It’s always a real pleasure to discover new to me authors and books and so I am delighted to welcome Peter Scholes to Linda’s Book Bag today to stay in with me and tell me about his second novel.

Staying in with Peter Scholes

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Peter and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I have brought along my second novel, Once Upon A Time There Was A Man.

We have had a year of upheaval, sadness and uncertainty. I wanted to share something to help bring that feel-good factor back. Something that will make you collapse in the chair with a smile on your face and a tear of happiness trickling down your cheek afterwards and just think, “Wow!”

That sounds EXACTLY what we need. I love that cover too Peter – makes the man seem universal. What can we expect from an evening in with Once Upon A Time There Was A Man?

The book blurb is brief on purpose. I suppose the mystery starts with the blurb. The plot follows the antics of a rather self-centred but arrogant young private investigator who records his case findings in his trusted diary. His routine cases fill his days and his bank account and then, one day, he receives a letter asking him to find a man.

What follows is the pursuit of quite an extraordinary individual. The book is about love, relationships, friendships and sheer determination. I have been quite overwhelmed by the reviews so far. To know the book has had such an effect on so many people has been quite humbling.

I certainly love the concept and what you’ve told me so far Peter. How does it make you feel?

To know your book is being read and enjoyed is worth far more than royalties. In fact, I have given away more than I have sold via email to anyone who requested a copy. An example of one such review was:

“I don’t know where to start, firstly I need to clear away the tears streaming down my cheeks, never have I read such a moving and inspirational story as this. If only there were more Ernie Grimshaws in this world, it would certainly be a wonderful place. I will recommend this book to all my friends as it is a heart-wrenching tale of heartache and sheer determination but so heart-warming. A definite 5 out of 5.”

How wonderful. That’s really made me want to get Once Upon A Time There Was A Man onto my TBR as soon as I can.

As well as that glowing review, what else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I have brought along Paul Brunskill’s diaries, a comfy armchair to place in front of a log fire, a strong cup of coffee and a box of tissues. I would also bring along a photo album of every person who has ‘starred’ in the book – alive or alas not. If possible, I would like to invite Ernie along too just to shake the man by the hand and offer him a huge ‘thank you’.

Well thank you, Peter, for staying in with me and telling me about Once Upon A Time There Was A Man as I think it sounds fabulous. I’ll just give blog readers a few more details:

Once Upon A Time There Was A Man

Private investigating should be an exciting, interesting career, but for Paul Brunskill it was pretty mundane work. When a letter arrived seeking his expertise to help find a man it looked like more of the same. But this was no ordinary man. The job was to take him on a mission like none he had ever embarked on before…

Published by Bruntonwood on 11th December 2020, Once Upon A Time There Was A Man is available for purchase here.

About Peter Scholes

As a primary school teacher by day and a single parent the rest of the time, it is a wonder Peter manages to find any writing time at all, but he does, and when he does he gets lost in his own little world and that is a lovely place to be. Peter’s first novel, Conscience was completed about ten years ago and sat in a box under the bed waiting for him to share it with the world. He eventually got around to it and discovered Amazon’s self publishing. From that point, there was no stopping him. Peter has also managed to upload his series of children’s books (the Beyond The Hill series), write educational resources for schools and also complete poems, plays and screenplays which are all ready to be snapped up by an agent or publisher should he or she ever feel inclined. They wouldn’t regret it.

For more information, follow Peter on Twitter @scholes_peter. You’ll also find him on Facebook.

If, like me, you follow Claire Dyer, you may have seen some teasers on social media over the last couple of weeks for an exciting new book. Today, I’m thrilled to give you the full cover and details.

I can’t believe it’s three years since I interviewed Claire Dyer about her novel The Last Day and reviewed it here on Linda’s Book Bag. More recently, I read and adored Claire Dyer’s poetry collection Yield that I reviewed here, and so it gives me enormous pleasure to help launch Claire’s latest writing The Significant Others of Odie May. The Significant Others of Odie May is Claire’s first crime fiction with a touch of magical realism and I simply cannot wait to read it.

The Significant Others of Odie May will be published by Matador on 28th July 2021 and is available for pre-order here.

The Significant Others of Odie May

Any one of them could have murdered her… but who did?

On the night Odie May and her married lover are due to celebrate him leaving his wife, Odie goes out to buy a bottle of his favourite wine and, on her way home, is murdered by a woman in a lime green coat.

The next thing Odie knows is that she’s in a waiting room and there’s a man called Carl Draper saying he’s her Initial Contact. He is carrying a clipboard and invites her into an interview room.

Over the course of her interview, Carl and Odie track back to the significant others in her life to date to try and work out where she’s gone wrong, who might have killed her, and why.

In the meantime, Carl also shows Odie what’s happening in the life she’s left behind as her mother and her lover, Michael, learn of her death and manage the tricky days that follow it.

But nothing is as simple as it seems. Although Carl has it in his power to return Odie to the moment before she was killed, this comes at a price she may not be able to pay.

***

Now, doesn’t that sound just brilliant?

About Claire Dyer

Claire Dyer’s novels The Moment and The Perfect Affair, and her short story, Falling For Gatsby, are published by Quercus. The Last Day is published by The Dome Press.

Her poetry collections, Interference Effects, Eleven Rooms and Yield are published by Two Rivers Press. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London and teaches creative writing.

She also runs Fresh Eyes, an editorial and critiquing service.

You can follow Claire on Twitter @ClaireDyer1 and visit her website. You’ll also find Claire on Facebook and Instagram.

The world was a very different place when I met Roz Morris for afternoon tea at a book launch in London almost two years ago. Today I am delighted to share my review of Roz’s latest book, Ever Rest. My enormous thanks to Roz for sending me a copy of Ever Rest in return for an honest review.

Published yesterday, 3rd June 2021, Ever Rest is available for purchase in all the usual places including here.

Ever Rest

Twenty years ago, Hugo and Ash were on top of the world. As the acclaimed rock band Ashbirds they were poised for superstardom. Then Ash went missing, lost in a mountaineering accident, and the lives of Hugo and everyone around him were changed forever. Irrepressible, infuriating, mesmerizing Ash left a hole they could never hope to fill.

Two decades on, Ash’s fiancée Elza is still struggling to move on, her private grief outshone by the glare of publicity. The loss of such a rock icon is a worldwide tragedy. Hugo is now a recluse in Nepal, shunning his old life. Robert, an ambitious session player, feels himself both blessed and cursed by his brief time with Ashbirds, unable to achieve recognition in his own right.

While the Ashbirds legend burns brighter than ever, Elza, Hugo and Robert are as stranded as if they were the ones lost in the ice. How far must they go to come back to life?

My Review of Ever Rest

The repercussions of Ash’s disappearance 20 years ago continue.

I had absolutely no idea what kind of book I was about to read when I picked up Ever Rest, but I hadn’t expected such an intense, beautifully crafted work of literary fiction. There’s a smooth sophistication to Roz Morris writing that makes for a really pleasurable read, especially when it’s coupled with natural dialogue and a variety of sentences where exposition and description are perfectly balanced. Ever Rest feels like a book of real quality. There’s a quietness somehow, that belies the intensity of emotion presented that I found quite mesmerising. Similarly, the description is frequently poetic but never self-conscious so that I had a truly striking image in my mind’s eye as I read.

About Roz Morris

Roz Morris writes fiction and essays about unusual ways we can be haunted and how we seek people and places we belong with. Her work has been profiled by The Guardian, Literature Works, the Potomac Review, Rain Taxi and BBC Radio. Her novel Lifeform Three was longlisted for the World Fantasy Award.

Her fiction has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, although you won’t have seen her name on the covers – she began her career in secret, ghostwriting fiction for big-name authors.

Her own novels have been described as ‘profound tales and compelling page-turners’, with fine-honed language, unforgettable characters, and gripping, unusual storylines. Plaudits include a top-ranked title in the American Library Journal programme, a longlisting for an international award alongside Neil Gaiman and a finalist position in the People’s Book Prize 2017.

She is a writer, journalist, fiction editor and the author of the Nail Your Novel series for writers. She teaches creative writing masterclasses for The Guardian newspaper in London and is also the author of a series for writers – Nail Your Novel.

For more information, visit Roz’s website, follow her on Twitter @Roz_Morris and find her on Facebook and Instagram.

Regular Linda’s Book Bag readers will know just how much I enjoy M.W. Craven’s writing. Consequently, I was thrilled to receive a copy of Dead Ground, the fourth book in the Washington Poe series from lovely Beth Wright at Little Brown in return for an honest review.

When I say that the first two of M. W. Craven’s books in the series were on my books of the year list (here) in 2019 and the third a book of the year in 2020, you’ll understand how delighted I am to share my review of Dead Ground today.  You can read my review of The Puppet Show here, of Black Summer here and of The Curator here.

Published by Little Brown imprint Constable on 3rd June 2021, Dead Ground is available for purchase through these links.

Dead Ground

Detective Sergeant Washington Poe is in court, fighting eviction from his beloved and isolated croft, when he is summoned to a backstreet brothel in Carlisle where a man has been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Poe is confused – he hunts serial killers and this appears to be a straightforward murder-by-pimp – but his attendance was requested personally, by the kind of people who prefer to remain in the shadows.

As Poe and the socially awkward programmer Tilly Bradshaw delve deeper into the case, they are faced with seemingly unanswerable questions: despite being heavily vetted for a high-profile job, why does nothing in the victim’s background check out? Why was a small ornament left at the murder scene – and why did someone on the investigation team steal it? And what is the connection to a flawlessly executed bank heist three years earlier, a heist where nothing was taken . . .

My Review of Dead Ground

Poe’s in trouble again.

Now, I rarely read a book series because I have so many books awaiting my attention that I don’t want to be tied in to one author. However, not only do I make an exception for M.W. Craven, I think I’d probably walk over hot coals to get my hands on his latest book. This time, Dead Ground, the latest in the Washington Poe series, convinces me that Craven is one of the most brilliant story tellers around. Dead Ground is an absolute corker.

Dead Ground opens with a dramatic, if seemingly unconnected scene to the ensuing narrative, that ensnares the reader from the very first moment. As Tilly and Poe find themselves involved in an unconventional murder, the threads of the story interweave in a thrilling and dynamic manner that makes me wonder just how devious this author’s own mind really is. I found Dead Ground plunged me into a world of conspiracies, drama and events that I found convincing, disturbing and utterly mesmerising. As usual with M.W. Craven, short, fast paced chapters with tantalising cliff hangers imbued with humour, drama and some deliberate obfuscation mean that it is impossible not to read on. Obviously I can’t say too much about the plot for fear of spoiling the read for others, but it is breakneck and exciting.

The relationship between Poe and Tilly is pitch perfect for those who’ve read the whole series, settling into familiar patterns, but M.W. Craven ensures anyone coming to the series afresh can understand and appreciate it easily because of the throw away asides to new or returning characters. This is such skilled writing. What I always find unsettling is the world Tilly inhabits. She makes me question my own online habits so that whilst reading Dead Ground is glorious entertainment, it does raise questions for the reader about their own behaviour too, making it educational as well as thrilling.

Beware if you pick up a book by M.W. Craven. Your life will no longer belong to you. He will hold you spellbound until you’ve read every brilliantly crafted word. He is, without question, one of the most captivating crime writers around and Dead Ground is a fantastic addition to the Washington Poe Tilly Bradshaw series. I thought it was fabulous.

About M.W. Craven

M. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle, returning after 31 years to take up a probation officer position in Whitehaven, eventually working his way up to chief officer grade. Sixteen years later he took the plunge, accepted redundancy and became a full-time author. He now has entirely different motivations for trying to get inside the minds of criminals. His first novel featuring Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw, The Puppet Show, was published by Constable to huge acclaim, and won the 2019 CWA Gold Dagger Award.

M. W. Craven lives in Carlisle with his wife, Joanne. When he isn’t out with his springer spaniel, or talking nonsense in the pub, he can usually be found at punk gigs and writing festivals up and down the country.

You can follow M.W. Craven on Twitter @MWCravenUK and visit his website for more information or find him on Facebook and Instagram.