| M.R. Mackenzie Readersā Club |
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| September 2022 Newsletter |
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Welcome to the latest instalment of the bi-monthly Readersā Club newsletter! Just as a reminder, youāre receiving this email because you subscribed to the Readersā Club at some point. If, for whatever reason, you no longer wish to receive these occasional emails, simply follow the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this message. No hard feelings ā honest!
The days are slowly starting to draw in, and Autumn is just around the corner. Time, in other words, for me to pull my finger out and get a move on with my current writing project ā about which more later. First, though, a few words about my most recent releaseā¦
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| Bury Your Secrets Reviews Roundup |
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My latest novel, Bury Your Secrets, was released on August 1st, accompanied by a book tour organised by Love Books Tours. Iām really happy to report that the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, and I hope youāll indulge me as I share some of the highlights.
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Itās been a while since a book pulled me in so completely! The telling of this story immediately grabbed my attention, beginning with an ominous drive in the woods. Then there are glimpses of emails that were written but never sent. I couldnāt stop reading until I reached the end!
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- juliereadzintherockies
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This story was thrilling, entertaining and intensely suspenseful, which kept me turning the pages quickly just to see how it would all end. [ā¦] This was an intriguing psychological thriller with all kinds of twists and turns throughout that you really donāt see coming, which kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I thought I knew how it would all end, but I was sorely mistaken.
Definitely a ā
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read for me.
- red_angel_2.0
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For a psychological thriller it holds all the elements you suspect. Itās a quick paced read because how the author narrates this and directs you to each pin post. I wasnāt expecting the phone call, I wasnāt expecting the time lapse it really did add some brilliant points to make this an outstanding read. I also loved how different it was to the first book i read by this author also but was glad the level of description was there throughout this one too. If youāre a lover of this genre like me then Iād definitely add this to your TBR.
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- twilight_reader
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I loved this book! This is a true psychological thriller: fast paced, action packed and an unguessable ending. Mackenzie did a great job of creating such an exciting read whilst also giving depth to the characters involved. [ā¦] Every time I thought I knew where this book was going I was wrong, right until the end. It was so easy to read and I fully lost all sense of time reading it, I just had to get to the end. If you enjoy a good thriller, definitely give this a read!
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- bookshereforever
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A massive thanks once again to everyone whoās picked up a copy and/or written a review! If youāve done the former but not the latter, it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute or two to leave me a few words on Amazon, Goodreads, or both. Reviews are massively important for us authors, as they help drive our books into the hands of more readers. You donāt need to write a massive essay ā just a few words saying you enjoyed the book would be ideal. And if you donāt have time to write a review, even just leaving a star rating would be tremendously appreciated.
If you havenāt already picked up a copy of Bury Your Secrets, itās currently available on Kindle for just Ā£1.99 UK/$2.99 US. Donāt delay ā grab yours today!
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As youāll be aware if you saw my tweet back in July (and if you arenāt already following me on Twitter, whatās wrong with you? Does your mother know?), the title of my next book, the fourth in my Anna Scavolini series, will be WOMEN WHO KILL. For the time being, Iām keeping most of the plot under wraps, except to say that it involves Anna investigating a cold case involving a woman who has spent the last seventeen years in prison for ā allegedly ā murdering her husband and two children.
I started the first draft during the second week of July and have, as of writing, racked up just over 70,000 words. Now, those of you who know my work will be aware that (a) my first drafts have a tendency to be extremely overwritten and (b) the previous Anna novel, The Shadow Men, was at the decidedly longer end of the spectrum, clocking in at over 140,000 words. As such, while you might be tempted to assume that 70,000 words means Iāve nearly reached the end, in reality I have a seriously long way still to go. In narrative terms, I suspect Iām just over 40% of the way in ā which is a little worrying, as I didnāt set out to write a doorstop! But first drafts are, by their nature, about discovery (even for those of us who write ridiculously detailed outlines beforehand), and Iāve no doubt that, once I have a complete manuscript, Iāll be able to find ways to tighten things up considerably.
In the meantime, Iām going to get cracking on getting this bad boy finished. Iām aiming to cross the finish line at some point before the end of the year ā hopefully significantly before, as I donāt really fancy the thought of spending nearly six months on a single draft ā though, for a few different reasons, Iāve been moving at a somewhat slower pace than I normally do at this stage in the writing process. I donāt doubt that Iāll still have a mountain to climb in terms of rewriting once itās complete, but I think itās shaping up to be a strong story (if I may be so bold) and a worthy follow-up to The Shadow Men.
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Todayās question comes from Sarah, who reached out to me via email.
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Do you have a favourite and least favourite book that youāve written?
The answers are āsort ofā and āyesā. Needless to say, Iām proud of every book Iāve written ā I wouldnāt have released them otherwise ā though I do have something of an internal hierarchy in terms of my overall preferences.
My favourite changes all the time, depending on the mood Iām in. I think, at one point or another, Iāve considered every single book Iāve written to be my favourite. For instance, for a long time I was convinced that Cruel Summer, the second in my Anna Scavolini series, was far and away a better book than its predecessor, In the Silence, but of late Iāve come round to the idea of them both being equally good, for different reasons.
I do have a fairly strong idea of which book Iām the least satisfied with ā though, for what I hope are fairly obvious reasons, Iām not going to say what it is. I wouldnāt want to colour anyoneās impressions of it, or put them off buying it ā and Iāve had multiple people tell me itās their personal favourite, so what do I know? Iām just the author! :D
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Have you got a question ā either about my books, my writing process or just about me in general? Iād love to hear from you. Feel free to get in touch by replying to this email. I always make a point of replying to every email, and Iāll aim to feature the most interesting questions and answers in future issues of the Newsletter.
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A Matter of Time by Claire Askew
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At 8am the first shots are fired.
At 1pm, the police establish the gunman has a hostage.
By 5pm, a siege is underway.
At 9pm, DI Helen Birch walks, alone and unarmed, into an abandoned Borders farmhouse to negotiate with the killer.
One day. One woman. One chance to get everyone out alive.
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A gripping hostage thriller told in real-time over twenty-four hours, A Matter of Time is the fourth novel in the DI Helen Birch series, and for my money a strong contender for the best yet. Claire Askew won the McIlvanney Debut Prize for the first book in the series, All the Hidden Truths, the same year I was shortlisted for In the Silence, and Iāve read all her books to date. What I really like about the series is that each one has been completely different, eschewing the purely procedural formula adopted by a lot of detective fiction in favour of whichever format and structure best supports the subject matter. With its real-time structure, each chapter encompassing a single hour, A Matter of Time is the most mould-breaking of the bunch, and Iām really excited to see where Claire takes the series next. Oh, and it ends on a fairly juicy cliffhanger, too ā always a plus when it comes to tempting readers back for more!
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And with that, Iām going to bid you āaudieuā once more. Words to write and all that. As always, Iād love to hear from you, so if you have any burning questions youād like to have answered, definitely get in touch.
Until next time, happy reading!
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| Have you read all my books? |
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