I had a wonderful fortnight away from the desk. It was lovely to see the family and we had a lot of fun exploring and chasing the sunshine. We enjoyed some brilliant days out and it made me appreciate what a truly beautiful part of the world I live in. The only downside is that the house, filled with noise for a fortnight, seems eerily quiet now. Even the dogs are quiet (we bought a new doorbell and they haven't yet figured out what it is ... I assume they think we keep listening to a very dodgy CD).
I'm back at my desk feeling refreshed and raring to celebrate the release of Dead Silent. Yes, today's the day so happy publication day to me!
All authors will tell you that there's not much point having a book released if no one knows about it and I want to send heartfelt thanks to the wonderful people who are helping to spread the word. Truly, people's kindness never fails to amaze me. So many fellow writers have invited me to their blogs to spread the word and I'm truly grateful. (Yes, I'll be popping up everywhere over the next couple of weeks!). Special thanks go to the lovely Maureen Miller (mega-talented romantic suspense author and wonderful singer), Pauline Barclay (wonderful author who lives in sunny Lanzarote and makes me very jealous), Devon Ellington (hugely talented author who writes under several names), Kate Hardy (romance author extraordinaire who makes me feel like a total slacker), Nell Dixon (super talented romance author who loves heights as much as I do), Helen Hunt (book reviewer and hugely successful short story writer), Talli Roland (author and wine lover -read her book and you'll look at game shows in a whole new way), Clare London (fellow Carina Press author and all-round terrific person), Toni Anderson (wonderful romantic suspense author who, like me, exists in chaos), Debs Carr (writes in The Plotting Shed with the wonderful Grumps for company - yes, I'm jealous). Wonderful people, thank you!
I don't want this turning into an Oscar acceptance speech, but I do want to thank the whole team at Carina Press and especially my awesome editor, Deborah Nemeth.
I came back from holiday to a great review from ManicReaders and here's a snippet:
Dead Silent kept me reading late into the night and has whetted my appetite for more of Dylan and crew. If you’re looking for a tightly plotted, delightfully cast, well written mystery look no farther than the Dylan Scott series by Shirley Wells. I’m impatiently awaiting the next one.
Thank you, Manic Readers!
Another snippet from a review from The Readers' Roundtable Smokin' Gun:
Dead Silent is an engrossing and spellbinding mystery that is full of surprises. It is an engaging story with an assortment of unexpected and interesting subplots. With a wide variety of startling twists and turns, Shirley Wells brings Dead Silent to a stunning and unanticipated conclusion that is guaranteed to shock her readers.
Thank you to all at Smokin' Gun!
(If you're curious, you can read the first (very short) chapter here.)
Before I go, a reminder that the first book in the Dylan Scott series, Presumed Dead, is still available from Carina Press in .epub or .pdf versions for $0.99 (about 60p).
Thank you, everyone, for making this particular author very happy indeed. So how to spend publication day? I think champagne is in order, don't you? Chocolate too, you say? Well, why not?