Hello!
Today I have two fab things to tell you about - a completely free short story and a half-price deal - but first I thought I'd give you a little writing update.
I’m very happy to report that Book 9 has left the building! I handed the first draft to my editor a couple of weeks ago and I'm due to get the structural edit back today.
It’s a nail-biting time as my editor, Nastasha, is the first person to read the book, and at this point I have no idea if it’s good, bad or indifferent. Of course, I’m hoping it's so damn good it only needs light edits - if only! Wish me luck!
One thing that occurred to me as I finished the first draft is that typing ‘The End’ is just the beginning of the next stage of a manuscript's life - the editing process.
It starts with the structural edit, which examines the ‘big picture’ elements like plot, pacing and character development.
Then comes a deep dive into the finer details with line edits, focusing on sentence structure, tone and clarity, and the copy edit, which looks at grammar, punctuation and consistency.
Finally, there's the proofread, to catch any lingering typos or errors before the manuscript is fit for human consumption. It really is labour of love!
Here are some stats about this book:
I began writing it on Monday 5 August and finished it on Thursday 7 November.
[Three months for a first draft is pretty good for me and it’s fair to say that normal life was put on hold while I disappeared into my writing cave.]
My biggest daily word count was 2,640 words on Tuesday 6 August (I was obviously still in the glorious honeymoon period) and the lowest was a measly 150 words on Friday 30 August.
Of course, there were many days when I didn’t write a single word, but I guarantee I was thinking about the story and characters even when I wasn’t sitting at my desk.
I can’t reveal anything about the book at this stage other than that it’s a love triangle which, inevitably, goes sour. It’s also the first book I’ve written with chapters from a male perspective. I’ll be running the book past Adrian to make sure these bits ring true!
It’s not been an easy book to write, but that’s more to do with my usual lack of planning than the subject matter. I am excited about it though, and I hope it has all the elements you love: sympathetic characters, a deliciously nasty antagonist and twists and turns aplenty.
The book is due to be published on 1 April, 2025. Yep, April Fool’s Day! Hopefully the joke won’t be on me!
In other news, I'm beginning to think of ideas for Book 10 and will be talking over some initial thoughts with my editor next week. If she thinks any of them have legs I’ll work up synopses, and if she’s happy with those it’s all systems go.
The Baby is on a Kindle Big Deal in the US and Canada from today, Thursday 21 November, to Monday 2 December and is just 99c to download.
I think The Baby is the book I’m most proud of, perhaps because of its great hook - what would you do if you woke up one morning with a raging hangover and little memory of the night before, to discover a baby in your house and the only thing you know for certain is that it isn't yours…??!!
You can download The Baby for 99c here. And if you’ve read it already, please share the love and tell a friend about this fab offer!
Christmas is coming (thirty-four sleeps to go!) and, as promised, I have an early gift from me to you that I hope you'll enjoy.
Back in the summer, I wrote a short story which I'm delighted to say is now out.
The Anniversary Trip is a twisty little tale set on the White Cliffs of Dover. I had such fun writing it, I know you're going to love it too.
The story sees Lauren and Will staying in a former lighthouse to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.
However, as is the case with most domestic thrillers, all does not go to plan...
All you have to do to get your hands on this completely FREE read is to subscribe to my Bookouture early readers' club.
You'll only ever be contacted when I have a new release out, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Here's the link to download your FREE short story:
I'm currently germinating the seed of an idea for another short story/novella because I loved writing The Anniversary Trip so much.
It’ll be a fun little side project while I wait on the various edits to come back on Book 9 and will be something for you to read while you wait for the new book to come out.
Finally, have you read Everyone Has Secrets yet? It's proving to be a bit of a marmite book, if I'm honest.
Some readers reckon it's their favourite of mine yet, which is pretty cool.
A few, however, are less enthusiastic, saying it's more of a domestic drama than a psychological thriller. It's a fair comment: of all my books, it's probably the most deeply rooted in family life. Personally, I think that's one of its strengths, but I totally get that it might not be to everyone's taste.
Books are subjective. I know I'm never going to please all of the people all of the time, and that's fine.
After all, the world would be a pretty boring place if we all liked the same things. Even classic psych thrillers like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train have their fair share of one-star reviews.
If you have read Everyone Has Secrets and have time to write a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads - good or bad! - I'd be so grateful.
And if you haven't read it yet and I've aroused your curiosity, you can check it out here.
Do let me know what you think!
Happy reading!
Amanda
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