As most of you will know, I've written seven crime novels featuring Jack Scott, Sian Laidlaw and Calum Wick, two more with photographer turned amateur sleuth Penny Lane who is aided by husband Josh and gambler Ryan Sharkey.
The demise of Robert Hale saw Black Horse Westerns taken over by The Crowood Press, Wiltshire, but more general fiction - including crime - in limbo; those new publishers are primarily non-fiction. The good news for me (and readers?) is that another publisher is willing to look at a new Penny Lane novel, and will also look at the Penny Lane back list if they decide to continue the series. Excellent. All I have to do is write the new book.
Well, I always boast that I can write a western in just a few weeks. A crime novel for the publisher so far expressing cautious interest would be almost three times as long, which means writing it could take a few weeks times three - and, of course, 'a few' is open to any kind of interpretation!
My optimistic view is three months. And as it's now mid-April, that's looking at completion at the same point in July. Eighty thousand words. Twelve weeks. Not even one thousand words a day, so within easy reach - right?
We'll see. So far there's a working title: The Silent Halls of Death. And a prologue that has now become the first chapter. And four more chapters. Nine thousand words done (almost), leaving seventy-one thousand to do.
Penny Lane lives on...
Sunday, 24 April 2016
Friday, 15 January 2016
New Publisher
I cannot believe that it's almost four years since I posted! Perhaps that's because, as always, they've been productive years, with new crime books and, of course, new Westerns.
It's the latter that prompted these musings. Many of you will know that Robert Hale have ceased trading as publishers. They began in 1936 which, coincidentally, is the year of my birth. I was with them as an author for twenty years, so was surprised and saddened by their passing.
However, for Western writers, all is not lost. Most of Hale's assets have been acquired by Crowood Press, Wiltshire, and the future looks bright. Back and forth emails with Ken Hathaway and John Dennis have revealed that a priority of theirs is the continuation of the Black Horse Western imprint. Exciting news. A western of mine that missed out through being completed just as Robert Hale faded from the scene is now with Crowood. It's going to be the first of many.
One further point I feel is worth raising. For many years I taught fiction through Writers' News correspondence courses. I'm back with them as a tutor - though now it is Writing Magazine. And, for those of you interested, I have two of my own courses running with writerscollege.com, an excellent school run by Stephen Morrill in Florida.
More soon, I hope. But what's that saying, 'Don't hold your breath'?
It's the latter that prompted these musings. Many of you will know that Robert Hale have ceased trading as publishers. They began in 1936 which, coincidentally, is the year of my birth. I was with them as an author for twenty years, so was surprised and saddened by their passing.
However, for Western writers, all is not lost. Most of Hale's assets have been acquired by Crowood Press, Wiltshire, and the future looks bright. Back and forth emails with Ken Hathaway and John Dennis have revealed that a priority of theirs is the continuation of the Black Horse Western imprint. Exciting news. A western of mine that missed out through being completed just as Robert Hale faded from the scene is now with Crowood. It's going to be the first of many.
One further point I feel is worth raising. For many years I taught fiction through Writers' News correspondence courses. I'm back with them as a tutor - though now it is Writing Magazine. And, for those of you interested, I have two of my own courses running with writerscollege.com, an excellent school run by Stephen Morrill in Florida.
More soon, I hope. But what's that saying, 'Don't hold your breath'?
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Update
Looking back at what I've written, I noticed that I've mentioned my web site. That site has now been discontinued, partly because I never did manage to keep it up to date, partly because this blog is an excellent way of putting my thoughts on line.
Another way of looking at it is that two sites might be interesting, but on the other hand they might do nothing more than deliver a double dose of boredom.
Ouch! Did I say that?
Another way of looking at it is that two sites might be interesting, but on the other hand they might do nothing more than deliver a double dose of boredom.
Ouch! Did I say that?
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Teaching
Thought I mention that I teach creative writing through two schools.
The first is Writers' News, and if you're interested then courses are offered either via email or snail mail.
The second is writerscollege.com, and their courses are strictly on line, via email.
As far as I'm concerned, through Writers' News I teach their courses, through writerscollege.com I teach my courses - so you get more of me the second way.
Only you can say whether that's good or bad!
The first is Writers' News, and if you're interested then courses are offered either via email or snail mail.
The second is writerscollege.com, and their courses are strictly on line, via email.
As far as I'm concerned, through Writers' News I teach their courses, through writerscollege.com I teach my courses - so you get more of me the second way.
Only you can say whether that's good or bad!
Right, it's there!
D'Arragon's Axe was published on line yesterday, through Kindle Direct Publishing. That means it's available on Amazon. Though I say it myself, it's a good read - well, of course I'd say that - and, as it was written when I was a young man of 53, even I had forgotten a lot of the plot. Very English, lot's of references to the Civil War, and... well, I know you're going to read it so I'll say no more.
Here's the link:
http://goo.gl/cC9eo
Here's the link:
http://goo.gl/cC9eo
Monday, 16 January 2012
Cross pollination - or something
It's been brought to my notice that moving novels from standard hardback to on-line electronic editions has its problems. Although all my novels are copy edited before being published as a physical book - and remain unchanged for the electronic version - somehow typos creep in. How? I'm puzzled, but will investigate and, where possible, correct the problem.
My own feeling is that the problem is minor. If there are any more of you who have bought my crime books for Kindle, have enjoyed the story but been disappointed by the faults in the publication - do let me know.
In the meantime, on with the horror book, which should be with Kindle in... oh, ten days?
Should be worth it!
My own feeling is that the problem is minor. If there are any more of you who have bought my crime books for Kindle, have enjoyed the story but been disappointed by the faults in the publication - do let me know.
In the meantime, on with the horror book, which should be with Kindle in... oh, ten days?
Should be worth it!
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Something Different
Well, goodness me, I've just been looking through my files and discovered a horror novel I wrote, oh, fifteen or twenty years ago. Quite a long one - for me, anyway - over 100,000 words.
It was written using Claris Works, which shows just how long ago that was! The point is, it's been disinterred, exhumed, whatever you like to call it - and believe me, considering the subject matter, both those terms are apt.
D'Arragon's Axe is the title and, with a little work, I should be able to publish it as an e-book a couple of weeks from now. A New Year offering to my readers.
Keep your eyes on Amazon.
It was written using Claris Works, which shows just how long ago that was! The point is, it's been disinterred, exhumed, whatever you like to call it - and believe me, considering the subject matter, both those terms are apt.
D'Arragon's Axe is the title and, with a little work, I should be able to publish it as an e-book a couple of weeks from now. A New Year offering to my readers.
Keep your eyes on Amazon.
Friday, 23 December 2011
Farewell, Jack...
Jack Scott has decided to terminate his blog - which sounds a bit... terminal? Point is, he never did have much to say and, as I advised him at the beginning, he's now leaving it up to me. Putting the writing in the capable hands of the writer... Yes indeed...
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Robert Hale e-books
I've already announced this on my web site, but here's a repeat.
Deathly Suspense, the fourth Jack Scott mystery, is being published as an e-book by Robert Hale in July next year.
Still working on the seventh. Hope to have it ready by... oh... end of February? And possibly published before the close of 2012.
Goodness, doesn't time fly?
More soon.
Deathly Suspense, the fourth Jack Scott mystery, is being published as an e-book by Robert Hale in July next year.
Still working on the seventh. Hope to have it ready by... oh... end of February? And possibly published before the close of 2012.
Goodness, doesn't time fly?
More soon.
Monday, 19 December 2011
Sincere Thanks
Well, I don't know if it's Christmas making everybody giddy, but my books have taken off on line. So, sincere thanks to everybody who has bought a copy of any of those three early Jack Scott mysteries - and if you enjoyed the characters, and the plots, do let your friends know.
I'm always stressing that I love writing non-violent crime books (is that possible?) with a dash of humour without forcing it. If other people like reading them, then I guess that's a winning formula.
Violence, in gruesome detail - well, who needs it?
I think I'll toddle off to have a little something out of a bottle to celebrate...!
I'm always stressing that I love writing non-violent crime books (is that possible?) with a dash of humour without forcing it. If other people like reading them, then I guess that's a winning formula.
Violence, in gruesome detail - well, who needs it?
I think I'll toddle off to have a little something out of a bottle to celebrate...!
Monday, 14 November 2011
Looking Good
Thanks are due to all of you out there. The Jack Scott books are selling well on Kindle, which is indeed heartening. Still don't know when the next (the fourth in the series) will be available for publication as an e-book, but as soon as it is it will be up there with the other three. In case you're wondering, the title is Deathly Suspense. And if you're really impatient, well, the hardback edition is still available from Amazon or Robert Hale.
Just sent off the latest Western - The Hanging of Red Cavanagh - so now it's full steam ahead on the 7th Jack Scott.
Talk soon.
Just sent off the latest Western - The Hanging of Red Cavanagh - so now it's full steam ahead on the 7th Jack Scott.
Talk soon.
Monday, 31 October 2011
Oops
Just looked back down my posts, and I see I've put my books out of order. They go like this: Confusion of Murders (first); A Bewilderment of Crooks (second); and The Clutches of Death (third). Doesn't make much difference, I know, although a lot of people like to read books in a mystery series in the right sequence. As a matter of interest, Rock to Death is the sixth, but so far it's only available as a physical hardback from Robert Hale (and elsewhere on Amazon). A hardback large-print edition will soon be available from Ulverscroft (Thorpe).
Keep reading.
Keep reading.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Elation
The Kindle edition of A Confusion of Murders has been reviewed on Amazon! Wow. Somebody who bought it and downloaded it actually enjoyed it, thoroughly - and the review is five star. I'm not surprised, of course, because like most authors I believe that what I write is pretty good. Well, no, actually very good. I'll stop there, because I can feel my deerstalker getting a bit tight. And you say, what crazy sort of a mystery writer is this who sits at his laptop with a Sherlock Holmes hat on? Well, the truth is, I don't. But I'm an author, and I write fiction. Why say I could feel my head swelling, when I could paint a better word picture in a more imaginative way. Imaginative as in completely untrue.
And, as you'll have gathered by now, I'm beginning to ramble. Time for bed, I think, where I'll read the James Bond book written by Jeffery Deaver, Carte Blanche. Or perhaps an Agatha Christie. Or...
Talk to you again soon...
And, as you'll have gathered by now, I'm beginning to ramble. Time for bed, I think, where I'll read the James Bond book written by Jeffery Deaver, Carte Blanche. Or perhaps an Agatha Christie. Or...
Talk to you again soon...
Monday, 10 October 2011
Reading without Kindle
If you want to read my Jack Scott mysteries without buying a Kindle e-reader, there's another way.
Log on to Amazon, and download the free programme Kindle for PC. That enables you to read the books on a PC or laptop. Once you've bought the books (£1.14 each) they are archived, which means if accidents happen and they're lost you can always download them again, free.
Have fun.
Log on to Amazon, and download the free programme Kindle for PC. That enables you to read the books on a PC or laptop. Once you've bought the books (£1.14 each) they are archived, which means if accidents happen and they're lost you can always download them again, free.
Have fun.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Another E-Book
Friday, 23 September 2011
E-Books
The second image, the Clutches book, is one of the many photographs I submit to on-line stock libraries.
I'll put the third cover in a blog when it's published on Kindle. It's another of John Carlton's images.
More soon.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
My fictional characters
It occurred to me that I've told you my books are on Kindle, given you the titles, yet done all that assuming you know what I'm talking about. Perhaps you don't, so let's change that.
I write light-hearted crime books, and the main character is Jack Scott. Ex-army, ex-drunk, then a maker of excellent toy soldiers - which is still how he earns his living - and now an amateur private eye. He lives in a stone farmhouse in North Wales, loves Gibraltar.
He has a girl friend, Sian Laidlaw. Sian is also ex-army, a karate expert, used to teach on survival courses for top executives. She and Jack are... well, on and off, if I can put it that way. No sign of marriage yet, but I think I'll eventually force them into it!
The third person in the team is Calum Wick. Calum is a Scot who paints toy soldiers for Jack and makes money in other undisclosed ways (probably illegal). Bearded, wears glasses, and he and Jack often argue. They met when Jack saved Calum from getting badly beaten up in Brixton, and have been colleagues ever since.
There's another man who's not quite part of the team but always helps out. A middle-aged Liverpool scallie called Stan Jones who, because of Welsh connections and his favourite transport, is known as Jones the Van
Cops? Yes, there are three regulars. One is a Welsh DI, Alun Morgan, who works out of Bethesda, the others are DI Mike Haggard and DS Willie Vine of the Merseyside police.
There are just two more regulars in the books. Eleanor, who is Jack Scott's widowed mother, and Reg Fitz-Norton, an ex-diplomat who lives in Gibraltar and with whom Eleanor is now living. No, actually, she's not. They have their own houses but are definitely together in every other sense.
And there we are. An interesting bunch, even in that brief telling. They're fun, and fun to write about. I enjoy it tremendously.
Talk again soon.
I write light-hearted crime books, and the main character is Jack Scott. Ex-army, ex-drunk, then a maker of excellent toy soldiers - which is still how he earns his living - and now an amateur private eye. He lives in a stone farmhouse in North Wales, loves Gibraltar.
He has a girl friend, Sian Laidlaw. Sian is also ex-army, a karate expert, used to teach on survival courses for top executives. She and Jack are... well, on and off, if I can put it that way. No sign of marriage yet, but I think I'll eventually force them into it!
The third person in the team is Calum Wick. Calum is a Scot who paints toy soldiers for Jack and makes money in other undisclosed ways (probably illegal). Bearded, wears glasses, and he and Jack often argue. They met when Jack saved Calum from getting badly beaten up in Brixton, and have been colleagues ever since.
There's another man who's not quite part of the team but always helps out. A middle-aged Liverpool scallie called Stan Jones who, because of Welsh connections and his favourite transport, is known as Jones the Van
Cops? Yes, there are three regulars. One is a Welsh DI, Alun Morgan, who works out of Bethesda, the others are DI Mike Haggard and DS Willie Vine of the Merseyside police.
There are just two more regulars in the books. Eleanor, who is Jack Scott's widowed mother, and Reg Fitz-Norton, an ex-diplomat who lives in Gibraltar and with whom Eleanor is now living. No, actually, she's not. They have their own houses but are definitely together in every other sense.
And there we are. An interesting bunch, even in that brief telling. They're fun, and fun to write about. I enjoy it tremendously.
Talk again soon.
My E-books
This is a completely new blog so, as you can imagine, I'm not being too adventurous. The blog is intended to be a news page that gets updated much more frequently than my web site (www.johnpaxtonsheriff.com). It's now the evening of September 22, and it's been quite a day - or couple of days.
I've been busy re-formatting manuscripts. From today, two of my crime books featuring Jack Scott, Sian Laidlaw and Calum Wick are available as e-books on Amazon Kindle. They are A Confusion of Murders and The Clutches of Death. Both books were originally published as hardback editions by Robert Hale, and as large print editions by Thorpe (Ulverscroft).
Their presence on Kindle not only makes them much more widely available, but the price is right. VAT makes a difference, but the cost to download each title in the UK is a little over one pound sterling. In US dollars I think it's 1.56. Wonderfully cheap!
Unfortunately, nothing ever goes smoothly. What is it they say, hope for the best, but expect the worst? Well, it's not quite that bad, but at the moment my name as author is incomplete. If you want to search for me by author name rather than book title, look for John Sheriff. Over the next couple of days that should be put right, and then you will go looking for John Paxton Sheriff. Also, another book will soon be available: A Bewilderment of Crooks, the second Jack Scott mystery (the others are books 1 and 2 in the series, and I'm currently working on number 6).
So, if you own a Kindle then look for me (with the wrong name) or my books by title. You'll enjoy them, but either way I'd appreciate it if you'd post an honest appraisal on Amazon's star system.
More soon.
I've been busy re-formatting manuscripts. From today, two of my crime books featuring Jack Scott, Sian Laidlaw and Calum Wick are available as e-books on Amazon Kindle. They are A Confusion of Murders and The Clutches of Death. Both books were originally published as hardback editions by Robert Hale, and as large print editions by Thorpe (Ulverscroft).
Their presence on Kindle not only makes them much more widely available, but the price is right. VAT makes a difference, but the cost to download each title in the UK is a little over one pound sterling. In US dollars I think it's 1.56. Wonderfully cheap!
Unfortunately, nothing ever goes smoothly. What is it they say, hope for the best, but expect the worst? Well, it's not quite that bad, but at the moment my name as author is incomplete. If you want to search for me by author name rather than book title, look for John Sheriff. Over the next couple of days that should be put right, and then you will go looking for John Paxton Sheriff. Also, another book will soon be available: A Bewilderment of Crooks, the second Jack Scott mystery (the others are books 1 and 2 in the series, and I'm currently working on number 6).
So, if you own a Kindle then look for me (with the wrong name) or my books by title. You'll enjoy them, but either way I'd appreciate it if you'd post an honest appraisal on Amazon's star system.
More soon.
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