News for Christmas

It's just been confirmed that DEATH BED, the new Geraldine Steel novel, is one of 35 thrillers included in the amazon kindle Christmas promotion. You can download it for 99p! Please tell all your friends and help to spread the word. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Bed-ebook/dp/B006ML8JPY/pocketessentials
And DEATH BED is now on amazon.com kindle @ $1.54 http://www.amazon.com/Death-Bed-ebook/dp/B006ML8JPY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ&qid=1324845657&sr=1-1-catcorr
Happy Christmas everyone!

News

I will be posting some BIG NEWS here on 26th December. Watch this space...

ebook original

1. Look at the home page on my publisher's website http://www.noexit.co.uk/index.php
2. Read the article on Crime Time http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showarticle/2358
3. Check out the original ebook  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Bed-ebook/dp/B006ML8JPY/pocketessentials
Thank you for looking and hopefully buying an ebook original this Christmas!

Death Bed

DEATH BED the new Geraldine Steel novel is now available on kindle.
http://tinyurl.com/Kindle-DeathBed

The print version is out in 2012.

A little optimism at Christmas time!

It's been a long time since I've posted at any length here. I've been REALLY busy writing, going through edits, checking typescript, and book promotion and really haven't had time to think. I tend increasingly to post my news on facebook. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out and hopefully follow me.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000039477919
I also try and update the news section on my website from time to time http://leighrussell.co.uk/
My blog here is where I allow myself to think. It's great to have a site where I can ramble on without any concern for plot making sense, characters being consistent, or even writing prose that is coherent. Writing my books requires more focus. Here on my blog I can just ramble or, on occasion, rant. So - here I am once again - to ramble or to rant?
This year I've had a few rants online, for example about the shocking news of so many libraries closing - 6 out of 12 in Brent! But I'm feeling fairly optimistic this evening. I've just read an online article about readers out and spending money in the bookshops in the US, and I've been meeting lots of readers in Waterstones and the book sections of WH Smith's, at my recent book signings (lots of photos on facebook!) It remains to be seen what will happen to the bookshops as more people buy kindles, but things may turn out better than I've been fearing. Perhaps there really will be a place for both print books and ereaders. With alternative means of accessing books, maybe more young people will catch the reading habit. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Good news this week: A reader recommended Dead End on a BBC Radio 2 phone in, and Dead End has been chosen by readers as one of the Best Crime Books for 2011. Here's the link http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showindex/best2011 if you'd like to give Dead End your support, and you can give your own books a plug at the same time! Just fill in the boxes on the right. There's no need to sign up or subscribe or even leave your email if you don't want to. It's very simple.

And some news for Christmas

Contact me on http://leighrussell.co.uk/ if you'd like an inscription for one of my books to make an original Christmas present.

And if you own a kindle - or are given one for Christmas - you can download my next novel Death Bed on 25th December! It will be out in print in 2012.

 

Vote for Dead End & Plug Your Own Books!

DEAD END reached the Top 5 nominations for Best Crime Book of 2011. Thank you for voting on  http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showindex/best2011
Don't forget to give your own writing a plug at the same time!
If you haven't voted yet, please follow the link and don't let the big publishers to win this one as well!

A Day in the Life

With Christmas approaching, events are hotting up and I'm out in bookshops every Saturday and Sunday between now and Christmas, with signings every day between 17th and 22nd December. On Sunday I remembered to take my camera to Waterstones in Uxbridge and here's a photo record of my day:

I arrived before the store opened. I like to be early! Luckily I knew a coffee shop was just over the road so I was able to take a break before the day had even begun.

As usual, the bookshop put on a great display.

Here we go with the first sale of the day! Pretty soon the books were flying off the table, with a lot of fans dropping by for Road Closed and Dead End. Like the first guy to buy one of my books, readers new to Geraldine Steel were happy to buy Cut Short.

A lot of readers decided to buy all 3 books, either for themselves or as Christmas presents. Here's a selection of customers w ho were kind enough to agree to let me photograph them in the bookshop!

This lady bought a few copies of Dead End  as Christmas presents.

At last Michael arrived at 3 o'clock and we went out for tea!

Another book signing event was over, we had virtually sold out, with just 4 books left for the shelves, and the bookshop was pleased.

I really enjoy signing at this store and look forward to returning there

in 2012.

Thank you to Waterstones in Uxbridge for hosting a signing, and to all the local readers who came in to support their local bookshop.

Vote for Dead End as Best Crime Book for 2011

Thrilled to see Dead End has a vote on Best Crime Books of 2011 - Vote on this link: http://www.crimetime.co.uk/mag/index.php/showindex/best2011

Christmas Presents

I hope all my fans are buying my books to give as Christmas presents. Please contact me on http://leighrussell.co.uk/ if you'd like me to email you a signed personalised Christmas message to accompany the book.



Great Crime Sleuths

Honoured and excited to see that Geraldine Steel has been selected by LoveReading as one of the Great Crime Sleuths, along with Tess Gerritsen, Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths. What an accolade!  http://www.lovereading.co.uk/genre/cri/Great-Crime-Sleuths.html

Here's what Maxim Jakubowski wrote about Geraldine:
"A truly believable female sleuth with a sad knack for coming across cases where the bodies just sort of accumulate in her passage, Geraldine Steel is a classic British cop, part of a tight knit murder team, in which she proves to be a vital cog. Adopted at birth and still marked by the fact, and prone to flirting with her pathologist, Geraldine proves great fun and a character who grows on the reader with every successive title in the series."
http://www.lovereading.co.uk/genre/cri/Great-Crime-Sleuths.html

And thank you to my loyal fan Gordon who sent me this photo he took at  my signing at Waterstones in Guildford today, and to all the local readers who bought my books. I hope you enjoy them!

My workshop at Get Writing 2012 has already sold out. Thank  you to all the writers who rushed to sign up for it. I look forward to meeting you in February. If you didn't sign up in time, there are plenty of other workshops going on so check them out and I'll see you there! Please come and say hello.

Tunbridge Wells

Thanks to one of my loyal fans for sending me this photo he took at Waterstones in Tunbridge Wells.

I'm looking forward to seeing you next year, Alex, when I'm back in Tunbridge Wells, signing Death Bed.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to signing at Waterstones in Guildford this Saturday, 19th, and Waterstones in Harrow on Sunday, 20th. On Thursday 24th I'll be supporting Pinner Pantomime Evening, signing my books at WH Smith's.

Life is starting to get hectic in the run up to Christmas!

News

Edited manuscript for Death Bed, fourth in the Geraldine Steel series, went to my publisher today!

Dead End was Number 49 on the kindle Bestseller List for 2011, so it's officially a bestseller in the UK as well as internationally.

In the words of my publisher, "Nice one!"   

News

I haven't posted for a while as I've been so busy! My three workshops for the Society of Authors were good fun and challenging. All were sold out and everyone who participated and appeared to enjoy themselves, and the Society provided a great lunch (thanks to M & S). As usual, we had a wide ranging group of authors attending, from bestselling crime authors like myself to those experienced in writing non-fiction and considering tackling a new genre. The standard of writing was, of course, excellent, as everyone who came along was  a successfully published author in their own right and I was privileged to be running such a high-powered workshop. (Yes, and a little daunted!)
I am always pleased to accept invitations to give talks in libraries. Followers of this blog know how passionate I am about supporting libraries, so I won't say too much about that here. Please check my earlier post if you'd like to read my views about the importance of supporting our libraries. As always, the audiences at Mill Hill and Pinner were interesting, and interested in what I had to say. Thank you.  And of course it's always a real thrill to meet fans of my books!
You can see the schedule of my future appearances on http://leighrussell.co.uk/ under Events. Please come along and say hello if I'm in your area.
NEWS
My publisher emailed this morning to tell me I am now officially an 'internationally bestselling author' as Cut Short is at number 1 on kindle on amazon.de, number 66 overall, and number 3 on amazon.fr for female detectives.
Thank you to all my overseas fans who have been spreading the word! Please keep mentioning my books to your friends. Without a marketing budget word of mouth is the only way my books are being promoted so I really do appreciate (and need) your support to keep sales going.

CUT SHORT

Cut Short can be downloaded for £1.29 on amazon.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Short-ebook/dp/B005OPLN8E/pocketessentials
and $2.08 on amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Cut-Short-ebook/dp/B005OPLN8E/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ&qid=1248806596&sr=1-1
Please tell everyone you know who has a kindle and help spread the word about Geraldine Steel!

Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe'en...

Libraries

A fan from Singapore just sent me this photo of our meeting at a book signing. Thank you, Brenda and Belynda!




And here's a picture taken at the reopening of Bushey Library last month, where I was delighted to be invited to speak.  Here's part of my what was said. I was asked along to talk about my own writing, but couldn't let the opportunity pass to say something about libraries!

I was pleased to be invited to talk about my books at the relaunch of Bushey library. Before speaking about my own books, I decided to say a few words about how fantastic it is to see a refurbished library in the current climate.

With over 430 libraries closed or under threat, the professional body of librarians CILIP are forecasting another 600 more will soon be under scrutiny. That’s around 20% of our libraries threatened with closure. And Brent are currently threatening to close 6 out of their 12 libraries!

Under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964 local authorities have a statutory obligation to provide a library service. But the government are changing the rules, claiming attendance has been dropping since 2005, although children’s visits have remained steady.

Libraries, on the other hand, report increased use since the start of the recession. In the past year around 50% of adults in England visited libraries. They go there for free books, information, learning resources, work and ICT. New communities seek help with English, material in their first language, and help with citizenship procedures.

But whatever the true picture, there is no question that funding is a problem, provoking a lot of debate about what can be done. Reducing opening hours would only make visiting more difficult; reducing stocks would have an adverse effect on users’ satisfaction; and replacing staff with volunteers would, in my opinion, be disastrous. Part of the value of libraries is the expertise of the trained librarians. Introducing any of these measures would inevitably hasten the demise of any library, in my opinion. You can’t rescue a good service by making it mediocre or worse.

The question should not be solely about money. As US Publisher’s Weekly says: ‘‘The value of libraries should not be measured in economic terms alone’’, although of course economic considerations can’t be disregarded. We have to decide what we want from libraries in the 21st century, with our 24/7 culture, cheap books, ebooks, and almost limitless information accessible to all without having to stir from our homes.

What kind of society do we want?

Borders closed, the whole Waterstones chain has recently been bought for price of one footballer, and the past 15 years have seen an increase of over 1,000% in lap dancing clubs in London alongside a 6% decline in libraries in the capital.

As book lovers, we should all care about libraries, even if we don’t use them ourselves. Perhaps it’s time for all of us to speak up in support of our struggling library service, because without pressure from the reading public, libraries as we know them may not survive for much longer. To paraphrase Burke: “All that is necessary for the disappearance of libraries is for readers to do nothing.”

Writer's Block?

The MS for DEATH BED is with The Editor so I've been working on the next book, 5th in the Geraldine Steel series. My publisher wants to print the opening at the end of DEATH BED, which is no problem as I've nearly finished the 5th book. (We just need a title, so any suggestions will be gratefully received! I've already been sent quite a few on facebook. Thank you.)
Right now I want to share a few thoughts about the nearing-the-end-of-a-book syndrome I always experience at this stage.
With just 5 out of the 70 or so chapters still to write, I'm finding myself slowing down. I know what is going to happen, more or less, and the synopsis is written, more or less. (I say 'more or less', because I never know when something might crop up that changes things.)  It's pretty much sorted. All I need to do is settle down and finish writing it. 
Does anyone else experience the same slowing down as the end of a book approaches? I suppose it's a kind of writer's block, and it happens every time I am near the end of a book. 
There are number of reasons for this phenomenon. The book and its characters occupy the author's thoughts for a while and it can be hard for a writer to let go, like a mother seeing her child leave home.  It's worse than feeling reluctant to finish reading a book.  You can reread a book.  You can't rewrite one. At the same time, there's the anxiety that accompanies completing a MS. Throughout the writing process it's a work in progress, and the author's attention is all on the writing. Once it's finished, the questions inevitably start: 'Does it work?' 'Is it any good?' and 'What have I done?'

So what is the solution to this writer's block against finishing a MS? - apart from a publisher's deadline, which is a very effective cure for 'writer's block'!

The truth is, I have a cracking idea for the following book - 6th in the series - and I'm impatient to see how to make that work.  The joy of writing a series is that as soon as one book is completed, there's another one waiting to be written. 

That's what drives me on to finish a book once the end is just a few chapters away. Of course I owe it to Geraldine's fans, waiting to read my next novel, and to my publisher who has signed me up for three more books in the series.

But if I'm honest the real reason I can't delay finishing the WIP for long is that can't wait to get on with the next one!  Love that writing!

CUT SHORT covers

The new design for CUT SHORT is now up on amazon kindle
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Short-ebook/dp/B005OPLN8E/pocketessentials

The original cover is still in stock in print version. Best to order soon if you want that edition, before it sells out as future reprints will be the new design. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Geraldine-Steel-Leigh-Russell/dp/1842432710/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Death Bed

The cover for Death Bed, out in 2012. What do you think?

On the road...

One of my fans took his family to Hong Kong and sent me some photos -

More photos on my website http://leighrussell.co.uk/
I'm planning to do some travelling myself next year as my next creative writing course in France is 2nd - 9th June  http://www.writingfrance.com/  Check it out and join us if you can. I'd love to see you there!

preview

Read first chapter of the next Geraldine Steel novel, Death Bed, on   http://www.noexit.co.uk/features/death_bed_first_chapter.php 

Northern Tour 2011

We spent a lovely day at Lindisfarne



Bike race at York

 We had a fabulous time up North, signing books and seeing the sights

Michael makes new friends



With Helen and Effie at Edinburgh Book Fair

Another new friend....

 Photos from our Northern tour 2011

Sold out of books by the time we took a photo at Waterstones in Sunderland





With Kieran at Waterstones

 Back from our Northern Tour - here are a few photos from the journey.

Very kind of the city of York to promote my second book!



Signing books at Waterstones in Leeds



Dead End selling well

Just a few snippets of news:
Dead End has been reprinted less than 2 months after publication.
Geraldine Steel continues to be Number 1 bestselling female detective on amazon kindle.
So Dead End is doing well in print books and ebooks - that's even handed!
Thank you everyone for buying my books. Please tell all your friends and help to spread the word!

My website is now up and running http://leighrussell.co.uk/
I'll soon be able to add news and photos (when the man-who-knows sets that up for me with idiot-proof instructions... )

Harrogate International Crime Festival 2011

Here are a few photos we took.  

 Lee Child reading Dead End

   Chris came all the way from Belgium

 With Dreda Say Mitchell, Festival Chair and brilliant author

 Sharing a joke with Mark Lawson

 Big Lee and Little Leigh

 Signing my books for fans

 With Chris Simmons and Graham Smith from Crimesquad

 With Sonia from In Touch Magazine in Cyprus

 Signing books for fans

And finally - we couldn't go to Harrogate without paying a visit to Bettys Tea Shop!