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!