I have a good reason for not writing recently. I’m in Canada, which is NOT and will never be the 51st state of the U.S. I have family here and tell you they are CANADIANS.
If you go and have a look you will see I’ve made some changes to this web site. I hadn’t updated in a long while. Bad, bad me.
No, I didn’t bring Xelma with me, except in written form. she still resides in tropical North Queensland. In Book 5, tentatively named ‘Murder in the Mist’, she visits the rainforest area of Paloma, just as a cyclone hits and cuts off the roads in and out.
Though I’ve started writing the darn thing, it’s taking its sweet bippy time to arrive. The story is percolating on the back-burner at the moment, while I have some fun with family and friends. I’ll be back in Aus. at the end of this month, hopefully with some more of the story finished, if not at least raring to go.
In the meantime here are some pictures of this lovely land….
DEAD RINGER: BOOK 4, BEAUFORT’S LANDING MURDER MYSTERIES
Our psychic sleuth, Xelma, finds herself helping to search for a missing ringer on a property just outside of Charters Towers. He is found, but something is amiss, and as the Wet Season sets in things go from odd to weird to downright dangerous.
At last, Dead Ringer Book 4, the latest in my Beaufort’s Landing series of Murder mysteries is having its launch, Peta the wonderful and helpful owner of Arcane Booksin Townsville is allowing me to use some of her precious floor space for the launch. 13th September 9:30 am. I’ll do a short reading and be available for chats and signing. More details to come.
While I’m talking about the murder mysteries — here is a very nice review I recently received :
Percy, what sort of mind-blending concoction did you just slip into my coffee withBecoming Xelma?
We’ve got a dreamy psychic, a Krav Maga master, an artist with Parisian prestige, and, just to keep things spicy, an emotional wreck wrapped in mystery trauma, possibly packing a roundhouse kick and psychic insight while painting a self-portrait. I don’t know if I should cheer for her, fear her, or both. (Okay, both.)
...A prequel with this much soul-snatching potential should be blowing up Kindle pages and making readers cancel brunch plans… They’d love the art, the grit, the mystery, the psychic sass… and the fact that she’d probably knock out a man with a flick of her chakra.
It feels a bit weird, such braggadocio! Lol…if it gets others reading my work, I won’t complain.
Enough about me—how are you going? Having some writing success? Tell me all about it. Have you read anything good lately? After attending Angie Faye Martin’s author’s talk at Mary Who Book Shop I recently read Melaleuca published by HQ Fiction and enjoyed it immensely. A gritty female protagonist always gets my attention, add an Australian setting, a gripping storyline and well-rounded characters and I am in!
I really have to go now…it’s been nice chatting but work awaits.
Book 4, Dead Ringer, hard copies are here and also available on Amazon and Books.by…
There will be a local launch here in Townsville at Arcane Bookstore Tavern street, Thuringowa, who also are carrying the follow up thriller Daughter Of Anger and the other Beaufort’s Landing Series. Keep an eye out for date announcements.
The other good news? aAs in title above, I’ve received two lovely reviews by email in the last month for Ruth In Pieces…Yes, yes I am bragging…
I recently came across Ruth In Pieces on Reedsy and was immediately intrigued by its dark, layered suspense and the psychological undertones that echo through Ruth’s journey. The mix of international intrigue, medical mystery, and a detective’s obsession makes it exactly the kind of story readers… crave, ….Ruth In Pieces’ unique appeal, especially with readers who devour tightly woven mysteries with morally complex characters
(Sorry, don’t know why this is so small…)
aannddd….
From the very first lines of Ruth In Pieces, it’s clear this isn’t just a thriller it’s a haunting character study cloaked in quiet menace. Ruth is a fascinating creation: layered, enigmatic, and drifting in the shadow of doubt. As a reader, you’re pulled in by the mystery but as a human, you stay because the truth feels dangerously close to home.
This is the kind of psychological thriller that lingers. It doesn’t just twist and turn it unsettles. It builds an atmosphere where trust feels foreign, and every action is stitched with ambiguity. It’s stories like Ruth In Pieces that deserve to land in the hands of readers who crave this precise blend of suspense, subtle horror, and emotional depth… your book’s global backdrop, atmospheric tension, and deeply human questions about guilt, trust, and hidden truths, Ruth In Pieces has everything it takes to capture loyal thriller readers…
Seems my dark side can be appealing, lol…
How is your writing going? I hope you are getting lots of support, you deserve it. I believe in you. You’re amazing you’ve written, are writing a book. That’s amazing! Well done!!
Ha ha ha I just found another forgotten post and have put it up. Now to finish this one…..lol…
I am still beavering away at writing and apologise that I’ve been so slack about doing posts. I won’t give a list of excuses but just say … Ok 2025, bring it on! Lol.
So, I have finished Book 4 of the Beaufort’s Landing murder Mysteries Series, ‘Dead Ringer’. Just awaiting one last beta reader and I’ll roll it out…. or at least get a proof copy. What’s that? You want to see the cover… oh ok. I painted this one especially…
Hmmm…looking at that now, I think the photo is out of focus. I will have to try again, but you get the idea, right?
I have started Book 5 Murder in the Mist, which will be set in the fabulous village of Plum up in the ranges behind Townsville. Surely, no on there would do the dastardly deed?
Good News! A new store has opened here — Arcane Books in Tavern Street and they are now stocking my psychological thrillers — Ruth In Pieces, Daughter Of Anger and a book of short stories Death, Danger and Dark Dreams.
This is a terrific new place to browse for books and other books things like book lights and gift items, Check them out.
Hope your holiday period has been full and happy … or at least bearable, as I am aware it can be a triggering time for some people.
Still, a New Year is upon us and roaring along already. Ciao for now,
What am I on about? Well it is a bit of a story, but the short version — I lost everything off my desktop. Yes, I do backup onto a USB and I thought the cloud, but hadn’t done the USB backup for a little while (I bought myself a new computer, what could go wrong in those few weeks?) so some earlier edits were saved but I had done a stack of work that wasn’t. As for the cloud, I had no idea it wasn’t backing up
How did this disaster occur? I was working on a docx file – pressed save – it flicked onto desktop then poof! All my folders and files sitting on the desktop disappeared from the screen. I couldn’t find them anywhere. Took the bloody computer to two (2) different fix-it companies and they were as baffled as me and despite many hours of searching through the backwaters — no luck, that sucks, but it is all gone!
‘Devastated’ doesn’t come close. I can’t even cry, just have this big empty space inside. Perhaps my work is hiding in there somewhere and it will miraculously return and my own memory banks will have retained some of it, but I’m not holding out much hope. I had done a lot of work in a short period of time hence the lack of external backup. So, my dears. BACK IT UP — OFTEN!
The good news is that I did have a fairly recent edit/draft of Deaf Ringer and so was able to use that and rewrite the parts I had added, subtracted, re-arranged, corrected…mostly. Anyhow it is completed now and out to the final beta reader, who tells me she is enjoying it. I was planning on a pre-Xmas release, but that won’t happen.
The featured image is a photograph of one of many huge murals in Charters Towers where a lot of Dead Ringer is set. This one and many of the others are copies of paintings by Peter Lawson. He is a terrific artist, based on Magnetic Island I believe. Look him and his works up at https://www.gallery247.com.au/peter-lawson and visit Charters Towers Region to step back into gold-rush, military and mining history, and for a taste of life on the land. Also pop into its new art space at Mike Carney Creative Industries Centre an exciting relatively new centre for local and regional artists and creatives of all sorts.
I have just received the following Editorial Review from Book Viral. The reviewer not only captured the essence of the story, but all its associated nuances and sub-plots as well.
Hiding out in North Qld brings new dangers…
“A gripping read that offers more than just a mystery to be solved,,,”
Here’s the short version, but I encourage you to read the full review, sites below:
“Escape to Danger” is a gripping read that offers more than just a mystery to be solved. It’s a story about self-discovery, resilience, and connection. Rose has crafted a novel that is thought-provoking and thrilling, making it a worthy addition to the mystery genre. Fans of character-driven stories with a touch of the supernatural will find much to enjoy in Xelma’s journey to uncover the truth and reclaim her life. It is highly recommended!
To any other author reading this, let me just say — this is a paid review (a pretty hefty cost), but from a highly credible source. The Services Manager, John is unfailingly polite and patient. Go and have a close read of their site. Sign up for a review if you like what you see. You’ll be asked for details of your book, they will go and have a look and decide if it is interesting enough for them to review. Can I just ask that you say Book Viral was recommended by me? Thanks. Oh, and there’s also a competition you can submit too.
I must away and get stuff done. Yours with a happy heart,
Dang that seems like a long headline! But, I want to share with you a new mindset I have decided to develop. Having finished my latest book’s first draft, I’m setting out on the mammoth task of reviewing, revising, and rewriting. Now, it’s not that I absolutely hate this task, it’s just that it has felt tedious, time-consuming and tiresome. I have always felt, well, there that’s finished, brush hands together and get onto the next one. However, I know it will get better after the beta readers, editors etc., but before I send it to them I want it to be the best I can achieve without help. It’s my story, my responsibility.
I have, therefore, given myself a good talking to and am trying to look at my work with new eyes and attitude. If I slow down the narrative long enough for the reader to establish the character in his/her setting, if I make the reader feel the feels, sense the smell, touch the texture, hear the accent/music/forest sounds then they get a much more immersive experience.
I love it when I get lost in the world of whatever book I’m reading (which, at the moment is Boy Swallows Universe – what beautiful writing). Isn’t that what I want for my reader? Aren’t they supposed to say, as they close the book, ‘Man, that was good. I was right there!’
There is a lot of advice, out there in the media-verse, to just get on with relaying the story. don’t use too many adjectives, don’t take to long in the telling, action is everything, move, move, move…
Well, I beg to differ…I say balance all that action with explanation and explication. You can’t ‘show not tell’ without taking time out to trace the feelings, smell, noise, taste sights. Sometimes those things are so overpowering, so amazing, so awe-inspiring that they deserve an adjective or two. They deserve the deep breaths and appreciation.
Let’s stop dissing adjectives and adverbs, but using them wisely build our worlds, however small and seemingly insignificant, into places our readers can fully inhabit.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? How do you go about your re-writes. Do you toss out all those words and start again? Or, like me, go back and build little by little, more truth, strength and realness into what you have already accomplished? After all, I wrote a book! I mean, that’s no small task. Why would I bury it, when it can be re-vitalised, brought back to radiant new life?
Hey there! I am presently in historical Bungendore, a small town in N.S.W. less than an hour from Canberra. I’ve been here visiting my eldest daughter and her family for six weeks. I know, right? That’s a long time to insert myself into their lives, but we get on very well and she is a generous soul. The two boys and her husband have been fabulous. Thanks guys. It is beautiful here with the trees changing colours and fabulous vistas, but has been a wee bit chilly sometimes and has rained quite a bit. Here are some photos.
I haven’t got out and about much, as I have not had my own car, and the family are very busy with their own employment and the boys numerous activities. The is a definite upside to this…I have just written ‘THE END’ to Book 4’s first draft. There is a whole lot of editing to do now; adding, subtracting and research. It’s not even ready for any Beta reading yet, but the nugget of the story is done. Aaaah!
I actually love this part as the book proper rises from the slash and burn, replant and regrowth. I like to print out each chapter and go through it until I’m happy enough to let anybody see it.
Later today, I will be winging my way back to Townsville. It feels sad to say goodbye to this delightful family, but then I get to be with my other daughter and her family…plus, it will be warmer there and this tropical bird needs that.
By the bye, My daughter here, is a Children’s author and her, ‘William Brambleberry, Aviator Mouse’ box set of Book and soft toy are now available through The Military Shop and Australia Post.
Just in case you have forgotten where all the action began…
I am still tooling around writing book 4. I write when I sit and do it, but at the moment It’s the making myself sit and write that is my problem. I just don’t seem to be able to do it. Of course, I am working on other projects but that is no excuse and I shall have to get tough on myself. Even this short missive feels like procrastinating…
I have got a working title for Book 4, Turmoil in The Towers…no, I agree. Not very good. I do have others in mind but that will do for now. The cover is also not coming easily this time. I do have some paintings I did of Charters Towers some time ago, but my stuff is still in boxes waiting for my new home to be built. I don’t know about Charters Towers but my life is a turmoil, just now.
To top all that off, Book 5 is knocking at the door. I will ignore that for the moment.
I will have some news next time, that is bubbling away in the background. Not huge news but something that will be fun and interesting for me.
How about you? Got anything cool going on at the moment? Do you have any suggestions to help fire me up? What do you do when you’ve got the blahs?
Percy Rose - Author 