Time for a bit of news!

If you’re a follower of this blog, then you’ll be well aware that I’m currently hard at work on my second novel. I’ve mentioned it in the past without really going into any depth, so I’m delighted to be able to confirm the first details about the new book right here right now.

Firstly, the book will officially be titled Killing Freedom. I initially had this penned as a working title, but it’s just something that’s kind of stuck for me as the writing process has progressed. The depths and layers of the title have revealed themselves to me over time, so that’s a cool process to encounter. I’ll have more info on the title and reasoning at the end of April, when I’ll be posting a full Q&A on the novel.

Secondly, I can also confirm the official release date for the book as the last week of June 2013. I’d love to be more specific, but I learned my lesson the hard way with my debut novel What We Saw. I ended up pushing it back only to bring it forward to push it back to… you get the picture. The final week of June is launch week. That could mean Monday 24th or Sunday 30th. Enjoy the surprise.

Want to know more about the book? Well, tough! Ha, I’m sorry. I want to keep things as low key and gradual as possible. Now I’ve got a few launches under my belt, I’ve learned that a long dripfeed of information can be more effective than throwing everything out there with three months to go and having nothing else to say for weeks. So yes — I hope the title and launch date will be enough to quench your thirst right now.

Where am I actually at with the thing? I’m very close to finishing my personal rewrites before sending it out to some writer friends for critiques. I’ll be looking for general story issues (character development, plot arcs, etc), so if you fancy taking part, please do let me know. It’s quite an intensive process I realise, so I’ll be happy to pay you £20 in Amazon vouchers for your troubles. Drop me an email over at the contact page if you’re interested and I’ll get back to you.

After that, I’ll be able to send it off to my editor for some copy editing, rewrite again, send to friends for proofing, rewrite again, send back to editor for proofing, final polish — release! An intense three months, sure, but three months I’m totally ready for.

To be notified as soon as a put a new release out, you know where to click. Oh, you don’t? Well, > here <. Clear enough?

A quick word of apology for my lack of correspondence lately if you’ve been in touch via email or if I’ve agreed to something or another. I’ve been so snowed under with university dissertations and writing work that I’ve barely had time to sleep. Well, that’s a lie: there’s always time to sleep. But yeah, just to say I will be back in touch with you as things ease off over the next week or so. Thanks for the patience!

Which leads to another announcement…

Easter Special: What We Saw FREE for three days only!

I mentioned a few weeks back that I was planning to experiment with BookBub. The time has arrived: What We Saw, my debut coming-of-age mystery novel, is absolutely free on Amazon Kindle for three days only EDIT: What We Saw is now free for the entire Easter Weekend (until Sunday 03/31). Fancy putting your feet up to a good old-fashioned tale of childhood discovery and nostalgia this Easter weekend? Fancy reminding yourself of Easter holidays and Spring breaks of the past? Then What We Saw might just be for you.

To download your free copy from Amazon.com, click here. UK readers — download your copy from Amazon UK by clicking here.

Remember, you do not need to own an Amazon Kindle device in order to read Kindle books. Think I’m bullshitting? Well, I don’t own one and I get by. It’s just as easy to download Kindle books onto your iPhones, tablets, smartphones, PCs, Macs, and whatevers by clicking this link and installing the relevant software. Seriously simple.

If you fancy drumming up some attention about the free promo, why not share a tweet of your most memorable holiday moment as a child? Stumble upon any weird goings on? Not too weird, I hope. Anyway, simply share a tweet with your story and the hashtag ‘#WhatWeSaw’ and we’ll see how it goes.

Have a wonderful Easter! I’ll be back next week with the BookBub results.

Ryan.