Countdown to New Books

I'm getting excited:
One week from today, February 5, will see the publication of my new Molly Murphy E-story called The Face In The Mirror.

It's a tense story about a woman who thinks her house may be haunted or she may be going mad.

Also Lent is approaching and if you plan to give up candy bars, let me suggest a sinless alternative. This e-story is only 99 cents and it lasts a lot longer than a Hershey's.

And it's now just over a month to the publication of THE FAMILY WAY, the next Molly book.
Molly is pregnant and bored with enforced idleness until a strange letter from Ireland and a kidnapped baby lead her on a dangerous path that puts her own life and that of her baby in jeopardy.
Already great early reviews including ****1/2 stars from RT Magazine.

And in case you are new to the series and want to start at the beginning, Macmillan is reissuing Agatha winner Murphy's Law as a trade paperback--pretty cover and so much easier to read. The whole series will now come out in trade paperback including the latest Hush Now, Don't You Cry later this month. AND the whole series will be coming out in audio form on Audible.

A busy spring for Molly Murphy! You can pre-order now!

Inspiration from an elephant.

 We writers are always being asked where we get our ideas from. My answer will be forever more simple. FROM AN ELEPHANT.

This is my advisory elephant. He was given to me for Christmas by my daughter Clare who said, "he is supposed to sit by your computer and give you inspiration when you get stuck in a book."
.
My other kids picked up on this immediately.
"He'd say 'how about if she was murdered by being sat on by ane elephant?'
How about if an elephnat tailed him through the city?
How about if it was a trunk call?
How about if it's part of a Mammoth Book of mysteries?

Okay they were all silly, but you know, I am finding that he is very wise in his suggestions. Mostly he says 'if it's not working now, go and take a walk. Or go shopping. It will come to you on the way back.' And you know, it does.

I am definitely a seat-of-the-panter when it comes to writing. No outline for me. Not even a story line to follow. I really don't know what is going to happen to my heroine next. I know a little, mostly about the environment she will enter. For example in the new Molly book, HUSH NOW DON'T YOU CRY, I knew that Molly would uncover some dark secret about a family at one of the Newport 'cottages'. I also had an image in my mind of a child's face in a tower window, laughing demonicly in a thunderstorm  So I start with that and stumble ahead.

So it's very comforting now to know there is an elephant sitting nearby who will come to my aid. Only one thing wrong--I haven't managed to name him yet. Any suggestions? Actually I've been waiting for him to tell me but he is inclined to be shy.....
What's that ? No, elephant, they are not going to hide the body in a trunk.