Deal or No Deal

Statistics say nine out of ten murders are committed by someone the victim knows. So when Steph Ryder is found dead with her head caved in, Detective Sergeant Allie Shenton begins investigations close to home, starting with the victim’s family and friends. 

As each one lies to cover up their actions on that fateful night, Allie becomes convinced husband Terry Ryder has something to hide – and he’s not the only one. Powerful, ambitious and charming, Allie’s attraction to the successful businessman grows with each interrogation, risking both her job and marriage. Can Allie uncover the truth before her life not only falls apart, but before she ends up a victim, too?

Writing is all about a journey, right? For me, the journey has been long and full of ups and downs, but I’ve also learnt so much along the way.  A lot of you have followed me via this blog, Facebook and twitter and you’ll know that I’ve been trying to get a book deal for some time; in fact, my heels are almost completely worn out at this stage! 

You may have noticed that over the last few months I’ve been quiet about my writing and my efforts to get published.  You’ve seen my book reviews and author interviews but I’ve shared very little about what’s been happening for me in the background.  The reason for that is because I so badly wanted to be able to share some good news with you.  At the end of June, I sent my latest crime novel, TAUNTING THE DEAD, out on submission but unfortunately, it hasn’t sold to a publisher yet.

Now as much as this has devastated me, I’ve tried to keep positive about it online. But press your index finger and your thumb together – I’ve just come that close to getting a deal from a reputable publisher.  The editor who read my manuscript was a lady I’d met before and we’d really hit it off.  She seemed to just ‘get me’ and my writing and I was really excited at the thought of working with her.  But unfortunately, it just wasn’t to be.   

Publishing as we know it is changing rapidly. In some respects this is great for me but in others, as the slots for print books become less and less each year, it makes my dream more and more unreachable.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  There are other avenues to explore other than the traditional route and one of those is self publishing.  Many authors are pursuing this route and their books are being widely read and reviewed. Some are getting decent sales figures too.  

So I’ve decided to take a positive approach and be instrumental in making my own dream come true.  I’ve released TAUNTING THE DEAD as an ebook.  I’m confident that with a great cover, blurb and sample to download beforehand, people might just like it enough to buy and recommend it to others. 

I want to say a huge thank you to my friends and writer buddies who have and still do support me along the way with chats, meets, emails, blog comments, tweets and direct messages. You all know who you are. I would have given up my dream a long time ago if it wasn’t for your support.

So here it is – I’m unleashing my words into the world and I hope any of you who read it will enjoy!   

TAUNTING THE DEAD – MEL SHERRATT