Guest Post: Jon Biddle

Morning everyone! I’m back with a guest post for you all. This one’s from Jon Biddle, author of Hypnos, talking a bit about how he does research for his writing and the varied life experiences that flavor it. Enjoy!

 

I think I have the most varied CV in the world. The only thing I left school with as Sixteen year old, was a packet of fags, and an old dog eared copy of Razzle magazine. I did get one O’ level, in Biology, which came into play in later life.

I then spent the next ten years in the army. The Infantry, shooting things and being shot at. I grew up quickly while on the streets of Northern Ireland as a soldier; they were tough, mean and dangerous. It shaped the person I have become in so many ways.

After that, I joined the family business and became a potter. These are the days I miss the most. They were idyllic and perfect. Living amongst the rolling hills of Dorset in the South West of England, nothing could be more amazing. The business grew to where we had to sell up. I became a full-time dad to our very young children, again, some of the best days of my life. My relationship with my now grown-up children is a close bond of which I do not take for granted.

It was during this period; I realised, that the wind blowing between my ears was in fact cognitive thought, what was weird, I was pretty good at it.

So I searched what would be a good job for a thirty-something to do that had meaning and came across my career as an Operating Department Practitioner. I stayed on at university for another four years and became a surgical first assistant and getting a whole heap of certificates which I cant find anymore.

I’ve covered everything in surgery from orthopaedics, which I love, to cardio thoracic, neuro, general surgery, ENT, MaxFax, urology, obs and gynae. I am dual qualified in assisting and anaesthetics, which makes me a rare commodity. I can slot anywhere within the Perioperative setting and be very comfortable.

What has this got to do with researching books?

I have a very broad knowledge of surgery, disease and trauma, drugs, the humanistic interaction between medical professionals and their patients, which are often complex along with trauma and the worst conditions that we as humans have to face. I had coupled along with my military background with law enforcement in Northern Ireland, there’s not much I haven’t seen or done.

I know firsthand what it’s like to lose a patient, I cannot remember any of my patients that left the OR and made a full recovery from their treatment, the dead though? I remember those. All of those, their names, what they looked like. I couple them with levels of high stress, guilt, anger and emotional distress and in some cases, utter heartbreak. I haven’t done CPR on anyone and not broken most of their ribs, I have had my hands, deep inside a patient, around their aorta, trying to stop a patient bleeding to death while helping a surgeon, likewise; I sat and held the hand of a dying man while he told his son how much he loved him on the phone, and how proud he was of him. Sadly, not being able to be by his father’s side in the final moments. The man looked at me square in the face with some form of clarity as he faced his own mortality, he thanked me for being there and that it meant everything to him, and it meant everything to me. I hope that I made up for his son’s absence. It’s these things that stay in my mind, that keeps me focussed, charged and driven to be the best person I might be.

I also can remember the first time that someone tried to kill me, the sound, the energy, the stones being flicked into my eye from the ricocheting bullets, the twenty litre can of water being tossed into the air as 7.62mm rounds slammed into either side of me, I remember I was about to be mortared, and when the first one came into my base, I watched glass almost bend concave slowly as the blast swept through the base until the glass surrendered and smashed to a thousand pieces. Why did I survive while others didn’t? I have no idea. I have many friends that are not with me today, dead from enemy action, or even the biggest killer, the enemy within. These voices I have, as does most of us that have walked that path, I am not immune to the label of complex-PTSD, I won’t affirm to like it, but there it is.

My body has spent most of its life in fight-or-flight mode, something that I am learning slowly to deal with, with the help of a therapist. Every day that I and my brothers make it through is another day we can chalk up to success.

I hope that this transcribes into the narrative of the books I write.

I am an educationalist by nature; I love learning and reading deeper into the psychology of people which really turns me on. How people tick. We’re not all that unique. Humans are humans, and a large proportion and wonderful souls that want nothing but good from this life. The scum bags, villains, and psychos are the people I have a keen interest in, and this behaviour really inspires my writing.

Take this current covid-19 pandemic, people are so predictable in how they behave, this fascinates me and use that core human interaction in my books. My protagonist Alex Brown is especially deft at dealing with human emotions on many levels, I love how she sees the lie coming, and heads the lie off at the pass. These are complex cognitive skills which I have learnt as an empath myself. Daily from my childhood, but that another story.

I hear the term Google Authors. That’s something that I definitely am not.

Jon spends his days smashing out people’s hip and knee joints, and his nights writing medical thrillers.

A veteran and a medical professional who spends 45 hours a week in the OR, Jon brings considerable medical and military/law enforcement expertise to the crime thriller genre, evident by the attention to detail in his six books.

Jon’s writing is dark and eclectic, provoking and deviant. He surrounds himself in the white glow of pureness, with one foot always in the dark. The dark always surrounds us, but Jon has a knack of making his readers ask “Could this happen to me?”

There is nothing too dark for Jon to write about. He has no level, base, or filter, and will get into your head and “scare the living daylights” out of you.

Jon lives in the south-west of England with his childhood sweetheart, Sam, and two Springer Spaniels. With full-time medical responsibilities in his day job, Jon spends 15-20 hours a week writing for his growing online audience. His new medical thriller, The Harvester, was released in 2019 as the first of six books in the Dale Broc series.

Find out more about Jon Biddle, including his new releases and regular short stories, by going to www.jonbiddle.uk and joining the mailing list.

Guest Post: Mandi Martin

Welcome back everyone! It’s my turn on the blog tour for Mandi Martin’s The Loss of Some Detail and, as the title suggests, I’ve got a guest post for you all. Ms Martin has been kind enough to write a bit about her favorite things about writing. Enjoy!

When asked what my favourite things about being a writer are it is actually quite a hard one to answer.

There are a lot of things I enjoy and a lot I don’t; writers block and self-doubt being two in the latter category. Some reasons for the former are more personal and touch on topics I would rather avoid.

I think one of the main things I enjoy is the escapism. The ability to craft my own worlds and create tales that can offer the same to others and hopefully bring them some pleasure.

One of my favourite things to do as a child was to play with figures and create my own little towns and stories that would last for weeks and weeks, creating a chapter each day. I wanted to continue this when I began writing, creating characters people cared about and stories that took them away from everyday life.

Giving something back to people, as well as enjoying what I do, is important to me and knowing that I’ve given people a break and something to think about is a great feeling.

It also helps me in a therapeutic way by allowing me to divert my emotions and feelings in a more positive way, letting my characters take them on and work them out. Problems won’t go away but it can ease them and sometimes offer some clarity of how I myself can work through them, albeit perhaps not in such elaborate ways.

In many ways it is rather like painting, just using words instead of brushes to craft images of thoughts and emotions that perhaps cannot be released in any other manner.

I’m fond of sitting quietly so writing is an ideal career for that and the chance to work anywhere. I enjoy being lost in my own thoughts with just the cats for company, even if they do like to distract me by taking a trip across the keyboard or my papers. It certainly proves that working with animals, or around them, can be a thankless task!
I suppose it is my fault for not acknowledging their illustrious presence though.

Of course having a job and earning is important, I like to think if I make enough I can do more to help those in need, it also gives a sense of personal achievement. My family have supported me through good times and bad and this is a way of repaying them, to say thank you for all their belief in me and for opening the door to the wonderful world of books and stories.

That fascination with the English language and the written word was the best gift one could have given me and it has stayed with me. I enjoy the thought that maybe, just maybe, I could offer that gift to others.
There are tales aplenty out there, just waiting to be written and it is exciting to think that I could be the one to tell them or encourage another to tell their own.

 

The Loss of Some Detail Blog Tour

It’s that time again everyone, I’ve joined another blog tour and it looks like there’s going to be some really nifty stops on this one. Here’s hoping you enjoy them all!

Forget all you know, for all you know might well be false.

That is how is often seems to asylum worker James Grey as he tends to the patients abandoned to Oculus Mentis, an austere asylum lost to the world. His day to day quite literally forgettable.

Until now.

Slowly the world around him starts to change. Plagued by lucid dreams, a haunting drawing and visions of a pleading female he feels his mind is dissolving.

Aided by the enigmatic Silas and silent Marianne he seeks to solve the mysteries that are tormenting him.

As ever, you should definitely check out the other stops on the tour and see what’s going on. This is a great chance to find new bloggers you might enjoy reading.

Author Information

I’m in my thirties and I live in Ryde on the beautiful Isle of Wight although I was born in Birmingham.

There’s not really a lot to say about me really. I have Aspergers and writing became my outlet, social situations terrified me so I spent a lot of time writing poetry, drawing and losing myself in worlds of my own.

I absolutely adore animals; I prefer them to people, so my two cats clearly get away with almost anything.

I live with my brother and my mother and spending time with them is another highlight of my day. Although, I could do without the trial of socks and others pieces the former leaves in his wake.

Weather and health permitting I enjoy walking and also looking around graveyards, it possibly sounds morbid but the history and the artistry fascinate me.

I also collect lapel pin badges, I think I have over ten thousand now but I couldn’t say, I gave up counting ages ago, it was taking too long!

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Dice Envy Mask Drive

Just a quick thing because I think this is nifty as all get out and deserves to be spread.

Dice Envy is doing a drive for the N95 Masks that so many hospitals need right now. They have a supplier that they can get them from and they’re going to donate them to the Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, California.

As cool as that is, they’re going a step further with it. If your local hospital is accepting donations you can send their contact information to Dice Envy and they will consider them. There’s more information on the drive’s page here.

Edit: The shipping issue has been fixed!

Hypnos Blog Tour

I’m a little late with this, but still excited to introduce you all to the Hypnos blog tour.

What if the unthinkable became a reality? What if technology could be used against you?

A software program has been stolen from the digital vaults of the CIA. It is capable of bridging the gap between A.I. and human consciousness, making a person do whatever the controller wants, creating a potentially terrifying new world. The organisation responsible has racist, right-wing views and a perverted desire to reduce population growth by culling it using the software. Only the rich and the powerful can be part of Asclepius. The software is uploaded to the brain via eye movement using a smartphone, leaving open the possibility for entire countries to be controlled remotely.

Alex Brown, newly-appointed to the B5 Intelligence cell of British intelligence while hunting for the serial killer Dale Broc who has kidnapped her daughter, has been assigned to the case and now has to choose. Will she save the country or her daughter?

Hypnos is the second novel in the Alex Brown series. Author Jon Biddle brings extensive medical knowledge coupled with military and law enforcement experience that combines to produce an exciting sequel to The Harvester.

This is, as ever, an excellent chance to check out what other bloggers are hosting for the tour and to see what kind of content they post. Just from the synopsis I’m really interested in seeing what’s going to turn up on the tour.

Author Information

Jon spends his days smashing out people’s hip and knee joints, and his nights writing medical thrillers.

A veteran and a medical professional who spends 45 hours a week in the OR, Jon brings considerable medical and military/law enforcement expertise to the crime thriller genre, evident by the attention to detail in his six books.

Jon’s writing is dark and eclectic, provoking and deviant. He surrounds himself in the white glow of pureness, with one foot always in the dark. The dark always surrounds us, but Jon has a knack of making his readers ask “Could this happen to me?”

There is nothing too dark for Jon to write about. He has no level, base, or filter, and will get into your head and “scare the living daylights” out of you.

Jon lives in the south-west of England with his childhood sweetheart, Sam, and two Springer Spaniels. With full-time medical responsibilities in his day job, Jon spends 15-20 hours a week writing for his growing online audience. His new medical thriller, The Harvester, was released in 2019 as the first of six books in the Dale Broc series.

Find out more about Jon Biddle, including his new releases and regular short stories, by going to http://www.jonbiddle.uk and joining the mailing list.

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The Cellist’s Notebook Excerpt

Hey, all, just a brief check in before the main event. My stop is fairly early on the blog tour, so it is definitely worth it to stop in and see what other folks are hosting. I’ll include the schedule again in the week’s House Keeping post. For now though, I have an excerpt for you all. Enjoy!

Nana Rose’s house sat upon a hill, with a river at the bottom, trees down along the paddock and a rugged stony road leading to the door. It was miles from anywhere and, in the summer, the front door was permanently open welcoming any number of visitors, cats, birds and wildlife into the hall. The herb garden, pungent with dill and sage was overgrown and as wild as the meadows above the house. The Peters family travelled every year to see Nana but it was Emily who always insisted on staying the whole summer long whilst everyone else wanted to jet off to somewhere hot or exotic sounding. For Emily, seeing the paddock from the main road, was just the first hint of adventures to come and she was brimming with excitement for what lay ahead.

It was the first day of the summer holidays. As always, ten year old Emily had her rucksack packed the night before. She had her hair brush sticking out of the top of the ruck sack so that it was handy to brush her long brown hair whenever she wanted to. Her full water bottle was neatly tucked into the side pocket ready for the journey ahead. Emily’s sister Lizzie however, who was five years older, was sitting on the floor in her bedroom with what appeared to be her entire wardrobe piled high around her wondering what to pack.

‘Do you need a hand?’ Emily asked standing at the door.

‘I think I do,’ Lizzie sighed.

Emily started to extract various items of clothing from the ring around Lizzie. ‘It’s a French exchange you are going on in Paris Lizzie so I’m thinking where will you be going and what will you be doing?’ She held up a dress, ‘Louvre,’ a pair of jeans, ‘Eiffel Tower,’ a pale blue skirt, ‘evening restaurant.’ This process continued amidst lots of giggling and in no time at all, Lizzie’s suitcase was full, zipped and secured with a shiny pink padlock attached. Both girls headed downstairs with their luggage to the front door where their Dad was already packing up the car.

As the car headed off down the road, Lizzie sat in the back seat and texted Lucille in Paris. Lucille was to be her French host in Paris, and the two had been pen-friends for over a year now. ‘I am on my way. I’m so excited. See you soon.’ Helped along with a snooze, the journey to Nana’s house seemed to go quickly despite the detour to the airport to drop off Lizzie.

Kittie Lambton was born in 1975 in Norfolk, England. She is a cellist, and has been providing music tuition for over fifteen years. She is an advocate for all children being able to learn musical instruments from a young age. Her early learning of the cello with her cello tutor in Norwich, Norfolk has created warm memories that inspired the writing of this book. Kittie enjoys exploring the science behind how music can evoke and improve memory and the importance of music in our everyday lives. She was recently awarded second place in the Westgate on Sea Literary Festival Short Story Competition 2019.

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The Cellist’s Notebook Blog Tour

Hey all, I’m a little later getting this up than I really would have liked, but I’m here now and we’re going to get this show on a roll. There’s a blog tour starting today for Kittie Lambton’s The Cellist’s Notebook. My stop is coming up on Friday, but definitely stop by the the other stops to see what they have going on.

The Cellist’s Notebook is a charming, life-affirming tale of discovery surrounding an old family mystery. A young girl’s curiosity, her love of a little melody and the beauty of a cello evokes memories long forgotten.

Set in the present day, ten-year-old Emily Peters is spending the summer with her Nana Rose, a retired piano teacher, in rural Cumbria whilst Emily’s sister Lizzie travels to Paris for a French exchange.  When Emily notices an old photograph of a cellist dating back to the Second World War and discovers cellos and an old music manuscript in the attic, her Nana tells of the touching and compelling story of her brother Leni, a linguist, cellist and music composer, whose disappearance was marked ‘ultimate fate unknown’ following World War II.

Emily’s love of the unfinished cello melody, found in her Great Uncle Leni’s music notebook, evokes memories for her Nana Rose and Emily returns to Norfolk with a passion to play the cello and a determination to learn the long-lost melody. A series of events unfold that change the life of Emily and her family forever.

Author Information

Kittie Lambton was born in 1975 in Norfolk, England. She is a cellist, and has been providing music tuition for over fifteen years. She is an advocate for all children being able to learn musical instruments from a young age. Her early learning of the cello with her cello tutor in Norwich, Norfolk has created warm memories that inspired the writing of this book. Kittie enjoys exploring the science behind how music can evoke and improve memory and the importance of music in our everyday lives. She was recently awarded second place in the Westgate on Sea Literary Festival Short Story Competition 2019.

Amazon   Goodreads   Instagram   Author Website   Twitter

Guest Post: Davide Cortellucci

I’ve got a bit of a treat for you all today thanks to Authoright and the author, Davide Cortellucci. As part of the The Red Book blog tour, Mr. Cortellucci has offered up a blog post talking about his own ten favorite books. Enjoy!

 

I’m an eclectic reader. I can read non-fiction and fiction of many genres, from Schopenhauer to the IKEA’s Nordic cookbook. Making a list of my favourite ten books, it’s a list hard to create. I’ve read so many good ones, but I made the cuts, and here they are.

1) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I read this book multiple times when I was young. It was my favourite book, and it still has a special place in my heart. When I was young, whenever I felt a little down or my life wasn’t taking the direction I expected to make, this novella came to the rescue. This is a story that’s full of bright light.

 

2) Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Reading the life of Siddhartha from start to end, all surrounded with spirituality, human necessities, and a sense of individuality with the whole and enlightenment, unlocked within me a different way to see life and the purpose of it.

 

3) Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

One of the first books I ever read. Full of proper lessons that should be learned when you’re a child, from not lying to knowing that change is possible and that we can become what we desire to be.

 

4) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling

My favourite book in the H.P. saga. This book is the real turning point from the more innocent side of the collection to a side that gives a full dimension of its characters. The characters, due to the events in the book, are forced to mature before their time.

 

5) Neuromancer by William Gibson

To me, this book represents the epitomes of personal cognitive dissonance, because I like and dislike this book simultaneously. One moment I love certain characters, and the moment after that, I’m bored with them, and then I love them again. And of course, I appreciate this book’s high imaginary futuristic settings that have inspired several books and movies.

 

6) Animal Farm by George Orwell

The best allegory on how a dystopian society can become a reality. The shift from equality to power. The oppression of the individuals, the inequity and the lies. A top book.

 

7) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

This book made me look at humanity differently. Not as a mass of individuals, but as a group of beings from the same species that are evolving homogenously together. Seeing the point of view of humanity as one single operating force, it’s something that can help us in the decision making of the present.

 

8) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I love this book. I think this is a story that appeals to many people. I love the fragility and at the same time, the strength of its characters. This book made me think, made me laugh and pulled the strings of my heart. A beautiful book.

 

9) Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

This book was an enjoyable read. I liked the clash between the two mothers and the juxtaposition of the perfect family vs the nomad and artistic one. Ng’s writing gives dept to all the characters in the story. A perfect little storm that fell upon a small corner of America and on its bourgeois inhabitants.

 

10) Wasted calories and ruined nights by Jay Rayner

This little book just put a smile on my face. It’s like combining the shadiness of a RuPaul Drag Race contestant with the Michelin Star’s dining world.

 

10+1 Bonus) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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Author Information

Davide Cortellucci is a writer and the author of The Red Book. He has spent the last few years working on an unnamed trilogy, friendly referred by him as Little Yellow Rubber Duck. The Red Book is the first book in the trilogy. He was born on the 25th of July 1978 in Belgium, to Italian immigrant parents. He grew up in Belgium, Italy, and in London, UK. Davide has done several jobs, from waiter to inventories, from sound engineering in shows to events manager, and many more. Davide is a college dropout with a couple of creative writing courses on his back. He has spent many years travelling around Europe, learning about cultures, and keeping an interest in the power of the mind. Davide loves writing stories that awaken the epic feeling within the reader. He now lives in South East London with his partner, he’s curious about life, and he also makes a great pasta sauce.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/D.CortellucciAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d.cortellucci/

Guest Post: David E. Dresner

I am so late getting this posted, but I can at least get it up on a day that isn’t stepping on any of the other stop’s toes. As ever, you should give them a check because each stop has something different to offer on the tour. This one’s thanks to David E. Dresner. Enjoy!

A Day in the Life of an Author

In writing this I came to think of myself as Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. My days tend to follow each other like soldiers in a line.

Most of us are creatures of habit no matter how spontaneous we think we are. The best we can hope for is that we have more good habits than bad. I am definitely a creature of habit.

The serious habits got ingrained in me after graduate school. College and grad school permitted flexibility each day. Who didn’t cut a boring class to sleep late? Eating was fun and casual and done on an ‘as needed’ basis. Beer and pizza trumped the veggies most of the time.

My life habits changed dramatically after I decided to become an actuary. I was working full time at a consulting firm and had to find study time for the rigorous math exams. My everyday routine required getting up at 6 am to be in the office by 6:30 for two hours of study before work started.

Weekends followed the same timetable but with longer study hours.  After I passed the actuarial exams I found business required even more time. I was in the office every day by 7.

When I hit age thirty-three I made a big mistake. I got on the scales. My college swim weight of 165 pounds now started with the number 2. I refused to view the next two digits knowing it did not come from greater muscle mass. I became a late evening waddler, then jogger, and finally a runner.

With these habits fixed early in my adult life I am still locked into them. Here’s a typical day.

Every day starts around 7:30 with a real breakfast including fruit and a cup of Joe to get awake. No longer am I up at 6. It takes longer to get the various body motors up and running these days, but so what.

After breakfast it’s time to check all the email stuff and the news. The news is always bad news and I get rushes of adrenaline to jolt me into the day.

Now fully awake I head out for an hour’s fast-paced hike in the countryside. My knees can’t take the pounding of running but I hike 3-5 miles every day. I add weights three times a week to the exercise routine.

Back home I cool off, check the mail again, shower and start to write on the current series book. I find that I’m productive between two, but rarely more than, three hours a day. Somebody throws a switch in my brain and I’m done.

A lot of my writing time happens after I finish a first draft. The first draft takes maybe 5 months to complete the whole story. Then months of rewrites start. The final review, prior to submission, is grammar, punctuation, and story line editing. My wife Nancy does the heavy lifting on grammar and punctuation and is comfortable giving me critical feedback on the story.

After the day’s writing is over, all the other stuff required to be alive such as paying bills gets taken care of. Finally, I enjoy my friends and this is fun time for us to socialize. Dinner is typically early, either late afternoon or early evening.

My free time starts around 7. I enjoy consuming junk entertainment on TV. I watch a wide variety of movies and certain series. One favorite series is Supernatural. Once in bed I read until Morpheus shuts me down. I sleep extremely well, lucky me.

The next day starts over again. I can almost hear Sonny and Cher singing, “Put your little hand in mind…I’ve got you babe.”

David E. Dresner was born and raised in rural Ohio. He was an Eagle Scout and later high school president in both his junior and senior years. The social mores, the friendships, and the rivalries of his youth were character building and era defining and have stayed with him into adulthood. Dresner studied physics and mathematics at Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon, earning a B.S. and M.S, before training to become an actuary. Dresner enjoyed considerable professional success, working at major business consultancy firms at CEO and COO level before taking early retirement and starting a family. He has since dedicated himself to giving back to his community, supporting small businesses, churches and schools by developing their strategic plans, as well as tutoring children in core academic studies. Having travelled extensively and lived in France, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, today David and his wife Nancy live in a rural part of Virginia, near Charlottesville. He is currently working on the fourth instalment of The Allies of Theo series; he will publish his third novel in 2020.

Guest Post Ian Jones

Alright, last stop on the North of the Rock blog tour. Here’s Ian Jones’ top five things about being an author. Enjoy!

Top Five Things About Being An Author

1. Give yourself a chance. If you have an idea, no matter how vague or incomplete make a note of it as soon as you can or it will be forgotten. I learned this the hard way. Once it is there in black and white, even if there are only a few lines it will always get you back into thinking about it again.
2. Be confident, don’t let self-doubt get in the way. This happens to absolutely everyone and it has been a major factor in me never going into the public domain in the past. I believed that I was writing for myself, because I enjoy doing it. But then a couple of people read what I had written and I got good feedback, and I started to believe in myself more.
3. I can write whatever I want. I can change completely whole areas of a city if I feel like it and nobody can criticize me for doing it, and this is a great thing about being an author. Anyone can come up with an idea and just write, real life facts become unimportant. My only exception to this is when I am writing about an action that is taking place, possibly the police or similar then I do try to be as correct as I can be. I really don’t want to upset anyone especially those who have difficult jobs to do!
4. Try to write when you can. This is important as lots of great books get started and never finished, and it is often difficult to find enough time. I do have a ‘real’ job, which does make it difficult but I do work at finding time, even if it just an hour or so to write. Of course, there are times when I sit down and the words just flood out, then others when I struggle for a paragraph. But I think that is the nature of it. If I could have this as my sole profession I believe I could probably complete two books a year.
5. Enjoy it. I have never wished to be a millionaire, or for fame. In fact I hope to spend my entire life in happy anonymity. So for me I am just happy to write and to eventually see it printed. Of course it could well turn out that ultimately In have sold very few books, well at the very least at least I have had a really good time doing it.

Author Information

Residing in London, Ian Jones lives with his wife and daughter, a cat Gloria, tortoise Gary and three fish; Daphne, Velma and Scooby. He currently works at a Taiwanese hardware company, looking after Europe and works as an Electrician in his spare time. Ian Jones has been writing since he was twenty years old, though he mostly wrote black comedies and seemed unable to finish a complete novel. Fortunately, ten years ago, Ian Jones tried his hand at writing thrillers and published his very first novel, The Handsome Man. Since then he has had many other books published via Kindle Direct. Lost in Vegas is actually the second book that he wrote.

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Lost in Vegas:           Amazon      Goodreads

North of the Rock:   Amazon      Goodreads