Every Saturday ALLi will tell the world about our members' latest book launches, news, awards, freebies, workshops and updates on the writing life and take a look at the projects and businesses of our partner members.
E-BOOK and PRINT RELEASES
Keith Dixon
The Secret Sharers
Adult readers; ebook and print
The sixth Sam Dyke Investigation is now available!
He said, ‘let’s be clear: there are two things that I want to come out of this. First, I want to be sure I’m being followed. Secondly, I want to know by whom. Do we understand each other?’
How difficult could this case be?
Private investigator Sam Dyke soon learns, however, that Frank Wallace, the client, hasn’t revealed the whole truth. And in the world of secret intelligence in which Wallace has earned his living for the last forty years, it’s probable the truth has rarely seen the light of day.
Dyke travels into London and out of his comfort zone, soon finding himself tangled in a web of deceit in which Government Intelligence services, mysterious blondes, private security firms and vintage Blues music are all bound together. Only he can clear a path through to find out what everyone really wants—and not just what they say they want.
The Strange Girl, the last Sam Dyke thriller, was described as ‘diverting’ by trade bible The Bookseller, with Sam Dyke being ‘Crewe’s answer to Philip Marlowe’.
The Secret Sharers is the latest exciting instalment in this action-packed series.
Francis Guenette
New Release – Chasing Down the Night – 3rd Book in the Crater Lake Series
Contemporary Fiction; ebook
One might be excused for assuming that an idyllic life unfolds for those who have chosen to live and work near the shores of Crater Lake. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Long-time resident, Izzy Montgomery juggles the stress of a new job with her burgeoning home life. Family dynamics go into overdrive when Alexander and Cynthia launch plans to build a home nearby and Liam’s sister, Fiona shows up to do an internship with the local doctor.
Lisa-Marie and Justin are back for the summer and sparks fly. While crusty, old Reg keeps sawmill production booming, Beulah runs the organic bakery and plans the First Annual Caleb Jenkins Memorial Ball Tournament. Bethany discovers her own hidden talents working with young people at Micah Camp.
As a nine-year-old’s dreams reflect a dangerous reality, many encounter issues from the past.
This is a novel for all those who work at building family ties by strengthening the traditional and creating the new. Chasing Down the Night explores a wide-ranging emotional landscape while highlighting the many aspects of day-to-day, rural life. Tears and laughter are inevitable.
EJ Lamprey
Thirteen Fourteen Maids A-Courting
Armchair detectives; ebook
Whodunits, more than other books, are like jigsaw puzzles, each clue fitting neatly into place but the whole picture unclear until the last piece is added. Regular whodunit fans are hard to mislead but do enjoy a good supply of red herrings, as long as the clues are added fairly into the mix.
The jigsaw, this time round, is set in dazzling sunshine, as the 7th book in the whodunit series has the friends dashing off to Tenerife, the most populated Canary island, on a rescue mission. It's a far cry from where the four friends, all semi-retired and neighbours at possibly the most eccentric retirement village in Scotland, usually tackle their mysteries. Take sunglasses.
The books in the series are all novellas, have had predominantly friendly reviews (including a few ALLi members), and are a light-hearted, albeit tightly-plotted, weekend or holiday read.
The book has only just been released, although one of the beta readers has been quick to review it on Amazon as ‘more of (a) thriller than the cozy detective sequences of her earlier books'
Lynne Pardoe
Readers interested in family issues; ebook
Sometimes being a social worker can bring you face to face with the very problems you find in your clients. This is the heart-warming tale of two women’s search for peace.
NEWS/ LAUNCH
Michael being congratulated by Jane Steen.
Michael Alan Peck
My Coming Year of Libraries
Authors and librarians
I've been named the Illinois Library Association's 2015 Soon to be Famous Illinois Author, which means I'll be giving interviews and making library appearances around the state for the next 12 months while being promoted by the project’s members and sponsoring groups. (Fellow ALLi member Jane Steen and I were two of the three finalists, and Jane mounted an impressive effort at recruiting the third.)
The project was inspired by New York University faculty member and library consultant David Vinjamuri, who presented the award. He’s also having me participate in an effort coordinated with Colorado’s Anythink Libraries to test a display-driven strategy to promote lesser known books and authors in libraries.
Libraries are the dream partners of indie authors, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the next year brings.
AuthorRise Service Launch
Authors
AuthorRise combines simple marketing tools, sophisticated analytics, and proven growth strategies into a simple step-by-step process.
The business of being an author is hard. We’re here to help you grow your audience, engage readers, and sell more books.
Lucienne Boyce
The Bristol Suffragettes, Bristol Walking Festival, 10 May 2015
I will be leading a walk about the Bristol Suffragettes as part of the Bristol Walking Festival 2015. BWF takes place between 1 – 31 May, and the Suffragette Walk will be on Sunday 10 May, starting at 10.30 from the Students' Union on Queen's Road. The walk takes about one and a half to two hours (depending on how many questions there are!).
Cost is £5 per person payable in advance (by cheque or via Pay Pal). For details and booking here. For further information about the Festival visit the Bristol Walking Festival website.
Bloodie Bones: A Dan Foster Mystery, Launch at Foyles Bookshop, Bristol, 6 to 7.30 pm, Wednesday 20 May 2015
In 1796 Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist Dan Foster is sent to investigate the murder of a gamekeeper in a Somerset village torn by violent protest following the enclosure of woodland… join me for the launch of Bloodie Bones on 20 May at Foyles Bookshop, Cabot Circus, 6 Quakers Friars, Bristol BS1 3BU. Free event and all welcome.
VIDEO INTERVIEW
Rohan Quine
Online video audience
Alongside the recent day of literary delights at Foyles in April (part of the London Book Fair’s Book and Screen Week, and organised by ALLi and Indie ReCon), the book distributor Ingram Content kindly let me rabbit at them in a video conversation, which they’ve edited together in such a way as to make me sound almost coherent in answering their questions about my five published tales.
I look forward to watching the other authors who were also interviewed there in that little green-room overlooking Charing Cross Road.
Many thanks to Andy Bromley of IngramSpark for the interview.
AWARDS
Lindsay McKenna
Lindsay is a member of the Romance Writers’ of America.
She is been given an award at their conference in New York City (see info) for having written a 100 books.
“In reality, I’ve written 145+ books….but their counter stops at 100” she explains. My editor, Tara Gavin, Sr. Exec. Editor, Kensington Publishing, USA, will be at the conference and be in my stead to pick it up for me.”
MEETINGS
Paul Murphy
The next meeting of the Alli Bristol and SW group is at Foyles Bookshop, Bristol on the evening (6-8pm) of Thursday 14 May.
Special guest is Joanna Penn who will be hot from Crimefest Bristol, taking place at the same time, who will take part in a Q and A session on
Self-Publishing and Social Marketing. All ALLi members attending Crimefest welcome to attend.
Free entry but small charge for refreshments. Contact Paul Murphy on [email protected] for more details
EVENTS
Alison Morton
Alison Morton, ALLi member would be delighted to see colleagues in the audience at Rossiter Books in Ross-on Wye on Thursday 14 May.
Writing Alternatively
Rossiter Books, Ross-on-Wye – 7 pm. Ticket £3 redeemable on the night against book purchase
Writing in a different setting, whether historical, science fiction, fantasy can be liberating, but does require research, discipline and good technique. Readers will follow where the author leads them, but only if the author keeps their trust. Steampunk author Liesel Schwarz and alternative history thriller writer Alison Morton will discuss world building, their ‘ideas factories’, female agency, and how to connect readers with those other realities.
There may be moments of comedy…
If you love learning about how novelists set about their craft, come along to this evening event to find out how they have made their environments completely believable and resonate with their readers.
Book your ticket here or Tel: 01989 564464
If you are a member of The Alliance of Independent Authors and you would like to showcase your work on our ALLi Showcase, please send it to [email protected] to reach me no later than the Thursday proceeding the Saturday you would like it published.
Congrats to everyone!
Congratulations again to Michael Peck for the Soon To Be Famous award! Before he revealed the winner, David Vinjamuri pointed out that this year’s finalists were all professionals in the way we produced and marketed our books, and said that he’d seen a real change in that respect since the award was established. Could this be the “ALLi effect?” I like to think so. This is a great opportunity for indie authors to build relationships with libraries, and I hope ALLi members will bring the award to the attention of librarians in their own state or country. The webcast of the presentation is available on YouTube.
Thanks, Jane! I really do think that libraries present a huge opportunity for indie authors, provided we overcome the usual stigmas and preconceived notions (we’re unprofessional, it’s too difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, etc.).
As you say, I think the fact that the Illinois librarians have now created a template for a contest (and are publishing a book to show other libraries how to do it, too) might give us an in for working with libraries on a larger scale.
(For the curious, the video Jane references is here: https://youtu.be/QcXBA7QcQ4k)
Congratulaitons, Michael! The best answer to the stigma, as you’re showing, is a great book! We need to hook this into our Open Up To Indies Campaign: http://allianceindependentauthors.org/indies-campaign/
And thanks, Jane, for this highlighting…. Love the idea of an “ALLi effect”! We’ll get this into our next newsletter.