Crime Fiction Month Giveaway: Win a Handcuffs BookBandz & Police Procedural book of your choice

Regular followers of the blog will know that I'm a huge fan of the handmade bookmarks that are made by Karen at BookBandz so I ordered this handcuffs one especially for this crime related giveaway.

But it's no good having a bookmark if you don't have a book to use it on so I've decided to also offer the winner a police procedural book of their choice as well (up to a value of £8).  I've picked a few for you to consider below but you can pick whichever book you fancy.

Giveaway: Win a signed copy of The Escape by C.L Taylor

Last month I received an email from Helena at Avon Books inviting me to an event being held at their office in the centre of London, 'How to Write a Thriller' with authors C.L. Taylor and Paul Finch.

Despite having no plans to ever write a novel, thriller or otherwise, I am a fan of both authors and their books so as the event was on a Friday, which is my day off and I had no plans for the day, it was obviously fate that I was meant to attend 😉

Among the topics on discussion with their editor Helen Huthwaite were their writing and editing processes, Paul dictates into a dictaphone whilst out walking his dogs (can you imagine the things they have heard 🤣). how to work through blocks, building suspense... I don't think I ever want to be a character in a C.L. Taylor novel as she, quoting her own words, said 'I like to put my characters into uncomfortable situations and ramp up the pressure' 😨 and many other subjects before throwing it open to questions from the audience.

Crime Fiction Week Review: The Perfect Murder

Spine-chilling short stories for long summer nights…

Featuring short stories from e-book bestsellers Paul Finch, Jacqui Rose and Mark Sennen and highly anticipated stories from Luca Veste and Michael Russell, this FREE short story collection will have you up all night.

Each short story is followed up by exclusive extracts of each of the authors’ upcoming titles.

Crime Fiction Week Interview: Paul Finch

The latest interviewee for my crime fiction week is Paul Finch, a former script writer turned author.  His latest book, Sacrifice, is due to be published on 18th July.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be a crime writer?
I was a police officer in Manchester, but for various reasons was looking to leave the force in the late 1980s. I’d always been able to write, and though in career terms I made a sideways move into journalism, I began making unsolicited submissions – unofficial trial scripts, if you like – to the offices of THE BILL, which were then at Wood Lane in West London. There was no initial response, so I penned an entirely original police drama called KNOCK-OFF JOB, which concerned a murder inside a police station. This seemed to hit the spot. THE BILL asked me to go and see them, and wondered if I’d like to write for the show. I obviously did, but I didn’t know much about television at that stage. However, I was fortunate in that I’d be coached over the next few years by what, at the time, was one of the best script departments in British TV. For a while I thus had two parallel careers, as newspaper reporter (which included a lot of crime coverage), and writing TV scripts. When I was made redundant from my day-job at Christmas 1998, I felt I was in a strong enough position to go freelance. I’ve been a full-time author ever since, concentrating primarily – though perhaps not surprisingly – on the darker side of the human experience.

Sneak Peeks: The Perfect Murder & The Perfect Escape, free short story collections

Avon Books are really spoiling their readers next month with not one but two fantastic FREE short story collections.  The Perfect Murder will be published on June 10th and The Perfect Escape on 27th June.

Spine-chilling short stories for long summer nights…

Featuring short stories from e-book bestsellers Paul Finch, Jacqui Rose and Mark Sennen and highly anticipated stories from Luca Veste and Michael Russell, this FREE short story collection will have you up all night.

Each short story is followed up by exclusive extracts of each of the authors’ upcoming titles.

Before Noon by Jacqui Rose: A nail-biting story that focuses on the events prior to a safe deposit robbery.

Time’s Up by Luca Veste: Set in Liverpool a grisly tale of being lost and seeking redemption.

Him! by Paul Finch: The darkest things happen at night… A thriller sure to keep you on the edge of your seat from the #1 bestseller Paul Finch.

Wunderland by Mark Sennen: A chilling story based at a writer’s retreat in the middle of nowhere.

The Puzzle Behind The Istanbul Puzzle by Laurence O’Bryan: A feature that looks at Laurence’s fascination with conspiracy theories.