Newsletter | December
GOOD MORNING

The first newsletter for a while – this could be a record for ‘longest time between author newsletters.’ But there’s a good excuse. I’ve been writing novels. Writing, editing and publishing three full-length novels in my new Michael Brady series, plus two novellas.

I appreciate that many of you signed up to the newsletter on the strength of the walking books. And Alex and I will be doing another walk at some point. We’re just not sure when. There’s a section on it below.

SO WHY START WRITING NOVELS?

When I was in financial services I had a small voice that constantly whispered in my ear. ‘Let me out,’ it said. ‘You want to be a writer.’ The small voice hammered away remorselessly until, finally, I gave in. 

Once I started working as a freelance copywriter the small voice changed its tune. ‘Let me out,’ it said. ‘You want to write a novel.’ 

‘No time,’ I said. ‘Clients, deadlines. Yes, I think I could write one – but I know I couldn’t plot one.’ 

Then, in March 2020, lockdown struck. Suddenly I ran out of excuses. 

I immediately lost two of my copywriting clients. I was working from home, so no 30 or 40 minutes travelling backwards and forwards. Suddenly, I did have the time. I started to write ‘Salt in the Wounds’ in March: I published it in September, six months later. 

If you’d like to read it, the book is free to download on your Kindle from December 20th to 24th. 

The book was, in many ways,  born out of a question I used to ask myself at three in the morning. When our daughter was 14/15 and going through her (very) rebellious phase I’d lie awake and think, ‘How the hell will I cope with her if anything happens to my wife…’ 

That’s how Salt in the Wounds starts. Michael Brady’s wife has been killed in a hit and run. He’s driving across the North York Moors with this daughter, determined to rebuild his life in Whitby, the town where he grew up. He’s on a year’s sabbatical from the police and he’s no intention of going back. Then his best friend is murdered…

My original idea was that there’d be half a dozen Brady books. One for each year until his daughter went to university and Brady wandered off into the sunset. But the books have been well-received…

“A cop that is fast becoming the Yorkshire Rebus.” 

…I enjoy writing them and I’m awash with ideas. Now I suspect there’ll be at least ten full-length books, plus sundry novellas and the strong possibility that one or two of the minor characters will spin-off into series of their own. 

WHY DID I CHOOSE WHITBY?

Cleary if I was going to write a series the books had to be set somewhere. I consciously didn’t read a lot of books in the mystery/thriller/suspense genre before I started writing Salt in the Wounds – I’ll explain why in a future newsletter – but one thing was very clear from even the most basic look at successful series: they were all rooted in one place. So why Whitby, instead of Scarborough which is where I live? 

There were three main reasons: 

First of all Whitby has a very strong ‘sense of place.’ Captain Cook, Dracula, fishing, fish and chips, the Moors, Heartbeat, the Goth Festival. Going further back the Abbey, St Hilda and whaling – Whitby used to be Britain’s biggest whaling port. 

So Whitby had a very clear identity and I wanted the town to become a supporting character in the books, as much as (say) Brady’s sister, Kate, or Dave the bacon sandwich man. It’s also very picturesque – I was never going to be short of photos. 

The final reason was simple. I live 20 miles down the road, I’d been to Whitby countless times and I knew the town really well. Well, I do live 20 miles down the road, I have been countless times, but once I started to write the books I found out that I barely knew Whitby. It’s a simple fact that you don’t know a town at all until you plan a murder there…

A good example is the scene in Salt in the Wounds where Brady is trying to see Patrick’s murder from the killer’s point of view. He needs to re-trace the killer’s steps…

He sees his chance. The alley is narrow. Three, four feet wide. He knows it must go down to the harbour. 

‘Stay here,’ he tells someone. ‘Watch this end. Don’t move.’ 

He’s off. 

Walking quickly up Church Street. He needs another alley. Parallel. Running down to the sea. Here. Between two pubs. The Board and the Duke of York. 

Down the steps. They’re wet and slippery. But he’s young, agile, surefooted. 

Twenty-five steps. They open out onto a paved seating area. Old York stone. Balconies of the apartments overlooking the harbour. The twin piers of the harbour curving round to meet each other in the distance, cradling the fishing boats. 

Quickly across. Dodging people. Looking for steps. There. Down to the beach. 

They’re even more slippery. But there’s a handrail. He can’t risk falling. 

And he’s on the beach. Low tide. The sea is 20 yards to his right. He jogs across the sand and the seaweed.  

There’s the window of the Rowing Club. A pint and a perfect view across the harbour. Maybe someone sees him. So what? He’s just another Goth…

Eight steps. Two at a time. He’s at the bottom of the alley. And there’s Patrick. Standing with his back towards him. Looking at the door of the Rowing Club. Waiting expectantly for his wife. 

I must have done that walk half a dozen times, not just to find out how long it would take, but to check what the killer would have seen as he walked round to the back of the alley. 

There was a couple sitting on the bottom of the steps eating their fish and chips. “I’m very sorry,” I said the third time I walked through their lunch. “I’m a writer…” 

View as Brady and Patrick ate their bacon sandwiches…

Brady and Frankie eating fish & chips. Looking across the harbour…

WILL ALEX AND I DO ANOTHER WALK?

As I mentioned above, many of you reading the newsletter will have come to it through Father, Son and the Pennine Way and the two books that followed it. You’re entitled to ask ‘what’s happened to the walks and will you do another one?’ 

Life and Covid is the simple answer. Following the Kerry Way we were planning to go to Italy in 2020 and walk the Via degli Dei – the Path of the Gods – from Bologna to Florence. I still have the e-mail from the travel agent on my system. ‘Nothing to worry about,’ he wrote in early February. ‘There are only two cases in Northern Italy.’ 

Last year life got in the way – Alex had finished at university and spent the summer working in St Andrew’s, where his girlfriend had been at uni. Then they both caught Covid and that was the summer of 2021 gone. They’re now living and working in London – but Alex and I have spoken about it, and we’re determined to ‘finish’ the Pennine Way. Having walked from Malham to Dufton, and then Dufton to Kirk Yetholm, all we need to do to finish is make a start. Walk the first five days from Edale in Derbyshire to Malham. 

So yes, we’ll definitely do it. We’re just not sure when…
WHAT NEXT?

Well, Christmas – hopefully we’ll see all three children at some point, Covid permitting – but more pertinently, write, write, write and write some more. 

I’m aiming to publish the fourth full-length Brady novel in March next year. The target is to have the book written by the end of February, which will give me a month for editing, proofreading and setting up on the Kindle. Then it’ll be on to the paperback, which – as the it needs a new cover design to take account of the spine – will be about three weeks after the Kindle version. 

Then there’ll be more Michael Brady – my target is to publish three full-length novels next year. But who knows? By the end of March Alex and I might have a date in mind…
THE BRADY BOOKS

These links take you to the relevant Amazon page for all the Michael Brady books. They all have ‘Look Inside’ enabled so if you’d like to read a sample of the books, all you need to do is click that link.

If you’d like to make a start on the novels Salt in the Wounds is free to download from December 20th to 24th.

All the books are also available in Kindle Unlimited. 
MICHAEL BRADY BOOK 1
SALT IN THE WOUNDS

His best friend has been murdered, his daughter’s in danger.

There’s only one answer. Going back to his old life.

The one that cost him his wife…

Free to download from December 20th to 24th
Preview on Amazon
MICHAEL BRADY BOOK 2
THE RIVER RUNS DEEP
Preview on Amazon
MICHAEL BRADY BOOK 3
THE ECHO OF BONES
Preview on Amazon
MICHAEL BRADY SHORT READ: 1
THE SCARS DON'T SHOW
Preview on Amazon
MICHAEL BRADY SHORT READ: 2
CROSSING THE WHITE LINE
Preview on Amazon

And that’s it. Thank you for reading this long-overdue newsletter, have a wonderful Christmas, and may the New Year bring everything you would wish for.

www.markrichards.co.uk
SimpleWords Ltd

Woodend, The Crescent, Scarborough YO11 2PW
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