After many months of plotting, rewriting, deleting perfectly good paragraphs for no obvious reason, and consuming far too much coffee, I’ve finally typed THE END on the first draft of my latest novel!
It’s the fourth book in my Lifting the Lid comedy thriller series, and as usual, Trevor and Sandra find themselves mixed up in all kinds of trouble they could really do without. There are also a few of the characters from the previous books making a not necessarily welcome return.
However, there’s still plenty of work ahead to make the book ready for public consumption, so it won’t be available for a little while yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
For a very limited time, the set of all three ebooks in the ‘Lifting the Lid’ series is only 99p in the UK and 99c in the USA. 33p/33c for each book is such a bargain, I might even buy it myself. 😄
That’s right, it’s now ten years since I published my first novel, the comedy thriller ‘Lifting the Lid’, and I’ve been amazed how well it’s done. I never believed it would sell more than a handful of copies, but so far it’s sold over 30,000. That’s almost 15 million pages read, which I find quite astonishing.
It also recently hit 2,000 global ratings with the vast majority (73%) being 4 or 5 stars. OK, you can’t please everyone, of course, but here are a few of my favourite reviews (followed by some of my less favourite ones):
I will simply say that if your life needs cheering-up, buy this.
Funny, witty and clever. A good escape from the monotony of real life!
Loved it. You’ve gained another fan.
It’s brilliant! A fast paced frenzy where there isn’t a moment to breathe.
You’ll laugh so hard, you’ll have to make a couple trips to the restroom.
I chuckled my way through every chapter of this highly enjoyable book.
True comedy crime thriller of the highest standard.
A refreshing change of pace from the murder mysteries I usually read.
This book is an absolute joy to read, brimming with amusement and an engaging plot.
Some readers have been less than impressed, however, and in the interests of balance, here are some of the most damning comments:
Lift lid: Insert book.
Rubbish – needs flushed away.
A waste of my life and that of the author.
Badly written tosh.
As I said above, you can’t please everyone, but many thanks to everyone who’s read and enjoyed ‘Lifting the Lid’ over the years. I really appreciate your support.
The first three books in the ‘Lifting the Lid’ series are now available as a box set of e-books. No fancy cover as in this image unfortunately, but buying all three books together is a fair bit cheaper than buying them all separately.
The price of the box set right now means you’ll be getting all three e-books (900+ pages) for the price of two. This may not always be the case, although it’s definitely true at the moment.
I hope you and yours are keeping safe and well in these difficult times, whether you’re one of those who are working so hard to keep the rest of us safe and well or you’re on a lockdown at home. Whichever might be the case, I thought you might be interested to know that three of my books are currently on a Kindle Deal.
The Kindle editions of Lifting the Lid, Cremains and A Kilo of String have all been reduced to 99p in the UK and 99c in some other European countries.
Many thanks to the San Francisco Review of Books for an excellent review of Lifting the Lid.
Here are a couple of quotes:
“The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, laughing all the time. The story is intriguing, but the best part is just enjoying the frolic from one adventure to the next.”
“Lovers of comedic thrillers are sure to enjoy Lifting the Lid.”
Heads You Lose – the sequel to Lifting the Lid and the second novel in my ‘Lifting the Lid’ series – is now available as an e-book from Amazon. (Paperback edition to follow soon.)
Who’s wrong to be right? What was the Great Envelope Controversy? Was this a marriage made in Milton Keynes? What’s this in my yoghourt? Is this the end?
Listen to the podcast to find the answers to these and many other important questions about life in Greece. Listen to podcast…
Who’s been roasting chestnuts on an open fire? Who’s had their electricity cut off? Can deep-fried Mars bars be good for you? What do people do with all that olive oil?
Listen to the podcast to find the answers to these and many other important questions about life in Greece. Listen to podcast…
The paperback edition of Lifting the Lid is now available from Amazon.
‘A superb adventure-comedy… Lifting the Lid will grab you and pull you along for a fun and wild ride… I can’t wait for the sequel!’ – Jennifer Reinoehl for Readers’ Favorite
‘It’s brilliant!… You’ll laugh so hard, you’ll have to make a couple trips to the restroom… The writing is fast paced, funny and downright thrilling.’ – Samantha Coville for SammytheBookworm.com
Anyone for a coup? Can it pay not to get married? Why is giving blood good for your holiday entitlement? Who’s not leaving on a jet plane? What exactly are they imputing?
Listen to the podcast to find the answers to these and many other important questions about life in Greece. Listen to podcast…
Why is spitting sometimes good for you? How do you get rid of unwelcome guests? How many lives does a Greek cat have? Who put something unpleasant in the Dowager Duchess’s corset?
Listen to the podcast to find the answers to these and many other important questions about life in Greece. Listen to podcast…
Yes, my new comedy thriller is now available from an Amazon Kindle Store near you.
There are some things people see in toilets that they wish they hadn’t. What Trevor Hawkins sees might even cost him his life.
Read thefirst four chapters of Lifting the Lid, which is a comedy thriller about how a single, split-second decision can change someone’s life for ever.
Lifting the Lid will also be published as a paperback in the next few weeks.
There are some things people see in toilets that they wish they hadn’t. What Trevor Hawkins sees might even cost him his life.
At long last, my comedy thriller Lifting the Lid is about to be published – first as an e-book and then as a ‘proper’ paperback.
Here’s a sneak preview of part of the front cover – an original painting by my good friend Kostas Tsoukatos. He usually does portraits and was a bit surprised when I told him what I wanted!
Final publication details will be announced here soon, but in the meantime, click here if you’d like to read more information about the book and the opening four chapters.