4th March 2020

At the most recent meeting Paul was telling us about a website that featured writing competitions. Here's the link.

https://www.neonbooks.org.uk/big-list-writing-competitions/

Author, playwright, actor and, perhaps most importantly, Letchworth Writers' treasurer. Alan wears many hats but, with a milestone birthday approaching, the time is right to focus un his writing skills.

I’m delighted to announce that Chills, the first anthology of supernatural stories I’ve edited in over five years, has now been released. Chills features stories from a number of the Letchworth Writers and a few from more established authors, and has a stunning cover by Iain Maynard, and is available in paperback and Kindle editions from Amazon. Click the picture.

Something I forgot to share at our last meeting. There's a free utility at booklinker.com that let's you create a short and meaningful link to your book on Amazon. Not only that, but it will redirect to the correct Amazon site for your geographical location - UK, USA, Australia, Germany etc.

Here's one I created earlier for Len's book Into the Fire. 
http://mybook.to/intothefire

I’m delighted to announce the publication of the 2019 Letchworth Writers Anthology featuring stories from all the writers who attended this year’s meetings. And what a collection it is, with some of the best stories chosen from those submitted to each month’s featured topic.

The book is available from Amazon in paperback and there is also a Kindle version available.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/2019-Anthology-Letchworth-Writers/dp/1913306100/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=letchworth+writers&qid=1574273335&sr=8-2

Contributors to the anthology and other paid up members of the group will be able to purchase copies of the paperback at £3.50, less than half the Amazon price. To order copies please

Contact Diana at letchworthwritersgroup@gmail.com 

Paul has been researching way to sell you book, once it's published. With more and more publishers these days putting the onus back on writers to do their own marketing and selling, this is a very useful piece of of work. You'll find it on the How To page.

I'm delighted to announce that LMP has taken over the publishing of Sheila Molloy's brilliant crime novel 14 Lines  The book will be issued in both paperback  Kindle formats. At the moment the paperback cover is in the hands of LMP's artistic director and the book should be out soon. For those of you who can't wait for the paperback, the full novel is available as an Kindle e-book with a temporary cover. She recently posted on Facebook: To give you a flavour 'a grieving widow is desperate to find out why her husband was beaten to death in a motel room10 miles from home. A ruthless people trafficker is prepared to kill to stop her learning the truth ...'  We wish her every success with it. The paperback edition will be available in a few days time. Meanwhile to buy and download the Kindle version click on the book cover.

Update!

The paperback and Kindle version are now available.

The sequel to State of Treason is out now in kindle format – A Necessary Killing. (Paperback follows in a couple of weeks.)

I have a limited number of free review copies of the kindle version I can gift through Amazon. So, if you fancy reading a historical thriller for free let me know by email and I will arrange it (first come – first served.) There is no obligation and you don’t have to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads, but an honest review would be helpful.

Here’s the link on Amazon - http://mybook.to/necessarykilling

Len Maynard is compiling a collection of supernatural stories to be published at the end of the year. Len is a writer and anthologist with over twenty novels and thirty collections to his name including the noted independent press magazine Enigmatic Tales and its American professional counterpart Darkness Rising, as well as crime and supernatural anthologies. 

He says:

 
"What I'm looking for is good supernatural stories. There is no minimum or maximum word length. There's no theme. Although I've tentatively called it Winter Chills, that's indicative of its time of publication, not the subject matter. The title may well change as the collection takes shape. So if you write a story set in a summer heat wave, as long as it's good, I'll consider it.

Payment (if you can call it that) will be a copy of the book. Further copies, if required, you can buy at cost.

Any profit the book makes will be ploughed back into Letchworth Writers funds. 

However I will not be marketing it as a LW project. I will be listing all the authors individually. I will be writing an introduction in which I acknowledge the Letchworth Writers, but I won't be pushing that aspect of as it seems to be a bit of a commercial turn off.  Also will be including potted biographies of the writers involved. So if you submit please give me some details about yourself.

 
Stories need to be submitted via email (an attachment - not in the body of the email)  to len@lenmaynard.co.uk. 

 
As far as format is concerned, Paul has put an interesting piece on Dropbox about how manuscripts should be submitted (you find the link on our How To page), and I'm setting a deadline of October 31st. A significant date as it's Hallowe'en and we're meant to be leaving the EU, so it will be hard to forget it."

 
Any other questions don't hesitate to email me.

Paul's first William Constable historical spy thriller is available from Amazon. Click on the book so go to the site.

Paul has signed a three book deal with Sharpe Books and is currently hard at work on the next two volumes. We wish him every success.

Diana Newson, our administrator, has published New Heartsford a speculative fiction novel of secrecy and exploitation in the near future (also available on Amazon, free on Kindle at the moment.). A disastrous accident tips the town of Heartsford into a desperate scrabble for survival. The survivors form an embryo town and begin the struggle back towards civilised life, led by well-meaning, principled Erin. Conditions mean the town’s new religion becomes stricter and even more oppressive. Opportunistic ex-businessman Clive, has something to hide as he finds a way to “become someone in this town”, and he soon accumulates the trappings of power. Dominion is passed to Clive’s two sons Jacob and Eli, and the townspeople wilt under their malign authority. The impossible fight to escape the lies is taken up by Loshka and Ethan, who must save the Biosphere, and overthrow the mesh of power suffocating the town. Click on the book cover for more. 

Stop press: 

LMP is delighted to announce that they have taken over the publishing duties for Diana's excellent SF novel and will be bringing out a new edition, completely revised by Diana herself, complete with a new title. The Uncovering will be coming out as both an ebook and paperback in early January.

David has recently published his fifth collection of stories and poems. Entitled 66 Pick up Sticks, it's an eclectic collection of David's writing: the fifth of his 'birthday' publications and includes his excellent and epic, The Strong Brothers. Highly recommended! In the introduction he says that it may be his last. Let's hope not. For more information contact David on: the_strongies@hotmail.com

STOP PRESS: David maybe having second thoughts about this being his last project. I have his arm and will continue twisting.

August 1st sees the publication of all six volumes of the DCI Jack Callum Mysteries by LWG member Len Maynard.

The DCI Callum Mysteries are a series of police procedurals set in North Hertfordshire during the late 1950’s early 1960’s. Callum lives in Letchworth together with his wife, Annie and teenage children, Joan, Rosie and Eric, but he is based at Welwyn and Hatfield Police station.

The crimes he is called on to solve include grisly murders, kidnap, fraud and blackmail, set against picturesque local backgrounds with, a diverse and colourful cast of characters.

Jack Callum is a straight-as-a-die copper in his mid-fifties and a devoted family man but, as he discovers throughout the series, families can often be a source of drama equal to, and often surpassing, that provided by the criminal fraternity.

Click on the poster to take you to Amazon where they are now ready to buy.

Tashkai Kiss, a supernatural thriller, is now available as an e-book from Amazon (click the cover) Published by Cemetary Dance in the States, the book is soon to make it appearance in paperback. Written in collaboration with long-time writing partner Michael Sims Tashkai Kiss is the sixth Department 18 book. For more details on the collective output visit www.maynard-sims.com