November 2025
Update on my writing journey.
So, what’s happened this month?
On the 07th November, my first book was officially released. Here’s the cover:
I’ll get on to sales in a moment, first we’ll look at what I’ve done to promote it.
ARC readers
Booking a book blogger tour
Author spotlight
Selling at an author event
Handing out merchandise
Collecting followers on social media
The main purpose of ARC readers is to gain reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations. Although I collected around twenty ARC readers, only a few have gone on to review, however the ones that have come back, have been very positive. I have just gained two more, so hopefully this will continue. Here are excerpts of my reviews:
ARC Gillian (Goodreads). Five stars
There were many themes including mystery, murder, abduction, missing persons, detective work, abuse, male domination, deceit, loneliness, prostitution, secrets, lies, grief and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The plot was easy to follow. It was well written, descriptive, very suspenseful and with a surprise ending.
I highly recommend reading this wonderful murder, mystery story. I am looking forward to the next book in the Baz Bexon Series.
ARC Miranda (Amazon & Goodreads). Five stars.
This thriller is a break-neck, gritty page-turner that perfectly blends classic mystery with modern action. If you love crime fiction featuring unlikely heroes, this is a must-read!
ARC Julian (Facebook). Four stars.
This was a really engaging thriller set in Hull. I’m not overly familiar with the area apart from being sort of familiar with the accent in my head lol but the author makes the area come to life for the reader.
The main character is a reluctant hero, and it was interesting to see someone in the position of a carer/home health aide get into the shit he does! Lol. He gets into it, and it was interesting to see his character development. With a cast of other interesting characters, I think if you like thrillers, you will like this one!
Ebook purchase Mark (Amazon). Five stars.
This is a great read with believable, complex characters who feel refreshingly real, they’re flawed, messy, and don’t pretend to be anything else. The mystery is well-paced and kept me turning the pages right to the end. I was hooked trying to work out how everything would unravel. The ending hits the mark, satisfying without being too neat and I’m already looking forward to the sequel.
Ebook purchase Leena (Substack and Amazon). Five stars.
I’ve always loved thrillers and detective stories — the more intricate the plot, the better. So when I started A Murder of Call, I was curious to see how the mystery would unfold. And I have to say — I cannot believe this is a debut novel. The plot is exceptionally well-crafted. I genuinely had no idea who was behind it all until almost the very end — and even then, I was only suspecting, thanks to a single, cleverly hidden detail mentioned earlier in the story. It was masterfully planted, subtle, and satisfying to discover. As the story intensified, I found myself biting my nails, heart racing, turning pages faster and faster just to uncover the truth. The twists were smart, the pacing tight, and the tension beautifully sustained all the way through. A Murder of Call stands confidently among the best in the thriller genre. Absolutely brilliant.
Paperback purchase Sazzer (Facebook). Reccomendation.
OMG this book is so gripping ....it had me hooked right from chapter 1. The way it just flows and each chapter leaves you just wanting to read more ive not put it down all afternoon . Loving the story its brillent and very well written…
All-in-all, I consider this to be very positive feedback.
This month I’ve also arranged a two-week book blogger tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, which will begin on the 08th December 2025. Hopefully, this will put my name and book in front of more people. I also had the offer of an Instagram author spotlight which I greatly appreciated. This was organised by turnthepagewithmeg.
Another opportunity was to have my book at Authors in the Abbey at Selby. An author there had this to say about my fellow members of the writers’ group which took my book along to the event: “They were all very helpful and were great advocates for you & your writing.” It was a big success, but more about that in a bit.
I’ve asked my local library if they’ll take my bookmarks to hand out for free, and they agreed, plus I’ve made a real effort to be more active on Facebook and Instagram…I’m still not fond of TikTok, it being all about videos and feeling that I possess too much of the “just dug up” look to go in front of the camera.
A couple of ideas of how to promote the book further: a local Christmas market stall, and a recorded reading of the first chapter to submit to social media sites. Unfortunately, I might be a bit late for the first, and I’m currently on the lookout for someone to fulfil the second, so we’ll see how that goes.
So that’s what I’ve been doing for the book, but what’s it done for me?
4 x paperback sales via IngramSpark
4 x ebook sales via Amazon
6 x paperback sales via Amazon
6 x paperback sales at Selby Abbey (the club itself sold a total of 17)
2 x signed paperbacks to deliver to Finland
1 x signed paperback to deliver to America
1 x signed paperback to deliver to York
6 x signed paperbacks to extended family
If my maths is correct, this is a total of 30 sales in three weeks. It’s not going to make me a millionaire, but it’s good going.
What else have I been doing? At the start of the month I tried to give a little back by reading and reviewing a couple of author’s work. First was The Endurance of the Doll Maker by K L Smith. The author is someone I went to school with and was mildly jealous of, as she always knew she wanted to be a writer, wrote beautiful stories even as a teenager, and had the most elegant writing ever! Second was Current Affairs for Thinkers and Drinkers by Terry Ireland. He’s an engaging poet in our writer’s group, and this book has his sense of humour and emotion throughout its pages.
Obviously, I’ve also been writing.
Project 1: Second book in the Baz Bexon series. Currently sitting at 6,942 words with three chapters written.
Project 2: Short story in the historical fiction genre. Includes a cameo of Baz. Currently sitting at 864 words.
Project 3: Romance novel/novella with a bit of spice. Revolves around the characters, Kate and Ford, from the Baz Bexon series. Again, a cameo from Baz. Currently sitting at 5,290 words.
Because I’m working on three different stories, I really need to organise my week better, so I can dedicate a good amount of time to each project.
Until next time, keep up the reading! :D