now the school holidays and the kids are wondering why we haven't taken a trip yet (as an aside, the little one is a bit of a sinophile and has decided the summer holiday should be spent in China. Not sure, at six years old, she is quite ready for such an adventure. The bank balance certainly isn't).

After the roller-coaster ride that was Bad Blood, Cut Dead returns to a more chilling storyline. When the bodies of three women are found in a grave on an isolated farm, Devon and Cornwall Police realise they have discovered a body dump relating to a notorious cold case. DI Savage and the team must track down the killer before he strikes again.

And book four? - yes, in a few spare moments I've been writing some scenes for book four. Charlotte finally gets on the trail of the person who killed her daughter and there's another serial murderer on the loose (I pity the people who have to "sell" Devon with all these nutters running around) and this latest one even scares me. I have the provisional title too, but you'll have to wait a little while longer for that!

Bad Blood Locations

I've mapped all the locations for Bad Blood in chapter order onto a Google map. You can read the book and view the location for each scene as you read (or wait until afterwards of course). As long as you don't click chapter links you haven't read there should be no spoilers. Click here to view.

Touch Locations

For anyone interested in finding out more about the area in which Touch takes place I've highlighted the majority of the locations on a map which you can find here. Be aware if you are reading the book at the moment that there are mild plot spoilers.

Publication Day!

It's publication day for Bad Blood. Eventually! For all those people who have waited patiently - some possibly for as long as two years - book two in the DI Charlotte Savage series has finally arrived (in ebook form at least - you'll have to wait until September for the paperback).

Bad Blood is a different kind of book to Touch. There are fewer chills but a whole lot more thrills as DI Savage gets to grips with the hard men of Plymouth's underworld and DS Riley finds himself in very deep water.

By the way the wait for book three won't be anything like as long: it will be out in January 2014.

Bad Blood is coming... honestly! BUT if you can't wait until the 11th July the good news is that you can download the first third of the book for FREE from Amazon. A sampler will be released on the 13th June. You can pre-order now and it will appear on your Kindle on the day.

Click here to go to Amazon to get the sample.

I'm really pleased that Touch is to be included in an ebook "bundle" along with books from bestselling authors Paul Finch and Neil White. Paul Finch's Stalkers has sold an absolute stack of books and Neil White's Cold Kill was also a bestseller. The set is out on the 20th June (but you can preorder now and they will arrive on your Kindle on publication day). Should see you through a few Summer evenings... but you might not sleep much after you've read them!

Click here to go to Amazon UK.

I've drawn the winner for the Win a Kindle competition and the winner is... @lkmartan (entered on Twitter). Commiserations to everyone else but you'll probably have another chance because I'm thinking of running a similar competition for the paperback publication of Bad Blood. That takes place on the 12th September (although the ebook is out on 11th July). Thanks again to everyone who entered.

Free Fiction!

We all like something for nothing and I'm pleased to say that a short story of mine will be appearing in a free ebook collection to be published on the 10th June. The collection features tales by Paul Finch,  Jacqui Rose, Laurence O'Bryan, Luca Veste, Michael Russell and myself. There are also extracts from forthcoming books (in my case Bad Blood).

You can preorder the collection on Amazon now and it will be delivered to your Kindle on publication date. 

Oh, and did I mention that the book is free? ;-)

Bad Blood Cover

I'm pleased to reveal the cover art for Bad Blood. Having gone for a simple graphic for Touch the brief for book two was always going to be tricky as the artist had to stick to the same style. I'm delighted with the result and credit must go to Caroline Hogg for coming up with the idea for the motif.

(click image to see larger)

Bad Blood will be released in paperback on the 12th September. It's already available for pre order on Amazon and at Waterstones. The ebook will be out some time in July (sorry, I don't have the exact date yet!).

Touch In The Wild!

Just to prove you can easily find a copy of Touch (if you want to enter the competition), here's a snap taken at Morrisons, Plymouth, yesterday.

(for the really keen here's a map of how to get there!)

Win a Kindle!

You could win a Kindle Paperwhite, a Kindle Fire or an Amazon gift voucher for £100 by entering the all new and sparkly Mark Sennen 'Spot a Copy of Touch' competition.

Here's what you've got to do:

Find a paperback copy of Touch (in a bookshop, supermarket or on your kitchen table!) and take a picture if it. You don't have to buy the book! You can find the book in Asda, Morrisons, Tesco (from 25th April), WHSmith, WHSmith Travel and even in some bookshops!

Then enter via Facebook, Twitter or other social media:

On Twitter

Tweet the picture, say where you saw it (e.g. in Morrisons Plymouth, my bookshelf, local library), and include the hashtag #MarkSennenTouch in the Tweet (so I can track your entry).

On Facebook

Post the picture on my Facebook page with a message saying where you saw the book.

Other

Upload the picture to any social media (such as Pinterest, Google+, etc.) and say where you saw the book. Important: If you are not using Twitter or Facebook then you need send me the link to the page where you posted the picture otherwise I won't know you have entered! You can do this on the contact page on my website.

The competition is open to anyone in the UK so tell your friends so they've got a chance of winning too. Deadline for entries is 13th May.

Good luck!

(visit the Competition Hunter website for more contests)

Terms

1. The competition will run until midnight on May 13th 2013.
2. Entries from the UK only.
3. One entry per person.
4. No purchase is necessary.
5. Your social media post must include a photograph of the paperback copy of Touch and must say where you saw the book.
6. If you don't enter via Twitter or Facebook then you must submit a link to your social media post via the contact page on my website.
7. The winner will be chosen at random from entries submitted.
8. If for some reason it proves impossible to contact the winner a new selection will be made from existing entries.
9. The prize is one of either a Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire (as linked above) or an Amazon gift voucher worth £100.
10. There is no cash alternative.
11. Please allow 28 days for delivery of prize.
12. The name of the winner will be posted on this blog.
13. No responsibility will be accepted for entries incomplete, delayed or not received for whatever reason.
14. Entry implies acceptance of these rules.

My Writing Space

A couple of people have asked me about my work environment, my "shack" in other words (or cell if I'm feeling particularly pressured). I've put together a ThingLink image so anyone interested can see what my office space looks like. Hover your mouse over the image or click here to view full size on the ThingLink site.

Two Weeks

No, that's not the title of my new movie script, nor the number of weeks until spring finally arrives. It's the time left until the paperback of Touch is released. You should be able to find it on shelves of a number of well known supermarkets: Morrison's and Asda (on the 11th April) and Tescos (from the 24th). It will also be available in WHSmiths and, to coin a phrase, all good bookshops (if your local bookshop doesn't have it in then I'm sure they will be happy to order it for you). Finally, if you would like a copy delivered to your front door, it will of course be available from online retailers too.

OK, OK, so there are those of you out there who are only interested in the next book. It will be out in ebook form in July and 12th September for the paperback.

It Doesn't Get Much Better...

Well, this is what it is all about. Touch has sold a stack of digital copies, it has been a number one thriller on Amazon, number one in police procedurals too. There's been a lot of positive reviews and I've received numerous emails telling me how much people have liked the book. However, nothing quite matches the thrill of opening this parcel which came this morning courtesy of my editor at HarperCollins:

Going to get a cup of tea and read a book now. Both of them!

(BTW you lot will have to wait until 11th April to get your grubby hands on a copy)

Ice Cream?

After last week's Google Play promotion Touch has managed to get to number two in the Play book chart. It's just above Anything but Vanilla which I'm led to believe is a treatise on ice cream.

Google: Read of the Week

Thrilled to see that Touch is Read of the Week on Google Play. No idea how Google figure alongside Amazon, but it's good to see them trying to get in on the act. Now I just need to buy a Nexus 4 to integrate myself fully into the Google experience. Oh, shame, my better half is shouting "no" to that :-(

Touch and Bad Blood Samples

I've put up some sample chapters from Touch as well as the prologue from Bad Blood. Click here for Touch and here for Bad Blood. More from Bad Blood soon!

Who is the Greatest Plymothian?

The Herald is holding a poll to find the greatest Janner of them all. We've got Sir Francis Drake, Scott of the Antarctic and Nancy Astor to start with. There's John Chard, hero of Rorke's Drift, and former Labour Party leader Michael Foot. So far so good. We can add artists Robert Lenkiewicz and Beryl Cook and movie score composer Ron Goodwin who composed Where Eagles Dare, 633 Squadron (brilliant), Force Ten From Navarone and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines.

Then things go a little, ahem, astray: Wayne Sleep, Tom Daley and Dawn French. Charlotte Holmes (she's Miss England as I'm sure you know), Stanley Gibbons (yes, the stamp guy), Larry Speare??? - You'll have to be a local to know this one - he's runs "one of Plymouth's biggest carpet and bed stockists" (that's according to the Herald).

Now, I don't want to be a snob or a party pooper but are people going to be talking about Tom Daley in five hundred years time? Is Dawn French's portrayal of a female vicar in the Vicar of Dibley going to be up there alongside Nancy Astor's role as the first woman MP? Do Wayne Sleep's exploits on the boards match those of Scott down in the Antarctic?(cue numerous dancing on ice puns/jokes)

Make your own mind up! You can vote here: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/VOTE-Cast-vote-greatest-Janner/story-17993376-detail/story.html

Not a bad start...

It's been a week since publication day and although Touch hasn't reached the dizzying heights it did last year I'm quite happy with its progress. The book has managed to break into the top 1000 on Amazon UK and is flirting with the top twenty in the police procedurals category. I'm hoping my new masters (well, it's actually mistresses, but that doesn't sound quite right!) at HC Towers are happy too. Roll on April 11th and the publication of the paperback (which will see me scurrying around Plymouth taking pictures of any copy of the book I can find.).

Pulling Teeth

The Killer Reads team at HarperCollins were kind enough to ask me some questions and they didn't even have to use much force to elicit the answers. You can read my responses here:

http://www.killerreads.com/news/desert-islands-leeks-and-writers-block-killer-reads-chats-to-self-publishing-sensation-mark-sennen/

Publication Day

Today's the day when Touch goes from being a self-published book to a traditionally published book. The new version of Touch, published by HarperCollins imprint Avon, is now available at Amazon and other ebook retailers. The book has been given a professional edit and there are a couple of changes to one or two scenes; nothing to alter the basic story though. The book also features an extract from book two, Bad Blood. Once again I must thank everyone who bought the book - without you I would never have got this far. Roll on publication day for book two and three! (the dates of which seem worryingly close...)

Touch at: Amazon, iTunes

Article In The independent

I've been mentioned, along with several other successful self-pubbers, by Boyd Tonkin in The Independent. Aparently those who have succeeded in self-publishing are part of the digital-media elite. Er, I hardly think being a jobbing programmer counts as being a member of an elite, but there you go.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/boyd-tonkin-down-in-the-mine-of-selfpublishing-fortune-favours-the-digitalmedia-elite-8456218.html

Dum dee-dee dum-dum. Dum dum. I can finally reveal the title for book number two is going to be Bad Blood. The Wikipedia definition of the phrase says "Bad Blood is an English phrase referring to enmity between two (or more) people or groups." Without giving too much away that's a perfect description of the book wherein DI Savage finds herself in very deep water over events in Touch and DS Riley's situation is, if anything, worse.

Bad Blood will be published in July in ebook form and in September in paperback. There will be a teaser in the back of the new ebook edition of Touch, published on 24th January (and hopefully you'll be able to read the teaser on this site too).

The world is not a bad place. There are some lovely people out there. Despite the constant awfulness of the news there are still events that warm the cockles of your heart, bring a tear to your eye and make you glad to be human. I haven't gone crazy, just been following the antics of Sergeant Gary Watts and colleagues from Devon and Cornwall Police down in Falmouth:

Take the time to support this great cause at: www.superjosh.co.uk or follow on Twitter at @JourneyJoshuas

It's going to be a busy one...

Happy New Year to everyone. For me it's going to be a busy one. Having signed with Avon I am now committed to delivering book number two early this year (for publication in July) and book number three some time in the Autumn. Publishing is all lunches and parties except if you are a lowly author, then it's more like being stuck in the hold with Charlton Heston in that scene from Ben Hur: 'Ramming speed' your editor cries and the whip snicks across your back. Edit, write, edit, write, edit write... Of course I wouldn't swap places with my old self, but I'm wondering how I'm going to get it all done!

I was supposed to do some work over Christmas but it sort of slipped by the wayside in an orgy of Scalextric and other games (including the very wonderful Forbidden Island) . This morning it's back to work with a bump. I've cleaned out the office, had three cups of tea and now it's nearly lunch time. Start as you mean to go on, I say.

Dates for the diary this year: 24th January  - republication of Touch. 11th April - pub date for the paperback version of Touch. July - book number two out in ebook (we're still tweaking the title). September - pub date for paperback version of said nameless book.

Anyway, if you had a good 2012 then I hope 2013 is as good. If 2012 wasn't so hot then I wish you a better year ahead.  Oh, and a Happy NewYear from Charlotte, Darius, Jane, Patrick and the others too!